Support

Cultivation Timer is a practice timer for Qigong, Tai Chi, meditation, and the internal arts, though it fits just as naturally around breathwork, a workout, or anything else you may practice that would benefit from a flexible timer. Set a duration, add an optional preparation countdown and interval chimes, and the screen stays quiet while you practice. Save your exercises to a Library, chain them into practice sets, and review your history in Stats if you want it - targets and consistency tracking are off by default.

The core timer is free, with no time limits, no ads, and no account required.

The free plan includes:

• Up to 3 saved exercises and 1 practice set
• Your last 7 days of practice history, in the Day and Week statistics views

Cultivation Timer Plus adds:

• Unlimited exercises and practice sets
• Your full practice history, with Month and Year views
• Practice targets
• Practice consistency tracking

1. Open the Library tab, choose Exercises, and tap the + button.
2. Give the exercise a name and set its duration.
3. Add an optional preparation countdown and interval chimes, and choose its sounds.
4. Save. The exercise appears in your Library, ready to load into the Timer.

1. Open the Library tab, choose Practice Sets, and tap +.
2. Add timed exercises in the order you want to practice them.
3. Set an optional preparation countdown before the first exercise and a transition between exercises.

When you run a practice set, the timer moves through each exercise automatically.

There are a few ways to start:

• On the Timer tab, tap the title at the top to choose an exercise or practice set from your Library.
• Or just set a duration on the Timer tab and start the Quick Timer, without saving an exercise. The Quick Timer remembers its own settings.
• You can also use “Load in Timer” on any exercise or practice set in the Library.

The timer guides you through each phase and plays your chosen sounds at each transition.

If you change a loaded exercise’s settings on the Timer, the change stays on the Timer until you save it, even if the app closes. Tap the checkmark at the top to save it to the exercise, or the circular arrow to go back to the exercise’s saved settings. The × beside the title returns to the Quick Timer.

These are optional phases you can add around your main practice time.

• Preparation: a short countdown to settle in before practice begins.
• Intervals: a chime at a steady rhythm during practice, for example every 5 minutes.
• Keep Going: keeps the timer counting after time is up, so you can keep practicing and still record your full session. Turn it on for an exercise, or, outside a practice set, decide during a timed session: tap Extend Session on the Timer, or Keep Going when time is up.
• Open-Ended: practice without a time limit. Open-ended exercises cannot be used in practice sets.

Yes. The timer keeps running and chimes still play while your phone is locked or while you’re in another app. If you’d rather keep the display available during practice, open Settings → Screen During Practice and choose “Stay Awake” to keep the screen on, or “Dim to Black” to darken the display while the timer continues.

Yes. While a session is in progress, it appears as a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and, on iPhones that have one, in the Dynamic Island. It shows the exercise or practice set name and the time, and lets you pause, resume, or use Keep Going. Ending a session from there asks you to unlock your phone first. The Live Activity goes away when you end or reset the session.

iOS ends a Live Activity after eight hours. It then leaves the Dynamic Island and stops updating, though its last view can stay on the Lock Screen for up to four more hours. The timer keeps running in the app. If you swipe the Live Activity away, it stays away until your next session.

If iOS has closed the app in the background, tapping a control opens the app instead, with your session restored so you can carry on from the Timer.

Don’t want it? Turn off Live Activities in iOS Settings → Cultivation Timer.

Open Settings → Tutorials and tap “Reset In-App Tutorials.” The Timer and Library walkthroughs show again the next time you open those tabs.

Practice targets are a Plus feature.

1. Turn on Practice Targets in Settings.
2. Open the Stats tab and tap the target area on the summary card.
3. Set or edit the target for the current day, week, month, or year, matching the timescale you’re viewing.

Each timescale (day, week, month, and year) has its own target. Removing a target keeps your past target history saved.

Consistency is a Plus feature that shows how regularly you practice: the percentage of days in the period on which you practiced. Days before your first session don’t count against you, and today counts once you’ve practiced. With Plus, turn it on using the Practice Consistency toggle in Settings and it appears in the Week, Month, and Year statistics views.

Yes. In the Stats tab, tap the + button to log a session manually. Choose one of your exercises - or “General practice” with an optional label - then set the duration and start time and save. Manual sessions count toward your history, targets, and consistency just like timed sessions.

• Unlimited saved exercises (free plan: 3)
• Unlimited practice sets (free plan: 1)
• Full practice history (free plan: last 7 days)
• Month and Year statistics views
• Practice targets for day, week, month, and year
• Practice consistency tracking

Monthly, Yearly, and Lifetime (one-time purchase) options are available. All unlock the same Plus features. Current pricing - and any free trial offer - is shown in the app.

Nothing is deleted. If you have more saved than the free plan allows, the app asks you to choose which exercises (up to 3) and which practice set to keep. The rest are hidden - not deleted - and return automatically if you upgrade again. If a slot opens up later, you can also restore a hidden exercise from the Library.

Open Settings, choose Cultivation Timer Plus, then tap “Restore Purchases” on the Plus screen. Your purchase will be verified with the App Store and restored automatically. Make sure you’re signed into the same Apple ID used for the original purchase.

If the app is asking you to choose which exercises or practice set to keep, “Restore Purchases” is also at the bottom of that screen.

Subscriptions are managed through Apple. On your iPhone, go to Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions, find Cultivation Timer, and tap Cancel Subscription. You’ll retain Plus access until the end of the current billing period.

Refunds are handled by Apple. Visit reportaproblem.apple.com to request a refund for any App Store purchase.

Timer chimes play through your media volume and are not silenced by the ring/silent switch, so practice cues still sound when your phone is muted.

If you don’t hear chimes, check:

• Media volume: use the volume buttons while the timer is running.
• Per-sound volumes: under Settings → Sound Defaults, and in the exercise itself.
• Bluetooth: make sure audio isn’t routing to a paired speaker or headphones.

If audio from another app competes with your chimes, turn on “Lower Other Audio” in Settings to quiet other apps while the timer runs.

Open Settings and check “Screen During Practice”:

• Auto-Lock lets the screen lock on its usual schedule.
• Stay Awake keeps the screen on while the timer is running.
• Dim to Black keeps the timer active while darkening the display.

Whichever you choose, the timer keeps running and chimes still play if the screen does turn off.

If Settings shows “Unable to verify access,” the app couldn’t confirm your purchase with the App Store yet, usually because you’re offline. Your exercises and history stay available, but targets and consistency pause until it’s confirmed. Reconnect, then leave the app and come back, and it checks again.

If that doesn’t fix it:

1. Open Settings, choose Cultivation Timer Plus, then tap “Restore Purchases” on the Plus screen.
2. Confirm you’re signed into the correct Apple ID and that your subscription or lifetime purchase is still active.
3. If it still doesn’t resolve, email me directly.

The free plan supports up to 3 saved exercises. To make room:

• Delete an exercise you no longer use.
• If you have hidden exercises from an earlier Plus plan, restore one into an open slot from the Library.
• Or upgrade to Plus for unlimited saved exercises.

Your practice data - exercises, practice sets, session history, targets, and settings - is stored locally on your device. There’s no server behind the app, and nothing is sent to third-party analytics or advertising services. If you contact support, your email and any included diagnostics are sent to the support address. See the Privacy Policy for full details.

Deleting the app permanently removes your practice data and settings. There is currently no cloud backup or sync. If you want to preserve your data, do not delete the app. Standard iOS device backups (iCloud or Finder) will include your app data.

Open Settings → Data & Privacy → Reset Statistics. This permanently deletes your practice history, target history, and history kept from deleted exercises - it cannot be undone. Your exercises, practice sets, and settings stay in place.

The app has no analytics or advertising frameworks and does not send your practice activity to us. Depending on your device settings, Apple may collect and share crash, performance, and basic usage reports through its platform services. See the Privacy Policy for full details.