Top 3 Meditation Apps (Tested!)

*This is an article I wrote for Western Mind (an online mental health publication I work for) - check it out here! -https://www.westernmind.ca *

Although there are many mindfulness meditation apps out on the market right now, I have only listed 3 as I did not want to waste your time by making you read about 26 different expensive (ahem, Headspace and Simple Habit…) or mediocre apps. Instead, I have went through em all and narrowed it down to 3 high quality apps that are affordable.

1. CALM

• This app provides three different types of meditation.

• The first being super peaceful background music. It includes a variety of 34 free tracks, and a few more available for purchase (Although, I am not sure you will feel the need to pay for more as the free selection that is quite amazing!). These are also available for download on your phone!

• The second type of meditation available is a wide selection of both guided and self-meditations. Here are the names of some of the free meditations from the app: “7 Days of Calm”, “7 Days of Managing Stress”, “Mindfulness 101 for College Students”, “Timed Meditation”, “7 Days of Focus”, “7 Days of Sleep”, “Body Scan”, “7 Days of Self-Esteem” , etc! They also offer different categories and levels so you can find what you are looking for! For example: Beginners, Anxiety, Sleep, Focus, Stress, Relationships, Emotions, Self-Care, Personal Growth, Inner Peace, Resilience, Insight, Less Guidance, Kids, etc! These are also downloadable.

• The third type of meditation available on this app are their soothing bedtime stories. They have a range of genres such as: Fiction, Music, Nature, Kids, Non-Fiction, ASMR, Foreign Language, Narrator, etc. Here are some of the stories they have available: “Alice in Wonderland”, “The Orient Express”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, “The Sequoia”, and many more!

• You can also automatically keep track of all your meditations on their calendar, count your streaks, see how much time you spend meditating, and receive notifications to remind you to meditate!

2. A SOFT MURMUR

• This app comes with 10 of the most peaceful and effortless voiceless sounds. The sounds are all truly natural, almost to the point where if you close your eyes, you will feel like you are laying by the ocean listening to the gentle push of waves.

• One feature that really stood out for me was all the different settings such as: “stop playing when headphones unplugged?” or “allow sounds to play over audio from other apps?” & “show controls on lock screen while playing audio?”. A customizable timer is available as well. Here are some examples of different uses: “start playing sounds in 46 min” or “play sounds for 7 hours” or “fade out over 2 hours & 6 min” , etc! You can also mix the sounds together by playing multiple sounds at different volumes simultaneously, & save all your mixes to listen at another time!

• Unfortunately, only 4 out of the 10 sounds are free. However, if you prefer the following, this app will be perfect for you!

• Free sounds: Rain, Thunder, Waves, & Wind.

• Paid sounds: Fire, Birds, Crickets, Coffee Shop, Singing Bowl, & White Noise.

3. BREATHE

• This app gives you the option of making an account or the ability to just simply browse. It allows daily check-ins, and progress charts that count your streaks and meditations. You can collect stickers once reaching a specific milestone such as: “Completed First Meditation”, “Meditated for 35 Days In A Row”, “Listened To 10 Minutes of Meditation”, etc.

• They offer dozens of different types of meditation sessions such as: “One Minute”, “Slay Your Stress”, “Sleep Well”, “Connect with Your Body”, “Heal and Forgive”, “Pregnancy”, “Yoga”, “Sit Back and Chill”, “Acupressure”, “Feel Happy and Connected”, “Strengthen Resilience”, “Find Your Focus”, and many more! Each session has shorter free options as well as longer paid options.

• It’s quick check-in feature allows you to input your emotions, mental feelings, and physical feelings on a scale ranging from meh to rough to great. This feature is like a calculator which provides recommended sessions based on your answers.

End Note:

Think about making meditation a part of your daily routine. It can be as simple as paying attention to your breath and can become a personal remedy for the overwhelming amount of stress we encounter.

“You say that you are too busy to meditate. Do you have time to breathe? Meditation is your breath.”

— Ajahn Chah