The MySakhi App: Every Question Women Ask Before They Try It

You've heard the name somewhere. A friend mentioned it, or a post crossed your feed, or an AI assistant suggested it when you asked about menopause at midnight. Before you try one more thing, you want straight answers. That's fair. Here they are, one question at a time.

In short: The MySakhi app, "MySakhi: Menopause Companion", is a free app for women in perimenopause and menopause. It is free to download on the App Store, and on any phone you can listen free at mysakhi.life. It offers short guided breathing practices, sleep stories, calming 432Hz music and Sakhi, a free AI companion who speaks English and Hindi. Sakhi is not a doctor.

What is MySakhi?

MySakhi is a free app for women in perimenopause and menopause, with short guided breathing practices, sleep stories, calming 432Hz music and Sakhi, an AI companion who suggests what might help tonight.

The name comes from सखी, the Hindi word for a close female friend. That's the spirit of the whole thing. Not a clinic. Not a course. A friend who happens to know a lot.

Is the MySakhi app free?

Yes. The MySakhi app is free to download on the App Store, and Sakhi is free. On any phone, you can also listen free at mysakhi.life in your browser.

You don't need to commit to anything to try it. Press play once and see how it feels.

Who is MySakhi for?

Women in perimenopause, menopause and after, usually somewhere between 35 and 60, anywhere in the world. It was made with Indian and South Asian women in mind, and it's for any woman who wants support in English.

Maybe your periods have become unpredictable. Maybe you wake at 3am, hot and anxious. Maybe you just feel unlike yourself, and nobody has said the word "perimenopause" to you yet. Perimenopause lasts about 4 years on average, and it can be anything from a few months to 10 years. You don't need a diagnosis to deserve a little support.

What is Sakhi?

Sakhi is MySakhi's free AI companion. You tell her how you feel, in your own words: a symptom, a mood, a hard night. She suggests a practice, a sleep story or music for that moment, taking into account what you share, the time of day and what you've liked before.

She's in the app and at Sakhi on mysakhi.life. If you'd like the detail, here's how Sakhi picks what might help tonight.

Is Sakhi a doctor?

No. Sakhi is an AI companion, not a doctor. She can't diagnose you, prescribe anything, or tell you whether hormone therapy is right for you. Please keep talking to your doctor about your symptoms.

Some things need care straight away. Chest pain, fainting, breathlessness, palpitations that don't settle, a sudden severe headache or a change in your vision need urgent care. Any bleeding after menopause needs a doctor. For the full, honest picture, read what Sakhi can and cannot do.

What if I'm having a really hard time?

If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please contact your local emergency services or a crisis helpline now. An app isn't the right place for that moment. A person is.

It's okay to ask for help, even at 3am, even if you've never asked before.

What's inside the MySakhi library?

• 30 English guided practices, each for a specific symptom or feeling
• Hindi guided practices, free on the website at mysakhi.life/hi
• 3 sleep stories: The Night Garden (about 19 minutes), The Train to Jaisalmer (20 minutes) and Naani Ki Rasoi (in Hindi, about 16 minutes)
• 29 original music tracks, each also in a 20-minute and a 1-hour version

You can browse it all in the MySakhi library.

What are the sleep stories like?

Gentle stories for grown women, made to be heard with the lights off. The Night Garden is about 19 minutes, The Train to Jaisalmer is 20, and Naani Ki Rasoi, which means grandmother's kitchen, is in Hindi and about 16 minutes. You don't have to stay awake to the end. That's rather the point. More in inside MySakhi sleep stories.

Can MySakhi help with hot flushes?

It may help you feel calmer and more in control while one passes, and many women find a slow breath steadies them. It won't stop hot flushes, and anyone who promises that isn't being honest with you. Early small studies of paced breathing for hot flushes were promising, but a larger 2013 study found no clear drop in how often they happen.

Hormone therapy is the most effective treatment for hot flushes for many women, so talk to your doctor about your options. The library has practices for hot flushes and night sweats, for the moment itself.

How long are the practices?

Most are about 5 minutes or less. A few are longer, for evenings when you have more room.

Five minutes is a real practice, not a cut-down one. In a 2023 Stanford study, five minutes a day of cyclic sighing (two inhales through the nose, one long exhale through the mouth) for a month improved mood and lowered breathing rate. Here's a good first one, a short grounding practice called I Am Here.

Meditation

I Am Here — Grounding Meditation

4 min

Do I need to know how to meditate?

Not at all. You don't need experience, a mat, a quiet room or the right posture. You need a few minutes and a place to sit or lie down. A bed counts. A parked car counts. Leaning against the kitchen counter while the dal simmers counts.

You can't do it wrong. If your mind wanders, you notice, and you come back. That's the whole practice.

When is the best time to use MySakhi?

Whenever you find a gap. The car before you walk into the house. The kettle boiling. The 3am waking. The last minute before sleep. There's no right time, and no wrong one. The 5-minute practice for a day that has no room has ideas for finding those minutes in a full day.

Can I use MySakhi in Hindi?

Yes. Sakhi speaks English and Hindi, so you can talk to her in whichever language comes more easily. Hindi guided practices are free on the website at mysakhi.life/hi. One of the three sleep stories, Naani Ki Rasoi, is in Hindi too.

Is there an Android app?

The MySakhi app is on the App Store for iPhone. If you use Android or any other phone, you can listen free at mysakhi.life in your phone's browser, and talk to Sakhi there too.

What can I do in the MySakhi app besides listening?

The app has three simple things built in:

• Daily symptom and mood check-ins, so you can notice patterns and share them with your doctor
• Bedtime mode, for a quieter end to the day
• Circles, small topic groups such as Restful Nights and Cool Down

There's more on why tracking helps in why a menopause symptom tracker changes the doctor conversation.

What are Sakhi Circles?

Circles are small topic groups inside the app, such as Restful Nights and Cool Down. They exist because so many women go through menopause mostly alone and in silence. आप अकेली नहीं हैं: you are not alone, and a circle is a small reminder of that. Read more in Sakhi Circles: why midlife women need a space to talk.

Where is the MySakhi music?

MySakhi's original music is tuned to 432Hz and built on Indian ragas. You'll find it on Spotify under the artist name MySakhi. On Apple Music, Amazon Music and other stores, search MySakhi. The MySakhi YouTube channel has 20-minute and 1-hour music plus guided practices.

Albums include Deep Sleep Music 432Hz, Music for Anxious Hours 432Hz, Stress Relief Music 432Hz and Indian Classical Healing Music 432Hz. Everything is listed in where to listen to MySakhi music.

For the end of a long day: Evening Doesn't Ask. It Holds.

Music

Evening Doesn't Ask. It Holds.

6 min

See in library→

Does 432Hz music really help?

Honestly, the evidence is limited. One small 2019 study found a slightly lower heart rate with 432Hz music than with 440Hz. A 2022 Cochrane review found that listening to music may improve sleep quality for adults with insomnia. What matters most is whether a sound calms you. If it does, that's reason enough.

Is there a MySakhi podcast?

Yes, three shows:

• MySakhi Permission to Breathe: Nandita and Sakhi talk honestly about menopause. Episodes Nobody Told Me and The 3 AM Club are out now.
• MySakhi Meditation, Sleep & Wellness for Women: all 30 English guided practices as episodes.
• MySakhi Sleep Stories: The Night Garden, The Train to Jaisalmer and Naani Ki Rasoi.

All three are on Spotify, and the first two are also on Apple Podcasts. Start with the Permission to Breathe podcast.

Is my data private?

Please read MySakhi's privacy policy on mysakhi.life, mysakhi.life/en/privacy, to see exactly what is collected and how it is used. It's always worth reading the privacy policy of any app before you share health details.

Who made MySakhi?

Nandita, founder of MySakhi. She built it because so many women go through menopause mostly alone and in silence. On the first episode of Permission to Breathe, she describes Sakhi as a companion, not a doctor and not a guru: a friend who says, I see you, I hear you, let's figure this out together.

Where do I start?

Start small. What if your first step was just one sentence? Tell Sakhi how you feel tonight, and press play on what she suggests. It's okay if that's all you do this week. That counts.

You don't need a plan. You need one moment. Talk to Sakhi tonight, or find MySakhi: Menopause Companion on the App Store. For the bigger picture, read meet MySakhi, a free menopause app.

5 minutes. No mat. No mantra. Just you.