The ancient practice of meditation has long been touted by spiritualists for its calming effects on the mind. But only in recent decades has meditation moved beyond its spiritual roots, finding its way into modern living rooms and office spaces as the overworked masses seek to reduce stress and improve focus.
Science has been helpful on this front: One recent Harvard study found that eight weeks of mindfulness meditation actually changes the brain, increasing memory and sense of self, and lowering anxiety levels. Another found meditation helps with focus and mitigates distraction, specifically in people who work at a computer all day.
But clearing the head is a skill that must be learned, and not all of us can afford our own personal guru or meditation retreat. Luckily, there are apps for that. Here, a few tools for getting your zen on:
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1. Headspace
When I put out the call for meditation app recommendations, nearly everyone who responded mentioned Headspace. "It absolutely helps," a friend of mine assured me in an email. "It's a nice assist for remembering how to breathe slowly at the end of the day," another explained.
Headspace calls itself "a gym membership for the mind." Its guided meditation sessions are narrated by Andy Puddicombe, a former monk with a voice that is both soothing and authoritative. Just hearing him say the word "focus" makes everything a bit more clear. Puddicombe uses proven meditation methods — like counting breaths and being mindful of surroundings — to "train" your mind to be more relaxed. The program starts with a free 10-day trial for learning the basics of meditation. After that, you can choose to subscribe and unlock a treasure trove of sessions on everything from relationships to work performance. The app comes with fun animations and helpful features like "mindful moments," which are "daily messages to help you stay mindful throughout the day." If you want to get social with your meditation, Headspace lets you connect with and support your friends. So far, the program has more than two million devotees, including Emma Watson.
Price: Free for 10 days, $12.95 monthly membership, $95.88 yearly membership, $149.76 two-year membership
2. Calm
Pro users get an array of guided meditations for things like anxiety, confidence, and sleep. You can choose a background image and accompanying soothing sound (waves crashing on a beach, raindrops on leaves, etc). The free version comes with a seven-day training session and unlimited access to "calm" meditations. This app also has a desktop version that's great for a quick escape from your Word document or PowerPoint so you can pretend you're lounging on a warm, sandy beach.
Price: Free seven-day training session, $9.99 monthly membership, $39.99 yearly membership
3. Buddhify
If there were an award for most beautifully designed meditation app, Buddhify would win hands down. Its home screen displays a colorful circle resembling something off the Wheel of Fortune set. Each "slice" of the sphere is labeled with a different activity like "Traveling" or "Waking Up." Tap a slice and it expands, displaying several quick meditations made specifically for that activity. For example, if you're walking around the city, Buddhify will walk you through an exercise on sending good vibes to passersby.
With more than 80 different meditations, it's unlikely you'll ever get bored of Buddhify. It has multiple narrators, and "each voice is compassionate, modern, and even a little amusing at times in all the right ways," raved Matt Johnston at Business Insider. This app is perfect for someone who wants to bring a bit more mindfulness to their day without setting aside time to sit and meditate. Buddhify doesn't impose on your schedule, it works with your daily rhythms.
Price: $4.99
4. The Mindfulness App
For its reasonable price, this app is quite effective. It features four guided meditations, lasting three, five, 15, and 30 minutes. Each session starts and ends with the ringing of a bell that focuses the mind. One unique feature is the five-minute body scan, a guided assessment of how the body feels from head to toe. The purpose of a body scan, according to mindfulness teacher and counselor Trish Magyari, is "to bring awareness to each part of our body sequentially, to see how it is today — not to check in to change or judge the body, which we're apt to do, but just to experience it and see what's there."
If by chance you don't have time for a full session, you can program the Mindfulness App to send little "mindfulness notices" throughout the day, like "Bring your attention to your breath" and "Notice any areas of holding or tension in the body." You can even link reminders to specific locations. "For example if you want to meditate every day when you come home from work add your home address together with your favorite meditation," the creators say.
I don't find the narrator's voice very soothing. If you're in the same boat, you can download additional meditations from different teachers, but it will cost you 99 cents a pop.
Price $1.99, 99 cents for additional meditations from specific teachers
5. Take A Break
This app is designed specifically for the modern worker who needs a quick reprieve from office stress. Like Headspace, it features guided meditations, but unlike Headspace, the narrator sounds a bit scripted and unnatural. There are a few other perks that make Take A Break worth trying, though: Users can layer soothing sounds, like raindrops or running water, on top of the narrator's voice. Also, the app is completely free. Unfortunately this means it comes with some annoying banner ads, but hopefully you'll be so relaxed, you won't even notice them.
Price: Free
