According to Belgian tech startup, moonbird, using breathwork as a way to relax is growing rapidly in popularity. To answer this demand, the company has recently developed a pocket-sized intuitive breathwork coach tool to guide people through breathing exercises and improve their sense of wellbeing.

The compact moonbird tool guides the user’s breathing slowly while also providing feedback on heart rate and how the body relaxes via a connected app.

The founders of moonbird – brother and sister duo, Stefanie Broes (PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences) and Michael Broes (Economist) – launched the company because they saw a gap in the market to make the benefits of breathing more widely accessible.

Stefanie said: "We founded moonbird after seeing many friends and family members struggling with insomnia, stress and anxiety attacks. Sadly, the truth is that these emotions are increasingly part of our daily lives, even more so amid the pressure we're facing as a result of the pandemic and its impacts felt widely all over the world.

“While medication can sometimes be the answer, it’s not always necessary and there are

other proven techniques people can turn to, which is where the importance of breathworkcomes in.

“moonbird is designed to be an effective, manageable and discreet tool that goes with you anywhere and everywhere to nip anxiety and stress in the bud as and when it happens.

“Our technology is making a big difference already, as can be seen through the many customers already benefiting from it in their daily lives.”

In a recent investment round, moonbird raised €1.5m (£1.3m US$1.5m) of growth capital that will be used for international expansion. Among others, Akiles, ScaleFund, imec.istart, the Flemish investment company PMV, Buysse & Partners and other private investors are contributing.