Meditation Apps | Relax And Calm Your Mind On Your Phone

Do you meditate? If you feel like starting, you would be getting into a practice that has a long history, as followers of various religions around the world have practiced religious forms of meditation for centuries. But meditating is not for believers only. In fact, the practice of using meditative techniques in a non-spiritual context has been getting more and more traction, becoming increasingly popular. 

WHAT IS MEDITATION? DOES IT WORK, THOUGH?

At its core, non-religious meditation is a practice that allows people to reach a calmer, more stable state of mind through focus, attention, and awareness. A study conducted by researchers from the Arizona State University, the University of Utah, and the University of California, revealed that using a mindfulness meditation mobile app can help with the symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults with sleep disturbance. 

MEDITATION APPS

Here we have selected the best meditation apps suited for a variety of people and needs. Pick the one you like the most, and let’s get relaxed! 

LIBERATE: BLACK MEDITATION APP 

With over 50,000 users, Liberate is a subscription-based meditation app that can help with anxiety and stress, improve the quality of your sleep, and so much more. 

Founded by its CEO Julio Rivera in 2018, the app has meditations and talks designed for the Black community and a carefully-curated library with over 260 titles created by more than forty BIPOC teachers with a diverse background in terms of lineage, experience, perspective, and approach to better cater to the needs of its users. 

The app is available on both IOS and Android and costs $9.99/month or $71.99/year (so only $5.99/month).  

HEADSPACE: MEDITATION & SLEEP

The meditation app Headspace can help you stress less, get better sleep and live a mindful life with meditation. With seventy million downloads across all platforms and 611.9 thousand ratings On iOS and Google Play, Headspace is used in 190 countries worldwide. 

They offer meditations at various experience levels suited for different lifestyles, including their guided meditations for kids and their “Mindful Moments” short, 3-minute sessions for a quick mental reset that can fit into a busy schedule. 

The subscription to Headspace costs $12.99 per month or $69.99 per year (less than $5.99 a month). 

SHINE: CALM ANXIETY & STRESS

Featured as Best of 2020 by the App Store & 2019 Webby Award Winner for Best Lifestyle App, Shine was founded by Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi, a Black woman and a half-Japanese woman, because they didn’t see their experiences represented in mainstream “wellness.” 

With their team that’s eighty percent BIPOC, they help people with creating a space for daily self-care with Shine’s audio library composed by more than one-thousand meditations designed with representation at the forefront, plus bedtime stories and relaxing sounds, and they do so amazingly based on their more than twenty-five thousand 5-star reviews! Plus, with the subscription every weekday, you also get a new Daily Shine meditation.  

The Shine app is available on the Apple store and Google Play, and the subscription costs either $14.99 per month or $69.99 per year (only less than $5.99 a month).