Meditation apps can help you spend time in your day meditating and can teach you how to meditate or introduce you to new techniques. They range from simple timers to an extensive series of subscription lessons and tutorials. Let's take a look at some and what they can do for you. In my opinion, they are worthwhile for some people and not for others.
If you want some instructions to start practicing or enjoying guided meditations, you might like them. If you're a silent meditator, maybe not so much. Between the two of us, I prefer Calm personally. But I'm going to scrap the app I use, Insight Timer.
It doesn't require a subscription and has both a simple timer and guided meditations from famous and not-so-famous teachers. Either way, at the beginning of the game, there's nothing wrong with going shopping and seeing what stays. Some people trust those apps and both are perfectly good apps. I say that only you can answer the question for yourself with experience, but if they are something that interests you, both have free demonstration courses.
Good luck to you in your search. Calm and Headspace are apps designed to help you learn meditation methods, practice guided mental exercises, and improve sleep quality. While there are other meditation apps, such as Calm and Breethe, Wong recommends Headspace, especially for those who are new to meditation. It almost doesn't seem like you're meditating at all.
You're even meditating when you're careful to wash dishes or walk around your neighborhood. Calm has the option of having users access to a 7-day free trial or the free version of the app without paying for the premium contact. The 7-day free trial unlocks more than 100 guided meditations, the entire library of bedtime stories, exclusive music tracks for sleep and relaxation, and expert-led master classes. Beyond guided meditations, Headspace also offers monthly checkups where you can record how you feel and write notes for yourself.
Log in to the app and you'll instantly find yourself with a 10-part basic course that repeats, over and over, how well it is for the mind to wander during meditation. For the cost of a one-year subscription to a paid meditation app (or less), you'll likely also be able to take some classes at a local meditation center. Headspace meditations offered a lot less to keep your attention, so I found that my mind drifted frequently. Carrie Byrd, associate editor at Healthline, says she likes to use the Calm app to play music or soundscapes in the background while working or relaxing.
If you are an experienced meditator and want a minimalist free app, The Breathing App is available on both the App Store and the Google Play Store. Headspace meditations are led by four main teachers, and their tone is generally instructive but relaxing, without feeling too New Age. If you have some experience with meditation and want less structured options, or you like to discover new music or natural soundscapes to meditate on your own, you may prefer Calm (iOS, Android). In addition to the guided sessions, it offers more free-form exercises and flexible meditation timers compared to Headspace, as well as a section dedicated to music.
The interface has an attractive cohesive design, and Headspace's rich library of meditations is well-organized and easy to navigate. I'm too restless to meditate without an app that gives me some structure, but Headspace's strict linear progression isn't really my style.
