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The advent of meditation apps has been a blessing for people like me who want to meditate but need some help getting it done. I have been meditating most of my life and didn’t know it. In my younger years, a friend introduced me to Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. The book was a little bit further into the fantastical than I was/am ready to venture. However, I got the point that a full life requires mindfulness.
I started to look into meditation and just got rolling on the basic stuff; breathing focus and sitting meditation. When I started practicing yoga, the connectedness amazed me. I marveled at how the breath acted as support for the body and how it could help you move. I began doing breathing exercises while running through the forest. While running, I experienced a crazy sort of connection to my body that made me feel like I was flying. I looked further into meditation techniques. Through this, I found out I had been doing them on my own ever since I was a kid.
I have stopped and started meditating many times since then. It has always been difficult for me to meditate. I use multiple apps for meditation that help me do the type of meditation that is right for me in the moment; I think I have undiagnosed ADHD, so I have to change it up all the time and keep it new. My favorite meditation apps right now are Headspace, Insight Timer, and Flow Lab. I’ve tried a bunch, and most of them are fine, but these those that I continue to use.
What I like most about the Headspace meditation app are its Sleepcasts and the meditation training levels. Sleepcasts are meditations with relaxing sounds and bedtime stories. The stories change a little bit every time you listen to them and that are designed to help you fall asleep. Moonsoon Hour and Rainday Antiques are my favorites. I like its meditation levels. They start out very guided and gradually walk you into meditating in silence. For students, Headspace has a student plan that makes it very affordable.
Insight Timer operates as a basic timer system that lets you program it for different types of meditation. It is a very simple meditation app, and if you just want to do a sit in silence, it is the best thing for that. Sometimes, I find it too much of a pain to set up and just use my phone timer, though.
Flow Lab functions a bit differently from other meditation apps. Its focus is on training your mind for success. Using AI and some quizzes, it figures out what marker of “Flow,” or a peak productive state, you need to improve in order to achieve flow. This app is remarkably well-designed. It guides you through audio visualizations and sometimes hypnosis-like meditations for the purpose of addressing your barriers to flow. It is helpful for when I need to get myself back on track, and the quality of the recordings is good.
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