The Mindfulness Meditation App
Headspace is the perfect app for guided meditations. It has a plethora of resources including options for sleeping, moving your body, focusing, and general meditating. Additionally, it pulls choices from the library for a “start your day”, “afternoon lift”, and an “at night” section on the home page. You can log your progress regarding reducing stress and anxiety management in the app every 2 weeks as well. One caveat is you have to buy the annual subscription of $70.
Years ago, someone told me about this app and I considered it. At the time, however, I was unwilling to spend $70 on an app I felt certain I wouldn’t use. With that being said, I have struggled with my ability to fall asleep for years. I have tried everything from essential oils, medication, melatonin, Benadryl, literally everything you can possibly think of. My struggle to fall asleep has negatively impacted my daily life as you can probably imagine. I was desperate to find something that worked for me. One day I was scrolling through my instagram feed and noticed an ad for Headspace. I had forgotten all about this app until that day. I figured I might as well give it a try since nothing else had worked well for me.
I began my 7-day free trial and chose the sleepcasts option which are essentially calming visualization stories narrated by someone soft-spoken with peaceful sounds in the background. The narrators all go through guided wind-downs with you prior to beginning the stories. The wind-downs range from breathing exercises, “noting”, or visualizing. I was SO amazed by how quickly I was able to fall asleep!!! I normally lay for hours before I am finally able to drift off to sleep. With headspace, I have been able to fall asleep within 15 minutes most nights.
Since I was enjoying the sleepcasts so much, I began using other features within the app. Each option I have tried has been so helpful in keeping me grounded throughout the day. I often use the afternoon lifts on my lunch break or while I’m in the car traveling from one work location to another. I can’t recommend this app enough. It is truly the best $70 I have ever spent.
There are many free apps out there with similar features and functions. I recommend looking through the App Store prior to spending money on Headspace. You may be able to find something that works for you free of charge. I personally tried several other apps first but didn’t find what I was looking for. In my opinion, Headspace is the easiest to use and the quality of content is significantly better than others I tried.
Feel free to share your favorite meditation apps in the comments!
Main + Meg 