Meditation or Mindfulness Apps?

[Selene]

Does anyone else here use apps for meditation or mindfulness exercises?

I've been using one that's called "Stop, Breathe and Think", which is quite good. You get to define how you feel and the app will pick several breathing and mindfulness exercises that would suit your current mood. They come in different length and intensity and there are many free exercises, although the app also includes pay content (I'm using the free version and it still offers a lot of possibilities, so pay content is not a must to get something out of the app). 

However, I have gotten very familiar with the exercises and am looking for something else, so I thought it would be nice to share and discuss our experiences with meditation and/ or mindfulness apps and exercises

 

[Reader]

Following

(😂 you know how people do on Facebook. But yea, I’m really interested in that app. Thanks for making this topic!)

[Dusty15]

I really like the woman who does the guided meditation on "Calm". It's also a free/pay system with different things available with or without a subscription. I've also tried Headspace which has the same model

[Travel]

I think the first time I did meditation was in my last year of college and then a year after, I got into Yoga and I've been practicing it almost daily ever since. I have a routine before bed where I'll do some breathing exercises and some Yoga to help with my IBS. I downloaded Calm but I've gotta say I prefer doing it on my own, or just listening to ASMR. 

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

i like Headspace, it's a nice guided meditation app

[Selene]

Thank you so much for your suggestions! 😊 I'll check out Headspace and Calm and let you know what I think.

[Shay]

I've tried both calm and headspace but neither really worked well for me. I guess I just didn't find the voices soothing. I've been meaning to look into some others, but it gets frustrating when many guided meditations want you to focus on your breathing or your body. As someone with chronic pain that is made significantly worse by focusing on my body, I'd certainly welcome suggestions for android or browser apps that don't do that and preferably with a lower pitched voice for the narrator.

[Travel]

2 hours ago, Shay said:

I've tried both calm and headspace but neither really worked well for me. I guess I just didn't find the voices soothing. I've been meaning to look into some others, but it gets frustrating when many guided meditations want you to focus on your breathing or your body. As someone with chronic pain that is made significantly worse by focusing on my body, I'd certainly welcome suggestions for android or browser apps that do that and preferably with a lower pitched voice for the narrator.

Not really apps and not really for meditation, but have you tried ASMR? There's a whole variety of ASMR vids out there and you can see which one has a voice that you like. Ambient soundtracks also do the job, I think. That said, what I'd recommend is that you look for a meditation class and talk to a teacher about your situation. It's too easy to find people who think that everyone's body must react the same way to meditation, and don't take into account that some folks may be going through pain. But once you get past those people, you can probably find someone who can help you meditate while you deal with chronic pain. 

[Shay]

Thank for the suggestions. I have tried a wide variety of different types of ASMR and have yet to find one that I didn't have an unpleasant reaction to, but I might try looking at them again.

By the way, has anyone ever had an issue with mediation making them sleepy but not actually relaxed? It's something I've noticed happening more often in recent years. I could feel like I'm about to fall asleep and still be on edge.

[Travel]

1 minute ago, Shay said:

Thank for the suggestions. I have tried a wide variety of different types of ASMR and have yet to find one that I didn't have an unpleasant reaction to, but I might try looking at them again.

By the way, has anyone ever had an issue with mediation making them sleepy but not actually relaxed? It's something I've noticed happening more often in recent years. I could feel like I'm about to fall asleep and still be on edge.

You're welcome! And yeah, it happens to me all the time. Either that or relaxed but not actually sleepy when that happens. If that happens, I just pick up a book and read while listening to ASMR or ambient soundtracks. It can take a little while but soon I actually feel sleepy too and I'm knocked out. I have to say that I'm a bit nervous about it because that's been my situation lately and I go back to school/work in a couple of days and I need to get up very early. 😓

[Shay]

Yeah, that's the worst. Just knowing I have to get up early makes it much harder to get to sleep.

[Travel]

7 minutes ago, Shay said:

Yeah, that's the worst. Just knowing I have to get up early makes it much harder to get to sleep.

Supposedly, the key is to not think about it but it's almost impossible. 😂 

[Selene]

When you ALMOST fall asleep, triumphantly think "OMG, I'm asleep!" but wake yourself up in the process of thinking that 😆

Sleepy but not relaxed happens tome with some ASMR and music. 

[Selene]

Quick update: I started using "Calm" and although not all the voices were voices that relaxed me, I loved the various sounds to choose from.

Some exercises also came in different languages and I could switch between the different narrators to find the one that has the most relaxing voice. 

The sounds were the feature I enjoyed most, though. 

I still need to look into "Headspace".