Practicing meditation can give you a sense of calmness and inner peace that can benefit both your mental and physical health. According to the National Center For Complementary and Integrative Health, practicing meditation may reduce blood pressure, symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, depression, and insomnia! Whether it’s for 5 minutes or 1 hour, setting aside time for meditation is vital to finding your “inner yoda.”
If you’re new to meditation practice, you may have some questions like: How do I meditate? Where should I do it? And for how long?
But let’s be honest. Calming the mind is an incredibly difficult task. We are constantly on the go, whether it’s working overtime or taking care of the kids, and that’s when we forget to be in the present moment. We become so absorbed with defining our future and regretting our past that we let each moment pass us by. Our breath, therefore, is the thing we should always come back to when our mind strays.
Whether you’re interested in guided meditations, buddhist mantras, sleep music, or community classes, there are tons of meditation apps to help us along our journey! So without further ado, I’m going to recommend the best meditation apps you can find in 2022. Each app has its own unique features, so choose what’s best for you. I’ve tried all of them and even subscribe to some of them, so my list is based on my experience. Whether you’re a beginner or more advanced at meditation, these meditation apps are suitable for everyone.
Insight Timer
Insight Timer is without a doubt one of the best meditation apps available in 2021. It has the world’s largest collection of free guided meditations, with over 90,000 titles. Their content includes guidance and wisdom from some of the world’s experts on contemplative practices, including my favorite guided meditation author, Linda Hall.
For beginners, they offer a seven-day free course that will teach you everything you need to know about how to meditate. You can also track your meditation practice and milestones with free charts that sync up to your other devices. Upgrading to Member Plus unlocks more premium features, such as advanced courses, offline listening, and an upgraded audio player.
Get it: Free, or $10/month or $60/year for premium, iOS and Google Play
Mindbliss
Mindbliss is one of the first meditation apps I’ve ever used. I’ve been a subscriber for 2 years now! Although I try to avoid subscriptions (I already pay enough money a month for streaming services) I felt like this app was worth it after using their free version for a couple of months. I found meditation teachers like Linda Hall and the Honest Guys that I quickly fell in love with. Mindbliss offers hundreds of meditations with 18 different categories to choose from.
You can easily track your progress and save your favorite sessions for offline listening. This app transformed my spiritual life. I started out not knowing how to even sit still for a couple of minutes, to being able to meditate for an hour without much trouble.
Anyone can try Mindbliss for free meditation exercises and instantly get access to 15 sessions, 3 journeys, and daily meditation sessions. No subscription required.
Get it: Free (limited) or $11.99 per month or $89.99 per year. Available on IOS and Google Play.
Headspace
If you often have trouble quieting your mind when going to bed, then Headspace should be your go-to. This app offers breathing exercises and useful sleep meditations to get your mind and body to wind down. You can try Headspace for yourself and learn the essentials of meditation and mindfulness with their free Basics course. If you enjoy it, they offer subscriptions that will give you access to bite-sized minis for when you’re short on time, exercises to add extra mindfulness to your day, and hundreds of meditations on everything from stress to sleep.
Headspace is actually coming out with a Netflix series called “Guide to Sleep” on April 28th, 2021. It’s supposed to offer new facts and tips about sleep, backed by science. They’ll be answering questions like: is looking at your phone in bed really that bad? Do we really need 8 full hours of sleep? And can pills help?
Check out their official trailer:
Get it: 14-day free trial (for either sub), then $12.99 per month, or yearly at $69.99. Available on IOS and Google Play
Sattva
Sattva is a great meditation app for those who want to connect with the ancient or traditional roots of meditation. Drawing from Vedic principles, Sanskrit scholars who have mastered the inner workings of the mind deliver beautiful guided meditations, chants, mantras and sacred sounds to its users.
Get it: $12.99 per month, or $49.99 per year (about $4 a month). Available on IOS and Google Play.
Art of Living Journey
Art of Living Journey is an underdog in the meditation app space, but it sure shouldn’t be! This one is unique for the fact that it offers meetups, retreats, workshops and expeditions, alongside its guided meditations. You can meditate in groups with a trained instructor and learn more about SKY breathing technique. For a limited time, instructor led meetups are offered via Zoom.
Get it: 14-day free trial, then $5.99 per month. Available on IOS and Google Play.
Buddhify
Buddhify meditation app makes it easy to find ways to meditate, even with a hectic schedule. Whether you’re in between tasks at work, boarding a train, or dealing with stress and anxiety, this app has plenty to offer you. Similar to the photo above, you can create your own “wheel” of meditation practices for quick access when you need them.
Each one lasts four to 30 minutes, so you can find time to meditate no matter how swamped you are. You’ll find guided meditations for walking, stress & difficult emotion, work break, going to sleep, waking up and many other different categories. As you advance in your skill, you can use their timer to meditate on your own without guidance.
Get it: One-time purchase on the app store for $4.99. If you want to become a member, it’s $30 per year. Available for IOS and Google Play.
