In recent months, we have seen the world retreat indoors, with families trapped inside their homes unable to go out even for something as simple as a haircut. At first, this seems like a dream come true. No office, no school, and no need to beat the rush hour traffic. But staying indoors is fraught with its own perils.
The emotional stability of people has been stretched to the breaking point. Stress levels are peaking as what passes for normal life seems to have taken the form of the movie ‘Contagion’. Tempers are running high with no way for people to go out and chill for a few hours away from your family.
Photo: iStock
This is where meditation apps for reducing anxiety come into play, giving you much-needed control over your anxiety levels and emotional breakdowns.
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, meditation can help reduce stress levels, chronic pain like headaches and blood pressure. But something that helps to mellow you out can leave you frustrated if you do not know how to go about meditating successfully. Meditation apps are a great way to reduce anxiety and help you practice this mindfulness activity regularly. For Pax Tandon, the author of ‘Mindfulness Matters’, meditation apps are great tools to put the power of meditation in the palm of your hands.
Check out our list of best free meditation apps for anxiety reduction, in adults as well as kids, and discover your own meditation groove.
10 Best Free Meditation Apps for Anxiety Reduction
1. Calm
Image: Calm
Available for free at both Apple Store and Google Play, Calm is a meditation app for the choosy meditators. It is extremely useful for beginners since it provides guided sessions ranging in time from quick 3-minute sessions to long 25-minute sessions. Calm is among the best meditation apps for reducing anxiety and provides sleep sounds, nature sounds and breathing exercises to help you focus on your inner peace. New meditations are uploaded almost daily, and you can also keep track of your progress. Calm also provides dedicated 7-day and 21-day programs for beginners.
You can download the app from their website here.
2. Headspace
Image: Google Playstore/Headspace
One of the most well-known and user-friendly meditation apps for combating anxiety, Headspace is often described as a gym membership for the mind. This app provides hundreds of guided meditations, mini-meditations, sleep sounds and SOS meditations for emergencies. Headspace also has a special section for children which includes breathing exercises, visualisations and meditations with the focus on kindness, sleep and calm. The app offers a free Take10 series (10 sessions of 10-minute meditations each) after which a subscription is required to access the complete set of its services.
You can download the app from their website here.
3. Insight Timer
Image: App Store/Insight Timer
With over 4000 free guided meditations and more than 1000 teachers on the app, the Insight Timer is growing in popularity among its user-base. Along with meditations, this app also provides guidance for breathing exercises, tai chi, yoga, prayer and healing processes like reiki and massage.
You can download the app from their website here.
4. MyLife Mediation by Stop, Breathe & Think
Image: Stop. Breathe. Think
As straightforward as its name, Stop, Breathe & Think helps to break down meditation in simple terms and encourages mindful breathing in an effort to create space between your thoughts, emotions and reactions. What is truly interesting about this app is that you can enter your current mood or emotion into it and get a customised meditation prescribed to you. The app also has a special section for kids learning to meditate.
You can download the app from their website here.
5. Omvana
Image: Facebook/Omvana
Among the meditation apps for anxiety, Omvana occupies a category of its own. This app is your best bet if you wish for a truly personalised meditation session. You can choose from thousands of audio tracks, ambient sounds and narrated guides including inspirational speeches and famous books. On top of this, you are also able to mix and match your own tracks with that from the app. This app requires its users to sign up but provides 25 free tracks for every membership.
You can download the app from their website here.
6. Sleep Meditations for Kids
Image: App Store/Diviniti Publishing Ltd
Do you have trouble getting your hyperactive kids to settle down for the night? Sleep Meditation for Kids is the perfect app to incorporate into your bedtime routine. It has bedtime stories that wind down into guided meditations which will help children to fall asleep quickly.
You can download the app from Apple’s App Store here.
7. DreamyKid
Image: DreamyKid
The DreamyKid app is specially curated for children and teenagers. It offers guided meditations, visualizations and affirmations to help your child focus his or her inner energy and guides them to a happier life through mindfulness.
You can download the app from their website here.
8. Smiling Mind
Image: App Store/Smiling Mind
Developed by psychologists and psychiatrists, the Smiling Mind is an app designed to help focus the diverse thoughts of hyperactive children. There are a series of questions which will help to focus the mind, followed by guided meditation sessions.
You can download the app from their website here.
9. Mind the Bump
Image: App Store/Mind the Bump
Mind the Bump, developed by the psychologists and psychiatrists behind Smiling Mind, helps individuals and couples to support their mental and emotional wellbeing in preparation for having a baby and becoming a new parent. The app provides tailored meditation exercises to support you from day one of pregnancy through to 24 months after birth.
You can download the app from their website
here.
10. Glo – Yoga and Meditation
Image: App Store/glo
YogaGlo is a meditation app that offers a wide variety of guided meditations with well-respected teachers. The app allows you to customise your meditation by choosing the workout time, the level as well as the teacher you want. The app also helps you choose focal points that will allow you to achieve specific meditation goals. You can check out this app with their 7-day trial package, after which a subscription is required.
You can download the app from their website here.
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