Driving might be infuriating. As extra individuals get again into the groove of commuting, widespread navigation app Waze is teaming up with meditation app Headspace that can assist you calm the hell down whilst you’re on the highway. Or a minimum of that’s the objective.

The new Headspace experience on Waze was designed to assist “drivers learn how to find more joy and meaning on the road.” It features a new theme with customized navigation prompts from a mindfulness trainer and a number of 5 moods: Aware, Bright, Hopeful, Joyful, and Open. And when you can’t abdomen seeing your car as a automobile icon on the app, you’ll be able to swap it out for a sizzling air balloon. Perhaps that’s extra soothing.

The thought of “mindful driving” isn’t a brand new idea. It’s just like conscious consuming and train. Mindful driving can assist you keep targeted and keep away from being entranced by what’s enjoying on the radio. It can assist you change into extra conscious of the opposite parts of driving, too, just like the spacing between vehicles and whether or not the particular person to your proper seems as in the event that they could be the lane-weaving sort.

If you need a preview of what conscious driving will sound like, Waze and Headspace have revealed a Spotify playlist you could tune into to get a really feel for this system. I rapidly shuffled by, and it seems to be primarily ambient tracks with Headspace’s guided meditation prompts interspersed in between. If you want what you hear, you’ll be able to activate Headspace on Waze out of your smartphone by Nov. 1 by tapping the banner within the “My Waze” menu.

I’m a California driver, which signifies that I typically return house from my journey needing a minute earlier than I can interact with life in a impartial approach. I’ve tried enjoying lo-fi and chill hop playlists to sooth my highway angst however have both ended up getting too sleepy to drive or switching the style fully to one thing extra energetic to assist me get to the identical stage as the opposite wild drivers on the highway.

The concept that driving might be as restorative as, say, a conscious yoga session doesn’t sound in any respect potential for these with a day by day commute by rush hour visitors. It’s already a slog having to undergo the motions to point out up for work every single day bodily. Add bumper-to-bumper visitors, which is excruciatingly boring, wand you’ll extra doubtless need to pay attention to a podcast or hyped-up music to move the time than a meditative playlist.

This collab looks as if Waze’s approach of creating itself as an all-in-one driving answer whereas serving to Headspace develop its choices. But as an individual who used to commute day by day by the San Francisco Bay Area, which is ranked seventh within the nation for worst traffic, I can say there may be nothing joyful or calming about being on the highway for hours at a time. I’m undecided even Headspace can assist me there.