Know your mind.
Soma is the modern instrument for cognitive performance, surfacing insights from your voice.
i. Mirror mirror on the wall.
One of the first things you did this morning was look into a mirror.
You did this today, yesterday, and exactly a year ago from yesterday. Sometimes it’s a quick glance to confirm what you already know. Occasionally, it’s a closer examination that leads to something new.
You look into the mirror because you have a desire to show up as your best. You ask yourself:
These questions encapsulate the primary elements of our existence: the external, the internal, and the action. Each depending on another and affecting the others.
A mirror serves as a direct reflection of the external, an indirect inspection of the internal, and a driver or even predictor of action.11An acne flare up signals inflammation from that greasy late night burger, so you try to eat better. A toned figure signals stronger muscles from those morning workouts, so you’ll probably run faster at the next race.
Mirrors are a powerful tool for self-reflection and self-improvement, but there’s a critical piece missing:
( your mind )
ii. It’s all in your head.
Humans have obsessed over ( the mind ) for centuries. It is the operating system of everything we do, and central to our overall health and function. So much so, that the ancient Greeks thought our consciousness flowed through the body as blood. Despite enormous leaps in science and technology, our insight into the brain remains incomplete.
State-of-the-art neurotechnology exists, but it isn’t for you.22MRIs and CT scans are expensive and primarily reserved for the clinic. Frontier devices like implants are only available for specific patient populations. And the devices that don’t require surgery come with a different catch: clunky form factors, unreliable signal, and limited in real value. You never get insight into how your mind is doing which starkly contrasts the proliferating information available about your physical self.
Heart rate data
Blood data
Genetics data
Like a mirror, these streams give you an easy way to see where things stand and how they can be improved. But when it comes to the brain, you’re flying blind.
So what?
The most extreme forms of cognitive changes like head trauma and dementia require specialized examination. But cognitive fluctuations, including heavy mental load and brain fog, affect everyone.
In fact, these changes are closely tied to your physical fluctuations: Heightened cognitive stress leads to downstream physiological stress. Effective physical recovery leads to increased mental clarity.
How you show up is a never-ending dance between your physical and mental states. You’re missing what’s in your head, and Soma is changing this.
iii. Know your mind.
By reimagining a physical mirror, we’re building a modern instrument for cognitive performance. Instead of reflecting your appearance, Soma reflects your behavior, starting with your voice.
Speech is one of the most cognitively intense tasks that we do. It integrates memory, attention, information processing, planning, motor control, and more. What you say and how you say it reflects how you are feeling internally and shapes how you are experienced by others.
When you speak, your voice is tightly integrated with those moments when your mind starts racing or begins winding down.33A heart-to-heart with a friend, silly chatter across the kitchen counter, a frustrating client call, a heartbreak conversation across a wall
When your mental state shifts, your voice shifts with it.
If you’re sharp, you speak with few filler words and consistent pausing. If you’re attentive, you respond with timeliness and integrate information seamlessly. If you’re tired, your vocabulary simplifies and your pitch flattens.
Cogito, ergo sum. Loquor, ergo intellegor.44I think, therefore I am. I speak, therefore I’m understood. Your voice speaks volumes about the state of your mind, and your mind speaks volumes about your state of being. Soma captures your voice to examine your state of mind, making visible the invisible cognitive patterns that drive how you feel and perform. Our science-based approach leverages what turns out to be the most ubiquitous and accessible signal from the brain, which translates imperceptible thoughts to familiar sounds, to help you know your mind.
What does your voice tell you about your mental clarity?
How might that change your sleep habits?
How might that determine how you do during your presentation?
Sometimes it’s a quick glance to confirm what you already know. Occasionally, it’s a closer examination that leads to something new. A mirror for your mind.