The 5 Apps you need to nail mindful living
Mindfulness may seem like an 'airy fairy' concept, however, according to Time magazine, a project carried out by the American Psychological Association earlier this year concluded that stress and anxiety was "keeping nearly half of Americans up at night". And since we're all basically on our phones, having an app to assist you're daily practice, simple habits and stress free lifestyle.
To combat all those daily stresses in life, mindfulness meditation has become an essential tool, recognised as being more than simply sitting cross-legged and saying "hommmmm." Here, we compiled the top five apps to get you started on your mindfulness journey...
1. Headspace
Many have reaped the benefits of putting aside 10 minutes from their daily schedule to engage with this app. It may at first seem odd to be listening in to the lulling male voice of the narrator, whom takes you through multiple video (and non-visual) journeys of how the mind can become bogged down with emotional collisions; however, as you travel along this path with him in varying stages, you begin to notice changes in yourself and your thought processes. This meditation app is also free download.
Photo Credit: ShinyShiny
2. Insight Timer
This particular app leads you through various meditative states on topics such as self-compassion, nature and stress. You are invited to be a part of a major community with the home screen instantly announcing how many people around the globe are meditating along 'with you'. This app promotes mindfulness practice along with much time to access important things and information on meditations. It also provides you with a set of podcasts to get you thinking about where your thoughts are straying to during the day, and how to manage these accordingly.
3. Stop, Breathe & Think
If you aren't quite ready to jump straight into meditation, this app is for you! It takes you through the initial stages of mindfulness, which are stopping what you are doing, tuning in to your breathing, and recognising thought patterns. You can start off with the first step of 'checking in with yourself', followed by your choice of statements on how you are feeling, both mentally and physically. Based on your results, you'll receive a variety of meditative activities tailored specifically for you!
Photo Credit: My Year By Design
4. Calm
This app certainly speaks true to its title! You can choose varying backgrounds of beautiful scenic images, such as the glistening of water before grandiose snowy mountains, accompanied with the twittering of birds. The selections range from 3 - 25 minutes of meditation, 10-minute daily calm practices for your morning, and more than 25 soothing sounds for those of you whom have trouble snoozing at night.
Photo Credit: PA Life
5. Smiling Mind
Finally, this particular app starts you out with five-minute segments, seated on a chair in a comfortable position. It also emphasises the need for mindfulness as a monitoring of your mental health and well being through positive preemptive tools. Follow along with the meditative modules and learn how to relax and regulate emotions as well as enhance your awareness and creativity... go on and make the brain happy!
Photo Credit: The giffgaff Community
Title Image Credit: Mindful Brain
Finding an app worthy of you're time is key. Mindfulness apps tend to work best through incorperating your daily life with open minded ideas around living. So sleep well, eat well and breath! Mindful living and meditation practices are free and easy to do, with the right app and with so many free versions along with online courses avaliable in our world, I'm sure you'll find something to suit you're needs!
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