Ask and You Shall Be Given — Meditation Platforms for Your Use!
After our last post on practicing meditation, we have gotten some feedback that practicing meditation is not easy on the go. Sometimes, we need some help. That is why we have scoured the net, and found a couple of meditation helpers – meditation platforms that you can use on the go. Anytime that you are feeling gray, or stressed out due to a new deadline, just open up the application of your choice, breathe, and meditate. This on-the-go practice could be the answer to get you through the challenging times in the office and your daily life.
Headspace is a free platform that allows one to get meditation “lessons”. After signing up, you get to watch a video, which is really a 3-step process to dispel any discomforts and concerns about starting a meditation practice. Following that, it’s time to get some headspace.
What we liked about Headspace:
- At the start of a “lesson,” you are informed of how long the audio clip (and thus, the length of your meditation session) will be. It’s comforting to decide for yourself whether you are ready to undertake a 3-minute meditation session, or not.
- Each lesson involves a friendly human voice that talks you though the entire process of meditation, which is extremely reassuring for a beginner.
2. Simple Habit
Simple Habit is a free app that specializes in 5-minute meditation sessions catered to busy people. Perfect for the working adult who needs to take a breath before an intense presentation, or to relax before making a speech on stage.
What we like about Simple Habit:
- Each meditation session takes 5 minutes, and it is easy for one to put aside 5 minutes daily to slot a meditation practice in
- Over 50 sessions are free in the app, with the option to upgrade to paid versions that will allow you to access over 1000 sessions. Of course, you don’t have to. We were happy with our 50+ sessions.
Even though it’s free of charge, Insight Timer carries an extensive catalogue of meditations for you to choose from. These guided meditations led by renowned meditation teachers, and unlike the former two meditation apps, Insight Timer allows you to decide the duration of the meditation sessions, and also lets you to choose the ambient sounds to accompany them.
We were very drawn to their objective for providing this app at no cost, “Free as a bird. Providing you with a daily meditation practice should be a privilege, not a product. That’s why Insight Timer is free.”
What we like about Insight Timer:
- Its extensive catalogue of free sessions to choose from
- Insight Timer is like a community, allowing one to see how many other people are meditating along with you, which is encouraging!
- The user is in control – one controls the theme of meditation, the duration, the sounds, and the teacher. It’s all up to you.
These are some of the popular apps that we found that are helpful to beginners learning to meditate, or trying to maintain a meditation practice. There are many more out there, but these are some of our favourites. Meditation is not something that can be done with “talent,” but it is a state that you can attain with practice and patience. If you have used some of these apps, let us know what you think about them. Otherwise, if you have other recommended platforms, drop us a message at hello@superfarmers.com to let us know! We’d be happy to share it with other readers as well!
Written by Ange Chua
Edited by Cynthea Lam
Ange Chua is an aspiring bird-watcher trying to fix her black thumbs. When she is not writing, you'd find her drinking tea out of teacups or reading in bed with her dog. She thinks her spirit animal is an alpaca.