5 Meditation Apps Worth the Zen

We all know that meditation is good for you. Taking a few moments out of your day to pause your mind and clear your thoughts before continuing with your day. The only problem is that it sounds like a lot of work to make time for those 5 or 10 minutes to help you cope with your day. Ironic, isn't it?

So we decided to gather 5 easy apps that will have you zen'd out at the click of a button. No stress, no fuss, easy path to being a master at being mindful.

Omvana

An all time favourite app. Mix and match guided meditation audio to soothing soundtracks, bought over by the famous Mindvalley organisation a few years back.

What it does and offers

A fully customizable experience with meditations for any situation - from stress to sleep to focus and more. The is great for all levels and offers content for beginners to advanced practitioners. The great thing about the app is that you can also move up in content as you become more experienced, so you don't feel like you outgrow the app.

What people say

The app scores a solid 4.7* out of 5 stars, but does not have as many reviews as some of the other apps.

What users love is how easy it is to use, that meditations are easy to follow, and that they keep coming back as they feel a marked difference in their moods after a few sessions.

Availability - Android & Apple

Cost - Free with in-app purchases from R10 - R1,000 per item

Calm

A paid app with calming background sounds and short meditations great for those with anxiety.

What it does and offers

A personalised experience to help you navigate stressful situations towards a state of being more calm. This is a great app for those that are already familiar with meditation practices as it offers more soundtracks for background 'music' as opposed to guided meditations - although it does have the latter as well. Calm allows you to track your sessions and mood over time.

What people say

The app scores 3.9* out of 5 stars, but does have nearly half a million subscribers.

Users love listening to tracks to help them sleep better.

Availability - Android and Apple

Cost - 7-day free trial with annual membership for around R1,070.

Headspace

A consistently high rated paid app for meditation at all levels.

What it does and offers

An app with the largest variety of meditations for any experience level and a really intuitive interface to make using the app easy. The app also offers a well-organised library of meditations ranging from breathing exercises, sleep meditations and general guided meditations.

What people say

The app scores a solid 4.4* out of 5 stars.

Users love the variety of content and that you can choose specific situations you need help with, like preparing for an interview, getting better sleep, coping with sadness or any stressful situation. Most say they feel a marked difference after just a few sessions.

Availability - Android and Apple

Cost - 14-day free trial with annual subscription of about R1,070.

Simple Habit

Be your best self in 5 minutes or less a day with this free app. Simple daily tracks and motivations.

What it does and offers

The app offers short guided mindfulness & meditation sessions, daily motivations, guided sleep sessions and coaching by world-renowned experts, personalised for the way you live your life.

What people say

The app scores a solid 4.8* out of 5 stars.

Users love that there is plenty of free content, the variety of meditations and that they feel more relaxed after just a few sessions.

Availability - Android & Apple

Cost - Free, but offers in-app purchases from R100 per item or a premium subscription of about - R2,350

Healthy Minds Program

A free app with no ads or push to any level of subscription. Great for beginners and to create a new habit.

What it does and offers

The app centres on four key ideas: Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose. Upon first use, the app will prompt you to take a survey that gives you a score for each of the four pillars. This will be your baseline from which you can improve over time. You can choose from two teachers, adjust your course length in five-minute increments, and track your progress as you go along. A good app for beginners as well as those more experienced with meditation.

What people say

The app scores a healthy 4.8* out of 5 stars.

Users love that it has clear narration, is very engaging and they want to keep using the app, and that it is great for beginners or those sceptical about the benefits of meditation.

Availability - Android and Apple

Cost - Free

Benefits of Meditation

Meditating regularly can have a number of benefits. These can include:

• Reducing stress. One of the most popular reasons that people meditate is to lower stress levels, and according to science, meditation does just that.
• Improving sleep. If you have insomnia, there have been a few studies that showed that people who meditate are able to improve their sleep schedules.
• Helping with addictions. Since meditation typically requires a fair amount of self-awareness and discipline, another study showed that the practice can help acknowledge and avoid triggers.
• Decreasing blood pressure. Meditation is very relaxing, and that relaxation may help to lower blood pressure. This is because your body is not responding to stress triggers during meditation as often as it usually would.

Many of these apps offer an "aeroplane mode" so you can download and use your favourite tracks anywhere, even if you don't have internet access. You don't want to have a buffer during your meditation time, so if you're not happy with your current internet service provider, find and compare other offerings on your network easily with Fibre Tiger.