Tag Archives: meditate

6 Amazing Apps to Help You Unwind

You may think that the moment you slip off your work shoes and flick on the TV, you unwind. That the ball of yarn in your stomach, which has been winding tighter and tighter all day, will begin to unravel all by itself. Sadly, that’s not always how it works. You need to actively seek out that rest. You deserve it. It’s not easy to find a spare moment in which to have some much-needed “you time.”

By using these six apps, you can ensure you give yourself every possible chance to chill out whenever and wherever you happen to be.

1. Meditation made easy – Headspace

Sometimes, life gets caught in fast-forward mode. You’re watching the scenes play out, but things are going faster and faster, and you have a grand total of zero control. You want to hit pause. Well, you can. Headspace allows you to do just that. Rather than diving you head-first into the deep world of meditation, the app offers a simple introductory course. For the first 10 days, you have to spare just 10 minutes. Soothing sounds accompanied by a calm voice take you through every step. This course should guide you and teach you some of the basic strategies you’ll need, should you wish to incorporate mindfulness into your lifestyle. After the introductory period is up, you’ll have the option to pay a small subscription for the full version. Failing that, you can simply keep using the free app. The bite size meditation sessions can fit seamlessly into even the most hectic of lifestyles.

2. Wind down – Sleep Easy by Shazzie

Similar to Headspace, the Sleep Easy app offers a step-by-step course, which promises to teach you how to meditate and, ultimately, switch off. Shazzie is the writer and founder of the app. She is also an expert in so-called “life transformation programs.” The app features a 26-minute recording which seeks to help you drop off to a meditative sleep state. By the end of the sound bite, the app creator promises you will be “refreshed, renewed and resonating so much more from your heart and a place of stillness.”

3. Slumber in peace – Infinite Storm

infinite stormInsomnia is an increasingly common problem, and one which is oh-so-densely related to stress and anxiety. Spending the twilight hours counting sheep and praying to nod off to never-neverland is no healthy way to rest. According to one intriguing study, introducing white noise into the bedroom environment encourages 73% of children to drop to sleep naturally. There’s no reason that should not apply to adults as well. White noise can be anything from mechanically generated sounds to natural noises, such as rainfall. Infinite Storm is a free app that allows you to choose from a range of sound effects which will help you slumber peacefully. From “heavy storm” to “tin roof rain,” there’s a broad array of options. Choosing the right one for you is most certainly a game of trial and error. It’s worth experimenting with the choices a while, until you find the one that aids your sleep best.

4. Simple breathing tips – Breathe2Relax

This easy-to-use app describes itself as a “stress management tool,” but it can be so much more than that. In times of great pressure, your breathing becomes more and more shallow. Simply put, your brain fails to get the oxygen it needs, and this issue serves to exacerbate the problem. The solution is simple: diaphragmatic breathing. This app teaches you how to control your breathing by using straightforward self-training devices. You may not think that you need an app to help you do what comes naturally; but once you start using it, you’ll reap the rewards.

5. Find your Zen – Calm

calm appIf you’ve ever visited Calm.com, you’ll find the premise of this app is much the same as the site. The web page offers an array of calming sounds, which you can set to a timer on the background of your desktop. While the app version offers this function, it also includes a rather interesting “7 Steps to Calm” program. The instructive guide will teach you vital meditation skills, such as maintaining the correct posture and taking the time to evaluate how you really feel. If you’re new to the world of meditation, this app is a beginner’s crash course in the astounding art.

6. Drift off fast – Power Nap App

power nap appDo you feel drained and slovenly at times? Well, you’re not alone. Many of us experience these feelings, especially when we don’t allow ourselves the rest we need to function. Having a quick power nap may make all the difference. According to the National Sleep Foundation, a 20- to 30-minute sleep can increase alertness and help you rejuvenate your mind. Of course, there is always the unfaltering fear that you will fall into the deepest of sleeps and not wake up on time. The Power Nap App helps you avoid just that problem. You can set a timer of up to 30 minutes for your sleep. During that time, the app plays you pleasantly soothing sounds, such as birds and thunder. When the time is up, you’ll be awoken by your chosen alarm, such as bells or even soft piano music. If you’re struggling to fit a quick sleep into your day, this could be the app for you.

6 Activities to Practice Mindfulness When You Can’t Meditate

The benefits of meditation are well-known; but calming the mind and concentrating on breathing patterns can be harder than it sounds. Especially when beginning, even two minutes of mindful stillness can seem like an eternity and cause restlessness — the opposite effect that meditation works to achieve. So how does one practice mindfulness?

Why not ease into a mindful practice with activities that promote peacefulness while still engaging the senses? Eventually over time, incorporating two to three minutes of breathing exercises and traditional meditation techniques may seem easier. Or, make one or more of these activities your permanent meditation ritual.

Easy Ways to Practice Mindfulness

Knitting

Knitting isn’t just for grandmothers; it’s a trend that has gained a lot of traction with younger generations, turning into an art form and creative outlet, in addition to a calming mechanism. How does it work? Instead of focusing on breathing techniques, concentrate on the repetitive knit and purl stitches. More intricate patterns require increased focus, and the desire to prevent a mistake will keep your mind on its task.

Gardening

practice mindfulness

Connecting with nature helps to also reconnect with yourself; and those with a green thumb (or not) find many benefits from playing in the dirt. From the scent of the flowers and soil to the feel of the sun’s warmth, gardening is yet another way to direct and narrow our attentions. Whether you’re pulling weeds or planting groups of bulbs, the effects are similar.

Walking

Our bodies were built to move, and walking is a wonderful cardiovascular exercise that also benefits the mind and soul by allowing you to practice mindfulness. Walking meditation isn’t the time to get your heart rate up and work up a sweat; it’s a relaxing stroll where each sense takes its turn to tap into the world around you. What does that mean?

While walking, listen to each sound, one at a time, whether it is the birds, laughing voices, the wind, or car engines. Then turn your attention to scents (this is better in a downtown area busy with bakeries and restaurants). After a while, pay attention to the rhythmic movement of your arms and then legs, or bring your focus to your head and how it feels on your neck. In some cases, walking has proven to be as beneficial as other body-mind-soul practices, like Tai Chi.

Cleaning

Even cleaning is made up of mechanical and rhythmic motions that center the brain on one task at a time. Open the windows to allow in fresh air and then focus on one room, task, or corner. Before you know it, an hour or two may have passed and not only will you feel relaxed, but enjoying a clean home is a stress-reducer itself.

Coloring and Play Therapy

Take a breather from adult life and tap into your inner child with a coloring book and some crayons (or colored pencils). The Huntington Post addresses several other ways coloring can boost mental and emotional health, and the New Yorker expanded their focus from the sophistication of adult coloring books to the benefits of other forms of youth-inspired “play” therapy as a stress-reducer, like adult summer camps.

Reading

practice mindfulness

When you tune into a good book, you also tune out the world, making it a great activity to practice mindfulness. Reading is one of the best things we can do for ourselves, and it is a habit among successful people; but it’s also a meditative practice. Try running a hot bath, pouring a glass of something delicious (whether it’s wine or juice), and losing yourself to fiction.

Yes, You Can Meditate in Bed (and 4 Other Unusual Ways to Meditate)

According to Harvard researchers, just 12 minutes of daily meditation can reduce stress, fight aging and ease depression and anxiety. Yet less than 10 percent of us meditate regularly. Why is this? Common reasons cited include these: not enough time, don’t know how, can’t sit without pain, too stressed, can’t calm the mind and many more.

But what if we could prove you are already a master meditator? Because you are – anytime you concentrate your mind on anything at all, you are actually meditating.  In fact, the Latin root of today’s “meditation” translates directly to mean “a thinking over.” If you begin to think of meditation as a particularly focused form of thinking, it becomes less of a stretch to envision yourself actually doing it. The truth is, if you can concentrate while preparing a presentation for work or listening to Siri give you directions, you can concentrate while meditating as well.

Oh yes, but there is still the matter of time. With work presentations to prepare, directions to follow and so many sundry to-do list items (not to mention sleep!), who has time left over to meditate? As it turns out, we can give you a helping hand here too!

Meditate in bed.

 

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

Shavasana (corpse pose) is a bonafide yogic meditation position. In many yogic traditions, it is the single most important pose in any series of postures and is often used to end a yoga class.

How to perform Shavasana correctly:

-Lie down on your back with your arms straight down by your sides and your legs flat.

-If this is not comfortable, you can put a little pillow under your knees for extra support.

-Close your eyes and breathe in and out evenly.

-Concentrate on feeling the weight of your body pressing down on the mattress.

-Working from head to toe, focus on relaxing each area of your body.

-Continue breathing in and out evenly.

-If you have a mantra (a word or short phrase that is soothing or comforting) repeat that.

-Continue focusing on total relaxation and breathing in and out as you slide into sleep.

Bonus: you will have less trouble falling asleep when you develop a regular nightly practice of meditating your way into your zzzzs. You can also use your practice to fall back to sleep if you tend to wake up in the middle of the night.

Meditate while exercising.

 

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

If you have ever visited a church and walked through a Labyrinth – a sculptured garden maze designed to encourage active prayer and contemplation – you have already experienced the power of meditation + movement.

Of course, chances are good your doctor wants you to elevate your blood pressure a little bit beyond Labyrinth-level when you exercise! Happily, you already meditate somewhat while working out just by watching your posture, your foot placement, your breathing.  Now just take this one step further. If you have a mantra you like, you can repeat it in sync with your in-breath and out-breath. Or you can just use counting to regulate your breathing (as in, in-breath “1,2,3,4,5” pause, out-breath “1,2,3,4,5” and so forth).

By calming your mind in this way while you are exercising, you can experience deeper benefits from your workout, reduce your risk of injury, re-oxygenate your whole body to flush out toxins and emerge feeling refreshed and refocused.

Meditate when you can’t do anything else.

 

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

No one escapes from life’s inevitable moments of down time such as waiting in line, getting stuck in rush hour traffic or waiting on hold on the phone. Here, we only really have two choices: a) let our blood pressure rise and infuriate us, or b) use this otherwise useless time to meditate (okay, yes, we could also check our email or play Angry Birds on our phone, but meditation is still a better option).

If you are thinking, “but I can’t close my eyes in rush hour traffic!,” you’ve never met a Buddhist meditator. Many meditators in this rich tradition and others prefer keeping their eyes half-open or fully open to avoid the tendency to fall asleep. The key here is to keep the gaze even and soft while focusing on your breathing. The goal is to attain steadiness in the midst of the ceaseless distractions of the average day.

Meditate in the shower.

 

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

If you have ever had a great creative idea or solution to a problem just come to you while you were in the bath or shower, you already know this is a great time to focus and meditate! You probably were meditating but just didn’t know it. Otherwise how could your mind have become quiet enough for you to go beyond its typical surface chatter to unearth a deeper insight?

Take your breathing, your mantra or any other centering practice you prefer into the shower with you. Or simply focus on cleaning each part of your body with total concentration, similar to how you focus totally on relaxing each part of the body in Shavasana. In this way, meditation will come naturally to you at a time when you are already in a frame of mind to pursue cleansing, detoxification and healing.

Meditate while doing repetitive tasks.

Image via Pixabay under license CC0
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

Repetitive chores such as cleaning and cooking are forms of meditation in their own right. Your body is active, which requires your conscious mind to assist by focusing on mundane repetitive details. This leaves your higher awareness free to wander, kick out awesome insights, solve complex problems or simply rest for a moment or two in your breath.