Beijing Can Be Quiet: Five Meditation Apps to Help You Find Inner Peace
In a world full of noise and constant connectivity, getting the rest you need and finding mental peace can feel like an impossible task. Too many of us are stuck in the cycle of finishing a back-breaking day, lying in bed tossing and turning all night, and gulping down coffee to keep our bodies and minds functional. This vicious cycle is only compounded by seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which can cause further depression and anxiety, commonly in the colder winter months.
Thankfully, help is all around us. Here are five applications that we can use to help improve our sleep patterns, mindfulness, and general mental health.
Headspace
This might be the one-stop-shop app of meditation. Free to download and free to register with your email, Spotify, or Facebook, the basic sessions are free (up to 10 exercises) and teach beginners the fundamental techniques of meditation and mindfulness. Paid sessions take more experienced users deeper, with hundreds of 2-3 minute meditations and longer guided meditations focussing on sleeping, eating, commuting, fear of flying, and more. The app also contains social links so you can add your friends and meditate together.
Price: Free to download (subscription is from USD 12.99/month, or USD 94.99/year)
Calm
As somebody who struggles with sleep, Calm is my personal favorite app, and apparently I'm not alone: It has over 200,000 five-star reviews. Free to download, it is easy to use and allows instant access to calming sounds like wind, crackling fire, falling rain, and tweeting birds. Subscribing for RMB 298/year gives you access to three to 25-minute sessions, as well as 10-minute Daily Calm programs for you to practice every day such as “seven days of calm,” “seven days of sleep,” “seven days of managing stress.” It also has a breathing practice function, so you can learn to calm yourself through controlled breathing no matter where you are.
Price: Free to download (subscription is RMB 298/year)
Buddhify
Costing only RMB 30, Buddhify’s sure gives great value for money, packing in a dazzling guided 80 meditations which are categorized by functions, such as “can’t sleep,” “waking up,” “meditation 101,” “walking,” “traveling,” and so on. Sessions last from four minutes to 30 minutes, are especially beginner-friendly, and good for people who live a busy life in the city. One more advantage is that you can choose your favorite voice (they all have British accent). You can also enjoy the practices with your friends and loved ones.
Price: USD 4.99
Stop, Breath & Think
This free and relatively new app’s design is really cute and sleek, with over 55 options for guided meditation selections. Without registering and after a simple quiz about how you feel mentally and physically, and your emotions, you’ll be given about four meditation sessions to try which range from five minutes to more than eight minutes, which is good for the beginners. We especially like the “body scan” session for its stress-busting powers. If you're ready to commit, you can invest in a monthly subscription. There is also a kids version of the app available.
Price: Free to download (subscription is RMB 70/month or RMB 418/year)
Simple Habit
Commiting to a daily meditation practice can be tough at the beginning, and this app is targetted for crazily busy people who can only spare five minutes a day for themselves. You can start with a seven-day series by different teachers anywhere instead of looking for a “perfect spot” for meditation. This app proves that meditation doesn't have to be a big commitment.
Price: Free
Now it's up to you: feel free to do the trial of the ones you are interested in, experience, and explore. At the end, we want to finish with a quote from Buddha, “Happiness doesn't depend on who you are or what you have, it depends on what you think.”
More stories by this author here.
Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
Instagram: @flyingfigure
Photos: iTunes, dietdoctor
