Following the principles of mindfulness can help to survive any difficult situation. Living mindfully means not turning your life into a series of automatic actions, living every moment, noticing it, enjoying it to the fullest. One of the direct paths to mindfulness is meditation, aimed at relaxing the mind, reducing anxiety, and concentrating on the present moment.
What remains in your memory from the day that has passed? Transport – it doesn’t matter if it’s a car or the subway – work, a little rest in the evening, sleep. Basically, the day of a modern person is divided into large chunks, and we don’t have time or energy to remember the individual moments. That’s why we easily forget about the end of our favorite TV series or our Cooke Casino login. Because we don’t notice the present, life is constantly put off “until the evening, until the weekend, until vacation, until free time.” And if all these opportunities suddenly disappear, then the internal panic begins, that the future simply collapses, ahead the unknown, darkness, and decay.
That is why it’s necessary to learn to concentrate on the present. The usefulness of this approach has been repeatedly evaluated by scientists and doctors: the practice of mindfulness through meditation is used to combat depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. Psychiatrists use the practice in their work with patients with mental disorders. And even when dealing with obesity and compulsive overeating, mindfulness can qualitatively change a person’s eating habits, because concentrating on what we eat allows us to think about whether we really want to eat it and whether we want to eat it right now. Scientific studies show that regular meditation can even slow down aging. Today, all it takes is the desire, a smartphone, and 10 minutes a day to learn the simplest forms of meditation.
Calm
One of the most famous meditation apps. Many free programs, including the most basic and essential – 7 Days Of Calm. It allows you to learn step by step how to meditate under the guidance of professional instructors. You learn how to concentrate on your breath, feel your body, and live in the present moment. Separately, you can include a breathing simulator, which will mark with sounds the inhale, exhale and pause.
There are special recordings for listening before bedtime: Matthew McConaughey or Stephen Fry will tell you a bedtime story. You can also play relaxing music or a lullaby. The app has the simplest features like wallpapers with beautiful views or nature sounds that can be set as a background while you work on your computer.
Insight Timer
The app offers a premium subscription right away, but there are plenty of options to first assess whether the app is right for you. There are many categories of programs to choose from: beginners, trends, emphasis on improving sleep, anxiety or stress reduction, and concentration.
A section of traditional meditations based on Buddhist practices is available to you. For independent meditations, there is a timer with a background sound like the sound of a waterfall or rain. For children from five years of age, you can try breathing exercises that will help your baby to calm down and sleep better. By the way, there are also beautiful soothing melodies for falling asleep.
Smiling Mind
The app is geared toward children and young adults, but it is quite usable by adults. Right when you first log into the app, you will be asked if you are new, how old you are, and what you want to emphasize in your meditations – mindfulness at work, dealing with stress and anxiety, eating right, etc. Children can start practicing meditation at age three. For teenagers, it will be especially useful to learn how to achieve inner harmony. There are family programs that can be listened to together, school programs, and even office programs.
UCLA Mindful
The famous University of California in Los Angeles has developed this app also for research purposes and at the same time, based on its own research. Here you can find simple meditations – small 5-7 minute courses of breathing exercises, 19-minute meditation with full instructions, body-scan meditations – concentration on different parts of the body and sensations.
