Thanks to its immersive nature and unique ability to help you block out distractions, VR is a great tool for relaxation and meditation. Today, we take that a step further with the addition of Apple’s 2017 App of the Year and a Google Play 2018 Editor’s Choice Award winner. Whether you’re dealing with stress, anxiety, or depression—or could just use a good night’s sleep—Calm offers a variety of meditations to help you make the most of daily life. And now, you can experience it on Oculus Go and Gear VR.

“We have always believed that VR can be a powerful medium for meditation and relaxation,” says Calm.com, Inc. Director of Product Tony Hsieh. “It has the ability to easily transport and immerse anyone into another reality from anywhere. We couldn’t wait to explore what this meant for Calm.”

From grief, resilience, and gratitude to the philosophical practices of Wabi Sabi and Ubuntu, Calm’s VR debut includes 10 of the original app’s best meditations led by Head of Mindfulness Tamara Levitt.

After selecting a meditation, you can then choose your location: a beautiful mountain lake, a tranquil redwood forest, or a white sand beach in Hawaii.

Of course, translating a 2D mobile app into a VR experience isn’t without its obstacles. “One of the biggest challenges was capturing high-quality nature content for the VR experience,” Hsieh explains. “We wanted to provide highly immersive scenes and thus focused on capturing stereo 3D 180° video and spatial audio. This allows us to display a higher resolution in the headset and offer a transformative 3D video and audio experience to the user.”

For up-and-coming developers looking to enter the VR space, Hsieh recommends focusing on VR’s key differentiators to deliver a quality VR title that wouldn’t be possible anywhere else.

“According to the CDC, the practice of meditation has tripled in the US in recent years,” he adds. “It’s an inspiring time for both meditation and technology, and I’m very excited to see how we’ll be able to bring a more immersive, powerful meditation experience to people in an easy and accessible way. The sky’s the limit!”

So what are you waiting for? Step inside the relaxing world of Calm on Oculus Go and Gear VR today.

— The Oculus Team