Breathwork · Review
Othership Review
Breathwork as cinema — music-driven guided journeys that shift emotional states, not just heart rates.
Our rating
4.2 / 5
Starting price
Free trial, then ~$149.99/yr
Free tier
Yes
Platforms
iOS · Android
Developer
Othership
Launched
2021
Our verdict
Othership treats breath as an instrument for emotional experience: cinematic sessions blending guided breathing, original scores, and spoken narrative — from 60-second resets to hour-long journeys for grief, anger, or celebration. Born from the Toronto bathhouse studios. It is the most affecting breathwork content made; the price and intensity suit committed practitioners over casual dabblers.
This review is editorial and unsponsored — no affiliate payments influence our ratings. Selfpause makes a wellness app of its own, so where a product competes with us, we say so plainly and let you judge.
Othership emerged from immersive sauna-and-ice studios, and its app carries that DNA: sessions are produced like films — score, narrative arc, emotional intention — with breath patterns as the engine. The catalog spans down-shifts, up-shifts, and genuinely ambitious emotional journeys around grief, anger, gratitude, and connection.
This is breathwork as state-change rather than mere regulation. Faster rhythmic patterns can surface real emotion — by design — making sessions feel closer to guided ceremony than exercise.
At ~$149/yr it asks roughly double Breathwrk’s price for half the utility and twice the experience. Know which you are shopping for. (A note of care: intense circular breathing isn’t for everyone — pregnancy, cardiovascular issues, and seizure history warrant medical advice first.)
Pros & cons
What we like
- The most emotionally powerful breathwork sessions in any app.
- Cinematic production: original music, narrative guidance.
- Range from 60-second resets to hour-long journeys.
- Emotion-targeted catalog — grief, anger, joy, connection.
- Studio lineage shows in craft and pacing.
What we don’t
- Premium price (~$149.99/yr).
- Intense styles are not for every body or moment.
- Overkill for users wanting quick utility breathing.
- Experience-first design means less quick-reference structure.
Best for / avoid if
Best for
- →Breathwork enthusiasts ready beyond box breathing
- →People processing emotion who want guided containers
- →Fans of ceremony, sauna culture, and immersive wellness
- →Those for whom Breathwrk felt clinical
Avoid if
- →You want quick daily tools — Breathwrk
- →You are pregnant or have cardiac/seizure history — ask a doctor first
- →Budget matters — the utility-per-dollar is lower here
Pricing
Trial
Free
Sample sessions before subscribing.
Subscription
~$149.99/yr
Full journey catalog and new releases.
What Othership is
Othership is a breathwork app of cinematic guided sessions — breath patterns, original scores, and narrative — designed to shift emotional states, from minute-long resets to hour-long journeys.
It is experience-first breathwork: ceremony in headphone form.
Why production value changes breathwork
Breath mechanics are free knowledge; what Othership adds is container — music and narrative that give a session emotional shape, so twenty minutes of breathing becomes something you went through rather than did.
For emotional processing, that container does real work: people access and release things in scored journeys that pattern-following alone rarely touches.
Emotional journey sessions
Long-form guided experiences targeting grief, anger, gratitude, and connection with full scores.
These are the catalog’s crown — closer to facilitated sessions than exercises.
Quick shifts
Sixty-second to ten-minute up- and down-regulation resets.
The daily-utility layer, competent if not the app’s soul.
Where Othership falls behind
Price-to-utility. Casual breathers get more from Breathwrk for half.
Accessibility. Intense styles carry real contraindications.
Speed. Ceremony takes time daily life may not give.
Othership vs. Breathwrk vs. meditation apps
Breathwrk regulates; Othership transforms; Calm and company relax. Three different verbs.
If breathwork is becoming a practice — not just a panic tool — Othership offers the deepest sessions available outside a studio.
Many enthusiasts run both: Breathwrk for weekdays, Othership for Sunday journeys.
Bottom line
Othership makes the most powerful breathwork content in the app world — ceremony-grade sessions worth the price for committed practitioners. Utility-seekers should start with Breathwrk and graduate here.
Want a daily positivity practice in your own voice? Selfpause lets you record personalized affirmations, layer them with calming music, and keep them on your lock screen.
Try Selfpause FreeAlternatives to Othership
Breathwrk
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Open
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Insight Timer
4.6Free breathwork tracks among everything else.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Othership’s breathwork safe?+
Gentle sessions, yes, for most people. Intense rhythmic styles can cause tingling and lightheadedness by design — those pregnant or with cardiovascular or seizure histories should consult a doctor, and everyone should practice seated or lying down.
Why is it more expensive than Breathwrk?+
You are paying for cinematic production — original scores, narrative journeys — rather than utility patterns. Whether that premium lands depends on what you want breath to do.
Is there a physical Othership?+
Yes — the brand began as immersive sauna-and-ice-bath studios in Toronto (and beyond), and the app extends those guided experiences.
Othership or Breathwrk?+
Breathwrk for daily regulation; Othership for emotional depth and ceremony. Enthusiasts often keep both.
A note on mental health: apps and online services can support wellbeing, but they are not a substitute for professional care. If you are struggling, a licensed professional can help — and if you are in crisis, contact your local emergency number or, in the US, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).