Meditation is such a big thing and has been gaining traction for years, since it’s such a valid strategy for combatting certain types of stress and managing the more overwhelming parts of life. Over the past two years, I’ve given meditation a try; first unsuccessfully and then I got to work in my favour. I found sticking to a routine of daily meditation was not for me, but when I tried to use it as and when I felt I needed it, the whole practice worked so much better.
For me, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to try something that cleared my mind, as I always found a similar sense of quiet with yoga and that’s something I’ve been doing for years. I did find that quiet and meditation are not necessarily the same. I had misconceptions of what exactly meditation meant. At the time, my mind wandered to ideas of monks atop mountains, feeling at one with the air around them. It was just the ‘feeling at one’ part that was slightly close to the truth.
The first app I used to learn more and have a guided experience was Headspace, and I feel like that was one of the first apps of its kind, at the time. I remember finding the man who guided the sessions to have a really soothing voice, but I would always end up sleepy before the end. Eventually I gave up on it.
But then I tried again. This time has been more successful because I didn’t feel restricted to an order or having to practice meditation daily. That’s mainly due to the apps I use now.
Oak
This app was the one that started me back up on the journey to meditation again. It is the best, simply for being so simple! It has two main methods of meditation: guided and unguided. For both settings, you can choose silence or some sort of background sound, from rainfall to white noise. This is great, if like me, you need something to suit your mood, and have a change from time to time.
Another feature that is my absolute favourite, is the different breathing exercises they have, complete with images that prompt you as to when to breathe in and out. If you’re one to get a bit overwhelmed at times, these can be an on the go lifesaver.
Smiling Mind
This one is a fairly new app for me, but I really like that it has guided meditation sessions based on factors like age, working life and what you need to get out of it. They have some fantastic, focused sets for young people around 11-12 years old all the way to those at 18-19. I like these sessions for the times when I need something more focused and if there’s something specific that I want to work on.
Reflectly
This final app isn’t a meditation app but I found it to work so well as a journal alongside the meditation. It has helped so much with daily mindfulness as it is simply a journal where you recount what made your day good/bad and why. It allows me to really think and get inside my own head.
The best part about it is that once you’ve input 7 entries, it begins a log of how you answered; it shows you how many good, bad and meh days you had in that week, or over a month. This can be so helpful for recognising how you’re feeling and making sense of your emotions for yourself. It’s a great little nugget of insider info for you to use on yourself.
With practice, and trial and error, I’ve found that it really just comes down to individual choice. But I will say this, meditation can be difficult in the beginning and it can feel like it’s not working, but just stick at it for a little while longer than you feel you should and hopefully you can see the good it can do.
In a world that can get considerable busy at times, it is almost essential to find time for some stillness, even just 5 minutes of it.
Give it a try this weekend, and see if it’s for you. All the apps are free anyway!
Until next time, be inspired...
Z
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