Meditation can be a daunting thing to learn, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
As a surgeon, a mother, and a wife, I don’t know where I would be without meditation. Mental health is arguably the most important type of health because everything else in your life rests solely on your mental ability to handle it. If it were up to me, everyone in the country would be in therapy, but since that isn’t realistic, we have to find our own ways to mentally deal with the trials of tribulations of every day life, let alone the larger problems that crop up from time to time.
Meditation has helped me in more ways than I can mention, but the most important benefit to it, is the ability to clear your mind of emotional attachments, and make clear-headed decisions. There are many ways to meditate, from emptying your mind completely, to brainstorming new ideas, or even just reducing stress (which is a huge, huge one). The only problem is that you first have to learn how to meditate, which is something I definitely struggled with. These three meditation apps helped me get on track, and stay on track. So maybe if you are having some problems finding your zen, they can help you too.
READ MORE: Instant Stress Relief: The 30 Second Meditation
Unplug Meditation App– Unplug is cool because they have a 30 day meditation challenge, and they aren’t afraid to email you every morning with some inspiration, and a reminder to meditate. You can also create meditation playlists, and track your progress
Headspace App– Headspace is great because they literally walk you through meditations. Their guided meditations tell you exactly what to do in order to learn the process, they send daily meditations to you, and their videos are super informative, easy to understand, and great for kids.
Calm– Calm was named the app of the year in 2017. One of the great things about it is that they teach you breathing exercises to help you relax, and de-stress and focus on sleep stories that can actually help you go from meditation to sleep. Learning these breathing techniques can help with other things like ADHD and depression, so it’s pretty useful all around.