Meditation Apps: a new review
Meditation is one of the best ways to cope with the stresses and anxieties of daily life, and MoodSurfing has long been a fan of awareness and relaxation techniques from many sources. Recently, the phenomenon of websites and apps to facilitate the meditation experience has become widespread and the field is competitive and constantly changing.
The five best
Writing on the website Zapier, author Harry Guinness does us all a big favor by reviewing five of the “best”, not only by content, but also considering ease of user interface, varied content, beginners’ programs, and availability of a free trial. Beyond the free trial, most have a subscription cost, but he also highlights “the best free meditation app”; important for allowing everyone to participate.
Guinness doesn’t rate the apps against each other in a top-to-bottom ranking, rather, he gives five apps that are the best in different categories:
- Headspace for meditation beginners
- Calm for people struggling to relax or sleep
- Insight Timer for the best free meditation app
- Ten Percent Happier for meditation skeptics
- Waking Up for exploring the science and philosophy of meditation
The top two on this list are “elders” in the field and have been reviewed and recommended by MoodSurfing in the past, however the other three are new to us as well, we look forward to hearing readers’ responses to them.
Apps and tech for mental health, wellness, relaxation and meditation may initially seem to be a contradictory approach, since so much of our stress nowadays comes from that very same technology. But the stress, as we know, is not in the tools themselves, but in the way we use them, and thoughtful use can magnify the benefits and minimize the stressors. As the article above emphasizes, the field is wide and varied, and finding your own best spot will probably take some research and trial and error before you can confidently say that tech is your friend. But it’s with us to stay, so a small investment in research could have a big payoff in the long run.
Please add your comments in the box below to let us know what you have found that works for you.