People can practice exercises in mindfulness meditation, the scientific literature concludes, to effectively alleviate the severity of some of today’s greatest psychological stresses. One large-scale review out of Johns Hopkins (of 47 different trials with 3515 participants) published in the JAMA in March 2014 found that “mindfulness meditation programs had moderate evidence of improved anxiety, depression, and pain.” The scientific evidence is impressive, too. You probably know at least one person who has a semi-regular meditation practice and who sings its praises. The anecdotal evidence underscoring meditation’s benefits is compelling. It’s one that helps us connect with our true selves and the world around us, it eases our anxiety and stress, and it promotes a sense of peace and wellbeing - even gratitude. The way we practice meditation (and why we practice meditation) - our appropriated version - certainly looks different from how its original manifestation, a fact compounded by the variety of meditation techniques that exist.īut meditation, we’ve come to realize, is a deeply powerful practice. However, it’s only been within the past decade or so that meditation has entered the Western mainstream. Since then, there have been surges in its popularity, most notably in the 1960s (just ask yer mom). It first reached the Western world in the 18th century, when a subset of its guiding principles began influencing Western philosophical circles. With its origins in Southeast Asia, meditation has been around for millennia. In the post, I pit two of the most popular apps against each other - Headspace vs Calm - and take a look at a close third, InsightTimer. I’ve tried upwards of a dozen meditation apps since my sleep really tanked about four years ago. And, thankfully, these apps are also proving to be astonishingly effective. Feeling stressed out, anxious, and generally frazzled by all the things you have to balance - kiddos, work, bills, deadly viruses, the mess that is your home? Did you think you’d have your shit together by now? Welcome to da club.įortunately, a growing cadre of meditation apps are positioning themselves as antidotes to our rising overwhelm and malaise, tailoring their offerings to tackle specific issues like financial fears and managing uncertainty.
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