Stressed out and craving some calm? Tune into these meditation apps and tune out the world

Constant connectivity has rendered most of us workaholics, mostly against our will. If you suffer from the constant barrage of work emails, polarising tweets and negative people, don’t react. Instead, save your breath, literally, with these meditation apps.

From keeping a diary and making little notes with positive quotes to going to an Ayurveda retreat and practising yoga, people are constantly on the lookout for activities that would help them find that elusive inner peace. Finding a sense of calm and establishing spirituality as an everyday presence in one’s life is no easy task if there is no peace within.

While there is no one way to awaken spirituality, meditation and breathing exercises have been used from time immemorial by people to become more mindful, aware and centred. And with technology pervading every aspect of life, there is an app or two to help you on your spiritual journey as well.

In a report on health and wellness in India by FICCI and EY, estimates show that the Indian wellness industry is expected to touch Rs 1.5 trillion by 2020. With increasing awareness and industry and government push, a 12 percent CAGR growth rate is expected for the next five years. Today’s lifestyle changes and demands require a holistic and preventative approach to wellness that goes beyond medication and treating illnesses. This has resulted in a slew of multi-dimensional health and wellness products, apps and offerings flooding the market.

Here are YourStory’s top six picks for spirituality apps, where you can find answers to your spiritual questions, be positively driven towards your day, spruce up your mood anytime, or just pick up simple meditation techniques that can help you zone out on a stressful day and tune in to a sense of calm.

Headspace

Focus, breathe, stay calm, perform at your best and rest through Headspace, from this company based in Santa Monica. Headspace teaches one to breathe, meditate and live mindfully.

Developed by Headspace Inc. this app teaches breathing and visualisation exercises to take a sigh off a busy day.

One can access the basic short guided meditation sessions for free and even offline. Headspace makes this process playful and interactive.

The subscription features include super-short meditations for busy schedules, over 40 exercises for cooking, eating, commuting, etc. New meditations will be delivered to your phone every morning, sleep sounds for restful night’s sleep, fun engaging activities for children, expert advice and animated videos for help in meditation are other features.

The meditation packs have several categories that range from happiness, health, work and performance to even sports and students. With its new feature ‘Sleep’, the company claims that when they experimented with some of their engineers, most of them dozed off. All thanks to the new exercise ‘Sleepcasts’.

Founded in 2012, the app has 10 million users on Google Play and is available on App Store and Play Store.

Calm

With five million downloads on Google Play and a recipient of Apple’s App of the Year in 2017, Calm provides guided meditation techniques that teach mindfulness. In addition, it narrates short stories in a soothing voice to help one sleep better. A premium version is required to unlock the app’s full potential.

Founded by Michael Acton Smith and Alex Tew in 2012, the company is based in San Francisco, California.

The company raised $1.5 million in angel investments in 2017.

Self Healing

This spiritual-wellness app contains more than 30 topics such as Meditation, Yoga, Ayurveda, Modern Medical Science, Homeopathy, Unani etc. to deliver spiritual, physical and mental health. The meditation leaderboard ranks users on their meditation time.

The app was created by Wellness Platform, based in Canada, in 2014.

Till date, 650,000 users have downloaded the app. It is available on both Google Play and App store.

As they launch the new group healing feature soon, one can now request for group healing from 100,000 active meditators across the world.

As New York Times bestselling author and motivational speaker, Gabrielle Bernstein says, “Meditating in a group is very powerful. The shared intention of the group elevates each individual. When one or more gather with the intention to heal and grow, great shifts can occur. The group’s collective energy has a massive impact on the world.”

Spiritual Transformation Daily 

Started by Ludhiana-based Dailypedia Bliss in 2017, this app helps you wake up each day with a brand new thought to make life more spiritual.

While listening to this app’s serene meditative music in the background, one can share positive quotes on social media through its messaging tools. One can also set alarms to receive daily notifications for the quotes.

Available both on App store and Google Play, the app has registered 50,000 downloads on Google Play.

Happy Being

The USP of this Bengaluru-based app is that it provides different sections that cater to the needs of people from different age and professional groups. Students, working professionals, job seekers, homemakers and healthcare staff can maintain their own happiness journals. In addition, senior citizens can also use the techniques to overcome loneliness, boost self-esteem, and achieve better sleep and memory.

Launched in 2013 by nSmiles (I) Pvt Ltd, this app enhances one’s well being with self-assessment, relieving stress and building resilience through meditative tracks and activities.

The app is available both on Google Play and App store.

It has a tracker that guides one in maintaining focus. More than 50 techniques involving body and mind helps one discover priorities and set real goals.

One of the unique features of this app is its association with mental health professionals. One can directly seek expert help to combat anxiety or depression.

Simple Habit

With more than 500,000 downloads, this app from the San Francisco-based Simple Habit Inc. has been awarded the Google Play Award of the Year. It was launched in November 2016.

Simple Habit is primarily made for people with busy schedules. Five minutes of meditation is all you need to calm your nerves and release stress.

Top mindfulness experts at Google, world’s best teachers to former monks guide you through meditation on this app. The app claims to have meditations that can help in depression, improve focus, increase self-awareness, help you become an effective leader and, to top it all, be happier.

The app contains more than 50 free sessions. One can access meditations related to insomnia, or before a meeting or even before a date, through the paid version. One can also customise their sessions from one to 30 minutes.