Calm is trained, not found.
Guided meditations, timed breathwork and slow sleep stories, narrated at an unhurried pace and set against sumi-e ink paintings.
Breathwork is free.
No account needed, no ads.
Sit down. Press play.
Seventeen guided meditations and seven sleep stories, from a six-minute morning sit to a long, slow story for the night. Each one is drawn from an old idea: zanshin, the awareness that stays after the work is done; mushin, letting thoughts pass; fudoshin, steadiness that isn’t rigid.
Breathe with your eyes closed.
Three patterns with spoken cues, so you can follow without looking: Box Breath to reset, 4-7-8 to slow down before sleep, and a brisk cycle for a dull morning. All three are free.
A quiet room, anywhere.
Layer cedar wind, a distant temple bell and night rain beneath the narration, each at its own level. Set a sleep timer, save a practice for no-signal days, and keep listening with the screen off.
Five gates, earned honestly.
Minutes, sessions and a streak that only counts what you actually practised. Five gates mark the path from a first sit to a settled habit. Finished sessions can go to Apple Health as mindful minutes, and a widget keeps today’s streak on your Home or Lock Screen.
Practise without an account.
Use the whole app as a guest and your practice stays on your iPhone. Sign in only if you want it on another device.
No account needed
Open the app and start. As a guest, your streak, minutes and settings are stored on your iPhone only.
Sync if you want
Sign in with Apple or an email link to keep your practice across devices. Delete the account from Profile in two taps.
No ads, no tracking
No advertising, no analytics, no tracking of any kind. Your data is never sold.
Breathwork is free.
Free
$0- Box Breath, 4-7-8 Deep and Energize
- Finding Inner Peace, an 11-minute guided meditation
- Ambient mixer and sleep timer
- Streak, journey gates and a daily reminder
Pro 3 DAYS FREE
$29.99/ YEAR- All 17 guided meditations
- All 7 sleep stories
- Download any practice for offline
- Everything in Free
Before you sit.
What is Samurai Zen?
A quiet meditation app for iPhone: guided meditations, timed breathwork with spoken cues and slow sleep stories, narrated at an unhurried pace and set against sumi-e ink paintings. The scripts draw on ideas from Japanese martial practice, but you don’t need to know any of them: sit down, press play, breathe.
Is Samurai Zen free?
Yes, to start. The three breathing patterns and Finding Inner Peace are free, with the ambient mixer, streak and reminders. Samurai Zen Pro opens every meditation and sleep story: $29.99 a year or $4.99 a week, both with a 3-day free trial. Prices are in US dollars; the App Store shows yours.
Do I need an account?
No. You can use the whole app as a guest, and your practice stays on your iPhone. Sign in with Apple or an email link only if you want your practice synced across devices. You can delete the account from Profile at any time.
What is box breathing?
Breathing in equal counts: in, hold, out (and in the classic version, hold again), usually four seconds each. Samurai Zen’s Box Breath is 4-4-4 for 15 rounds, about three minutes, with spoken cues. Read the step-by-step guide.
Does it work offline?
Breathing works without a connection. Guided meditations and sleep stories stream, and you can download any practice you can play from the player or Profile › Offline Practices.
Which iPhones does it run on?
Any iPhone with iOS 26 or later. The app and its narration are in English.
Begin with one breath.
Free on iPhone · iOS 26 or later