4 Of The Best Mindfulness Apps

“When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace.”
–Anonymous

Learning how to practice mindfulness is like learning any other skill, but this skill is all about getting a healthy sense of perspective on the hustle and bustle of life. It isn’t about turning off your thoughts or feelings. Instead, you’ll observe them and start to understand them better.

In today’s fast-paced world, many apps fuse technology with traditional mindfulness techniques. So, if you have 5 minutes or an hour spare, these mindfulness and meditation apps can introduce you to, or continue you on your journey.

The benefits of meditation

Whether you prefer body scanning or guided sessions, the benefits of meditation are vast. It can help you clear your thoughts and be more aware of yourself and your surroundings. There are also practices that can help to improve sleep or reduce worry.

Here at Rescue^®, we’ve been practicing our deep breathing, guided meditation and finding our Zen in the pursuit for the best mindfulness app.

1 | Headspace

Headspace.com (Android / iOS) offers a full library of content including meditation in both series and singles. The series consists of packs, broken down into sessions, on topics such as health, relationships, overcoming obstacles and performance. Singles are stand-alone sessions and look at issues such as sleeping, fear of flying or commuting.

A selection of colorful animations guides most meditations, and you’ll even be able to track your progress, as the app offers you stats on sessions completion and time spent meditating.

Headspace is an excellent app for getting straight to the point — no music, no nature scenery or any other gimmicks, just practical mindfulness sessions.

2 | Calm

Unlike other mindfulness apps, Calm.com (Android / iOS) offers you the option to do guided or unguided meditation. For beginners, several voice-led programs span over a week, to help you find your feet. There’s also a selection of Daily Calm sessions which offer you masterclasses on things such as choice, resilience, gratitude and letting go.

Once you’ve completed a meditation session, a calendar pops up to show you your progress, and how many times you’ve meditated during the week, or month, so you can make sure you’re on track.

3 | InsightTimer

The social network for meditation, InsightTimer.com (Android / iOS) shows you how many other users are meditating at the same time as you. It’s very interactive, and you can invite your friends to join you on the app or discuss mindfulness in the groups.

Aside from the social element, there are many free meditation sessions guided by professional teachers, which appeal to nearly any mood or whim. These include body scans, introductions to mindfulness, plus sessions on topics such as managing stress or sleep effectiveness.

You can also track your progress, which is perfect if you’re partial to setting goals. The app even gives you options to set personal milestones and tick them off once you’ve achieved them.

4 | The Mindfulness App

TheMindfulnessApp.com (Android / iOS) offers a helping hand towards increasing mindfulness and improving life satisfaction. It starts with five days of guided meditation, that are perfect if you’re new to mindfulness, or not sure what type of meditation works best for you.

Unlike other mindfulness apps, you can also create a personalized ‘Timed Session,’ where you get to choose the length of the session, the voice who guides it and even the background music. The personalization goes even further, with the ‘My Profile’ section, giving you an overview of weekly mindfulness practices, total and average time to meditate, the number of sessions and number of courses.

Check out our blogs about stress and stress relief here. If you like, here are breathing exercises, mindful meditation techniques, and relaxation techniques to try. Learn about stress here with 10 facts about stress you may not know. And of course our favorite calming essential oils.