Today, many people have embraced meditation, making it a part of their daily, if not weekly routines. The benefits of meditation are bountiful. It reduces stress and anxiety, improves focus, elevates moods, promotes good sleep, aids in weight loss, strengthens relationships, decreases pain, and reduces the risk of cardio-vascular diseases, among many other benefits.

Meditation is indeed a helpful tool in today’s modern and fast-paced way of life, and especially during a stressful worldwide pandemic. For those who claim that they can never sit still with their thoughts, or who have always wanted to try meditating, but are intimidated, there are apps that you can download in your phone to jumpstart your practice. And the great thing is, these apps are free! All you need is a quiet space, your smart phone, and 3 to 10 minutes of your time.

It’s now evolved into an online meditation community, where you can interact with teachers and other practitioners. The app has a library of guided meditations that can last you for a lifetime. The basic plan is free, but should you desire to take the 10 to 30-day courses in subjects as diverse as anxiety, grief, Buddhism, Chakras, addiction, fertility, masculinity, tantra, attracting love, Ayurveda, and mindfulness for teens, you can upgrade your account for a fee.

Calm

One of its main attractions are the voice overs, narrated by celebrities like Stephen Fry, Matthew McConaughey, David Flynn, and Leona Lewis. They’ve got big names on their side.

Other attractive features are a library of ambient sounds you can use while meditating, Calm Masterclasses from world-renowned mindfulness experts, and Calm Body, simple stretching exercises to warm up, cool down, and jumpstart your day.

Headspace

If you love cute graphics and animation, and the soothing voice of its co-founder Andy Puddicombe, a former Tibetan monk-turned-tech mogul, then this app might be the one for you.

Headspace has a comprehensive meditation toolkit for both beginners and intermediate meditators. It’s chock-full of guided meditations, but the edge of Headspace is it’s doing away from mystical language, and instead uses everyday relatable language that are easy to understand and follow.

Aura

One great feature is Mindful Breather that lets you synchronize your breath with a circle that expands and contracts, and breathing is an essential part of meditation. Actually, mindful breathing is the first thing meditators learn before they expand their practice further, so this is great for beginners.

Try Aura if you want the simplest app to energize your meditation routine.

Smiling Mind

Smiling Mind is all about feeling good and spreading compassion. It asks you to register your age, and some health information, so that the app can recommend the right classes for you.

Each age group is given a set of guided meditations designed to bring users from a beginning level to a ‘mindful master’ level over time. It’s an easy-to use, enjoyable and intuitive app, as seen through its very simple interface.

And it’s totally okay if you stumble the first few weeks. Our brains were wired to be hyperactive, so it’s normal to struggle. Some meditators say it takes eight weeks to finally sit still and empty your mind of those frenzied thoughts. So be patient, take it slow, one day at a time, and celebrate the smallest wins. Which app would you download, or are you currently
using? Comment below.

References:

https://www.wellandgood.com/free-meditation-apps/
https://wildheartmedia.com/top-4-mindfulness-apps/
https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/gadgets-tech/phones-accessories/best-mindfulness-apps-a8217931.html
https://www.doyou.com/we-tried-and-tested-these-5-meditation-apps-so-you-dont-have-to-18881/
https://www.psychologicalhealthcare.com.au/blog/5-top-mindfulness-apps-recommended-by-psychologists/