Meditation has plentiful benefits, including stress and anxiety reduction, improved sleep and memory, and even improved blood pressure. It’s also a helpful tool in grief to practice calm and presence. There are lots of resources out there to help with starting a meditation practice, but technology has made it even easier to take those resources on the go. Here are five mobile apps that can help you establish or deepen your meditation work. If you’ve tried any of them or if you have other favorites, respond in the comments!
Headspace
Headspace is a popular mobile app with many guided meditations across a variety of topics grouped into courses - they even have a section of meditations specifically for grief. The techniques in the app are rooted in both the Burmese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. App is $69.99 per year but a 14-day free trial is available for new users.
Insight Timer
The Insight Timer app is a free meditation app, which makes it a popular choice. They have thousands of meditations in the app today but add new meditations to the daily, ranging from help with sleep to self-compassion to focus and concentration. A premium subscription costing $59.99 per year can be added on to unlock features like downloads and higher quality audio, but otherwise it’s all free.
Calm
The Calm app has a collection of guided meditations to get you started, but they also have a calm music and sound section where you can listen to the sounds of a thunderstorm or a river in the woods. They’ve started a series called Sleep Stories, where celebrity voices read bedtime stories to help you drift off. There’s even one called Happy Little Zzzs with Bob Ross, where you can let the soothing brush strokes and voice of Bob Ross lull you into a slumber. Calm’s subscription cost is $69.99 per year or $14.99 per month.
Simple Habit
Simple Habit is geared around shorter sessions (five minutes) to help users fit meditation into their schedules, but there are also longer sessions available grouped into themes like focus, well-being, and relax. Simple Habit offers many of its sessions for free, but to download sessions and access the full library of meditations costs $89.99 per year or $11.99 per month.
10% Happier
This app was created by Dan Harris, the journalist who also authored the book 10% Happier. The 10% Happier app offers an intro course and a few featured meditations. One is called Ten Good Breaths, which highlights a super-approachable meditation technique. There’s also an ability to have a conversation with an experienced meditator if you have questions. Annual membership costs $99.99 after a seven-day free trial.
Samsara
If you prefer not to be guided and prefer something minimal, Samsara Timer is a perfect choice. It’s an adjustable timer with a calming, resonant bell sound to signal that time’s up. It also keeps track of your days and overall time spent meditating. One downside is that the minimal interface makes it a little tricky to adjust the timer, but you get the hang of it after a few tries. Total cost is $6.99 (single purchase).