Aura: Wellbeing Copilot

This app advertises as a simple way to use movement to release your stress. However upon purchasing and receiving your “plan” there is nowhere it tells you any materials you need to complete these exercises. It just jumps right into the videos which while short include multiple props that are needed. So you begin and okay the first one you need a yoga block- no real problem that particular exercise can be done without. Then you need a mat, oh and then you need the block again, now you need a towel and an elastic band, and a foot stool- not to mention the specialty raised mat she’s using for one of the exercises- which yes you could recreate the angle with similar household furniture but there is no guidance on what the angle should actually be or if you need a firm or soft surface is okay (the bed in the video is firm). So you attempt to try them and then it’s oh wait now stop and collect all the materials- which greatly increases the time needed especially since there is no pre instruction or guidance on props to gather for the set of exercises for the day. While it’s not that expensive ($35) for twelve weeks it would also take about 5-10 minutes of work for the programmers, app facilitators or AI to compile and provide a simple list so you can be prepared. Pretty inexcusable for such a simple fix.

I’ve been using the app for about a week & enjoying it. However, this morning I opened the app, ready to click on my 7th day, only to find that everything has changed. The model who was doing the exercises is completely different and there are no verbal prompts anymore. So now I need to watch the entire video to figure out what’s going on, then go back and try to do the exercises from memory, or stop what I’m doing and grab my phone during each exercise. I tried turning on subtitles and enhancing the audio, thinking that the settings must have changed somehow. Nope, nothing there. Incredibly disappointing as I was truly feeling this app was helping me. In addition, I liked the exercises from last week so much, I was going back and re-doing them, which I can no longer do. Not sure I’ll continue if I can’t change back.

This past year has been incredibly challenging with my husband leaving, losing my job, and my mom falling ill. I was running on cortisol and coffee, struggling to sleep and eat, and my heart was always racing🫠 My sister suggested an app for exercise, and though I hesitated, thinking I didn’t have time I realized I could spare 15 minutes. In that first week, I found myself crying, not from pain, but from finally allowing myself to feel everything I had been avoiding. The slow, intentional movements felt more like a way to reassure my nervous system rather than just exercise. I’m not completely fixed life remains tough but I’m handling it better now, with a morning routine that reminds me I’m okay.