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Maybe you’ve read about the benefits online, or maybe your therapist or counselor told you to try it out. Either way, meditation is a great source of stress relief.
If you’d like to try it out for your well-being and self-care but you don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place. Luckily for us, there aredigital appsavailable to help guide you to meditate. These apps can not only help you get started with meditation but there are also guided sessions that can help you learn different techniques. Best of all, they are all completely free to use and download onAndroid(some of them are oniPhone, too!).
1Insight Timer
Insight Timerclaims to be the best meditation app, with the world’s largest free library of more than 220,000 guided meditations and 17,000 different teachers. They also offer atimerthat includes eight polyphonic overlay bells for a “deeply peaceful” meditation session. The app asks you a few questions and then creates a curated meditation program based on your needs.
One of the things I like about Insight Timer is that it’s incredibly useful for novices because it includes a free program that can help you learn how to meditate in seven days. The meditations are all guided and short, too, so it never feels overwhelming. Insight Timer is free to use, though they have a paid version that you can check out as well. The app is also easy to use and navigate.
2Daywell
One thing I like about it is that it gamifies the meditation process with coins and rewards, as well as its overalluser interface (UI),which is great for people who need a bit of extra motivation. The meditations are shorter though, so that’s something to note if you prefer short bursts of meditation over half-hour sessions. While it was initially free, recent updates have included in-app purchases, including a “wellness pass” for full content access and coins for temporary content access. However, if you prefer a gamified app that celebrates users for consistency, this might be the one for you.
3Healthy Minds Program
TheHealthy Minds programapp claims to be unique because it’s a step-by-step, guided program best suited for beginners and has a balance of instruction and practice. The program states that its teachings are data-backed and fulfilling. It’s completely free since they are funded by donations.
4Smiling Mind
Smiling Mindis designed for minds of all ages and stages, and it mentions that the app can help you learn skills to promote mental well-being and create the habits to thrive. It follows an evidence-based model for building mental fitness. The app is completely free and relies on funding from donations.
Though it was previously started as just a mindfulness app, the app’s focus has turned into a full mental fitness toolkit based on research. The app describes mental fitness as our ability to navigate challenges and support a state of positive well-being. There are mindfulness sessions to sleep better, manage stress and emotions, live meaningfully, enhance focus, foster relationships, and even boost mental fitness. The app is easy to use and navigate and also allows you to create your routine to keep track of habits. Designed for minds of all ages, it’s even used by teachers in schools for students.
5Medito App
Meditois a completely free meditation app that is designed to improve your well-being through guided meditations, breathing exercises, and relaxing sounds. Steven Yorke, one of the co-founders and board members of the Medito appstates that the app will be free foreverbecause they do not support restricting mental well-being resources from people who can’t afford to pay a monthly subscription.
Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The app includes daily meditations, an option to download sessions when you don’t have access to the Internet, a simple meditation timer, meditations for a good night’s sleep, and habit challenges to help you form consistent habits.
There’s also an “Emergency” section with short sessions (about 7 minutes long) that can help bring back a sense of normality when you’re experiencing intense emotions, including anger, fear, grief, panic, and stress. The app relies on donations to keep it going, so that’s something definitely worth looking into if you start using the app.
If you’re ready to dive into meditation, these apps have your back. From stress relief to habit-building, there’s something for everyone—and most are completely free. Relax, recharge, and take a big breath.