How to Pick a Meditation App
well.blogs.nytimes.com
How to Pick a Meditation App
1–10 of 42 posts
Re: How to Pick a Meditation App
#2I've been meditating for over 2 years now and can tell you you definitely do not need to pay for an app to do it.
"One of the more challenging problems in learning to meditate is remembering to do it."
I do it every night before going to sleep. That's not hard to remember, plus it clears your mind for a deeper sleep. You can go to bed at your normal time as well, as the meditation can be considered as part of your sleep schedule. It definitely won't (and hasn't for me) detract from your sleep.
Just start by focusing on the tip of your nose and controlling your breathing. Then when you are ready, allow your body to take over the breathing while you watch. Then also allow it to take over the monologue in your head and you listen. Eventually you become an observer of all your thoughts and senses, and so become free of them.
Re: How to Pick a Meditation App
#3This kind of content seems more appropriate for WebMD or WikiHow than the NYT website.
There's no discussion of any substance here, it's pure filler. Differences in meditation technique and course format between apps find no mention, and there's no evidence provided showing that any of these apps is an effective aid to meditation. Most considerations on the list are applicable to an app focused on just about any positive habit people might want to incorporate into their daily lives.
Re: How to Pick a Meditation App
#4This kind of content seems more appropriate for WebMD or WikiHow than the NYT website. There's no discussion of any substance here, it's pure filler. Differences in meditation technique and course format between apps find no mention, and there's no evidence provided showing that any of these apps is an effective aid to meditation. Most considerations on the list are applicable to an app focused on just about any posi…
How to Pick a Meditation App (well.blogs.nytimes.com)
13 points by delambo 1 hour ago
user: delambo
about: My real-name HN handle. Web developer at The New York Times. @delambro
Re: How to Pick a Meditation App
#5I've been meditating for over 2 years now and can tell you you definitely do not need to pay for an app to do it. "One of the more challenging problems in learning to meditate is remembering to do it." I do it every night before going to sleep. That's not hard to remember, plus it clears your mind for a deeper sleep. You can go to bed at your normal time as well, as the meditation can be considered as part of your sl…
> Just start by focusing on the tip of your nose and controlling your breathing. Then when you are ready, allow your body to take over the breathing while you watch. Then also allow it to take over the monologue in your head and you listen. Eventually you become an observer of all your thoughts and senses, and so become free of them.
Except it's a lot easier said than done. I've personally enjoyed my Headspace subscription. I have no qualms with paying for it, and feel it has been more effective than all of the material I've ever read on meditation that I've looked at. But YMMV.
Re: How to Pick a Meditation App
#6I've been meditating for over 2 years now and can tell you you definitely do not need to pay for an app to do it. "One of the more challenging problems in learning to meditate is remembering to do it." I do it every night before going to sleep. That's not hard to remember, plus it clears your mind for a deeper sleep. You can go to bed at your normal time as well, as the meditation can be considered as part of your sl…
I've been (trying to) meditate for about four years now. I even attended a ten day silent meditation retreat in September, which I wrote about in another post. I still find it extremely difficult. People vary in their aptitude for meditation, and for those like me these "aids" are appealing. For myself, I don't see the value of the apps; I'd just as soon use any of hundreds of decent guided meditations on Youtube.
Re: How to Pick a Meditation App
#7The undistracted state of the mind is the meditation. (Gampopa)
Re: How to Pick a Meditation App
#8I've used the Calm app for the introduction course to learn about how to meditate and start with guidance, then I continued on my own. Paying 10$ monthly for sitting still is hilarious. IMHO the quantity of these kind of apps, guides and whatnot simply offer a paradox of choice, which is ironic, since the user wants to relax, not obsess if he bought the right app, subscription and/or meditation technique.
I now use Enso app [1] just to alert the 15 min duration, it's free on the App Store (optional purchases for different alert bells).
[1] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/enso-meditation-timer-bell/i...
Re: How to Pick a Meditation App
#9The whole concept of a meditation app strikes me as kind of contradictory.
Re: How to Pick a Meditation App
#10I've been meditating for over 2 years now and can tell you you definitely do not need to pay for an app to do it. "One of the more challenging problems in learning to meditate is remembering to do it." I do it every night before going to sleep. That's not hard to remember, plus it clears your mind for a deeper sleep. You can go to bed at your normal time as well, as the meditation can be considered as part of your sl…
> Just start by focusing on the tip of your nose and controlling your breathing. Then when you are ready, allow your body to take over the breathing while you watch. Then also allow it to take over the monologue in your head and you listen. Eventually you become an observer of all your thoughts and senses, and so become free of them. Except it's a lot easier said than done. I've personally enjoyed my Headspace subscr…
I have tried headspace before although found it's constant notifications to be quite annoying. If it makes you put in the time though then great, but the reason I mentioned 2+ years was because these things take time to become good at, app or no app (but it is worth the investment!)