GEAR REVIEW: Core by HyperIce

I’ve never felt like I was stellar at meditating. I know, I know. There is no way to "meditate wrong,” right Andy Puddicombe (listen to the Headspace founder’s top meditation tips, here). But trying to do it first thing in the day was always a big hurdle for me — as I almost immediately sat down on my cushion and began to-do listing every time.

I digress.

Enter the Core by HyperIce meditation device. I was excited to try this new toy (full disclosure: This was sent to me by HyperIce to check out). I thought I’d feel silly holding a vibrating ball of sorts, but in actuality it helped me feel a lot more present during the meditation.

The way that it works: it vibrates to cue the holder to inhale and exhale in harmony with the meditation that plays from the accompanying app on your device. While doing this, it also takes in information from your biomarkers, gathered by your hands holding the sensors. So once your session is done, you can see what was going on with your heart rate and HRV, plus gives you a calm and focus score.

At first I was worried that the vibrating would get a little weird or that the device itself would be a little heavy to hold for 5 to 10 minutes, but negative on both. I really feel more engaged while holding the Core, and I found that resting it on my thighs was helpful, too.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from wearing a WHOOP for the better part of two years, it’s that I dig this kind of gamification when it comes to my wellness. I feel as though if this is the sec ret sauce to me doing something good for my body (with the WHOOP, for example, I’m more cognizant of what time I’m going to bed and how much alcohol I’m drinking regularly if it’s going to mess with my recovery) — then sign me up.

Core costs $179 and the premium membership costs $70/year. If you buy the trainer without the membership, you will have basic access to a slew of meditations.