I have never been great at meditation [I wish I could spend two minutes trying to meditate…]. I have tried it all – four square breathing, staring at something, focusing on a song – but nothing seems to stop the thoughts running through my head. This is until I found guided meditation. It taught me that it was ok to have intrusive thoughts when I was trying to meditate, but showed me how to deal with them while simultaneously giving me something to concentrate on.
Here are some of the best apps and programs out there which I have found help me through at least 10 min of the day.
Headspace
My favorite. The membership is about as much as your Netflix subscription, but they do have some free courses for beginners to give you an idea if it’s a good fit for you before you commit. Headspace helped me get started on my own and continues to offer me great courses to keep me excited about my meditation of the day.
Calm
Not as guided, but truly satisfying and relaxing courses that really help relax and clear your mind. I would say Calm caters to more advanced meditators [is that a thing?!] who maybe don’t need someone telling them what to do, but instead, just needs some background music or a visual to help them focus.
Insight Timer
This is for my budget conscious friends – this app has great guided meditations and they are all free. While it takes a bit more searching to try and find one that matches your vibe, it’s worth the extra work, as there is a huge library.
Smiling Mind
Another freebie – this one is for my sister and her fellow moms out there. There are a lot of apps out there for adults, but Smiling Mind has a lot of courses for kids to help ease their anxiety. I always think it’s a good idea to help kids cope with their feelings early. [this sounds great, already downloading…]
Inscape
I was lucky enough to experience Inscape in person at their Flatiron studio before they closed. While at the time I was wildly uncomfortable trying to meditate in person, it genuinely opened my eyes to the benefits of meditation. Now, you can experience it too with their meditation app. They have a lot of courses available for an affordable subscription.
Do you meditate? What resources do you prefer for guided sessions?
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