THE smartphone can be a wicked tool for distraction and complication. But it doesn’t have to be. Your smartphone can actually be an agent of calm, relaxation and mindfulness.
The app that’s helped me, my family and friends relax the most is Calm by Calm.com, which is available free — a nice, relaxing price! — for both iOS and Android. This app contains a number of guided meditation sessions that last from just a couple of minutes up to about 20 minutes. The idea is to use the app once a day at the same time.
Each meditation track is spoken in a calming voice and contains straightforward advice in cheerful tones — not “do this, do that,” more “think about sitting somewhere where your back is supported well.”
I’m generally wary of meditation apps because they sometimes weave in too much mystic talk for my taste. But Calm instead contains guidance like “Concentrate on your body.” The sounds for the meditation tracks are calming, too, and you can choose which you prefer, like gentle waves, rain in a forest or relaxing music.
The app is beautiful to look at and easy to use, thanks to clear instructions and menus. It also contains a fair amount of free meditation content. But if you pay to upgrade to the “pro” version you get meditation programs aimed at increasing confidence, creativity and other positive traits, in addition to calmness, and more content is added regularly. The pro version costs about $10 a year, though you can buy shorter subscriptions.
Headspace, also free for iOS and Android, is a similar app that is even simpler and more refined than Calm’s app. This app is also about guided meditation for short intervals, this time about 10 minutes per session, and it too uses refreshingly plain English words instead of jargon in its sessions.
The app can provide reminders to turn it on at set daily intervals, and the sessions are straightforward: a sequence of meditations that simply talk you through different mindfulness habits over a 10-day period. You even get rewards for sticking to your habits, in the form of cute little animations, and it can show some simple analytics about your performance — the hope being that you will be inspired to stick to it.
I find the app relaxing and rewarding to use, and its plain-designed and soft-colored graphical interface is gentle on the eye. After the first 10 sessions many more meditation sessions are available to download, with different lengths and different goals, like reducing stress, but only for subscribers. The subscription is a steep-sounding $13 a month or $95 a year — which may be the most stressful aspect of the app. But at least the first 10 sessions are free.
Another way to find a moment of calm in a busy day is to take 10 minutes for yourself and focus on positive things in your life, and that’s what the Happier app is all about. Free for Android and iOS, Happier is part gratitude journal, part mindfulness app, part support community. It has sections to make notes and add images from your day about things for which you are grateful, and where you can listen to short courses that teach about gratitude and happiness habits. The community aspect is a built-in social network where other users can comment in a supportive way on your progress.
The app is bright, friendly and easy to use, and I found that focusing on positive things in this sort of way helps me feel calm even on stressful days. The core app is free, but you have to pay to get access to some of the guided meditation courses, like More Calm, Less Stress. Prices vary from $5 to $25.
Digipill is another popular app in this class. Its makers promote the app with bold claims, saying it can help “prevent insomnia,” “lose weight” and more.
The app revolves around digital “pills,” or sessions, with one goal in mind; each session combines spoken-word meditation instructions and ambient music-based background audio. The idea is that you find some privacy, put on some headphones, take your pill and sit back for a short while as it takes effect.
I’m not convinced that the road to inner calm is achieved so simply, but the “time for tea” relaxation pill, which is included free, is actually pretty soothing, and that may be all you need to help you find calm in the midst of noise and distraction. More pills, on topics like motivation, cost $2 to $7. It’s worth noting that the app, which is for iOS and Android devices, has not been updated in many months, which may indicate the amount of content is limited.
Now sit back, relax and engage in a little quiet search for inner calm. And don’t forget to turn off your phone sometimes.
Quick Call
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