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In times of pandemic new coronavirus it became a challenge to manage stress and anxiety. People are even more concerned about various issues, ranging from health to the economy. This is an observation of the World Health Organization (WHO), which sees a connection between the excess of information on the subject and the difficulty of predicting when the routine will return to normal. In the midst of this turmoil, our mind always seems to be full, doesn't it? 1n3y1j
But there is a technique that can contribute positively to the individual and collective journeys of this and other moments: the meditation. Meditating means quieting the mind and thoughts, creating internal tools that help fight stress and anxiety. Its practice allows you to develop skills such as concentration, focus and emotional intelligence.
One of the ways to practice this technique is called guided meditation, that is, when it is conducted by another practitioner or by applications that give the correct instructions. And in this time of quarantine and social isolation, the smartphone can be your great instructor in this practice!
Here in the showmetech we ed and tested 9 apps from meditation to feel how they lessen the effects of stress and anxiety. Follow the result!
lojong 1c3z2n
An introductory video, in Portuguese, welcomes you to the app through an explanation of what training the mind is. To have access to the workouts of this virtual gym, you need to .
The home screen of lojong has several meditation programs, with sets of exercises that must be practiced. One of them, Acolhendo a Anxiety, teaches how to see this feeling from a new perspective. The trainings are done by audio, which is a great idea to stimulate concentration — and avoid the pop-up notifications that appear at the top of the smartphone screen and that cause distraction.
You can pair your smartphone with a speaker to hear the guided meditation more clearly, and you can turn off the screen to maintain mindfulness. In the free version it is possible to practice guided meditation only connected to the internet, while the paid subscription allows you to the programs on your smartphone.
Navigating the app lojong you can still find videos, articles and quotes that help in understanding topics such as mindfulness, happiness and affective balance. A positive point is the Timer function, a sound programmed to play during your meditation at a certain time. Just choose the time and press play.
In your profile created in the application are the statistics of days, weeks and months in which there was the practice of meditation. It's an interesting way to see its evolution over time.
Available in App Store e Play Store.
Meditopia 623gf
The second, from the list of meditation apps, was the Meditopia. The registration request is immediate, which does not allow you to have much idea of what is to come. Once ed, the application asks you to choose up to three objectives from a list:
- Improve sleep;
- Dealing with stress and anxiety;
- Learn the mindfulness technique
- manage relationships
- improve your performance
- Develop physical health
By choosing these goals, the app sets up a meditation program based on the goals. Afterwards, just choose the available programs and start your meditation practice. One of the most interesting features is the possibility to record your feelings and ideas after meditating. This makes it much easier to retrieve memories on other days.
O Meditopia offers a 7-day free trial period, after which you must activate the subscription which costs R$179,90 annually.
Available in App Store e Play Store.
Calm 2a515l
The app Calm starts with a very pertinent question: what led you to this app? Answers such as “increase happiness”, “reduce anxiety” and “develop gratitude” rank among others. After answering the question, the application requests a registration that can be done quickly if you share your Facebook data.
Unlike the meditation apps tested so far, this one has a background sound with the sound of water and birds singing. It is relaxing!
Calm has an area for you to write down your mood for the day, allowing future consultations. You'll be able to see these notes on a calendar and even reflect on how you've been feeling, a great tool for anyone in therapy. Another interesting point of this application is the Breathing Exercise. Just set the time to exercise and the screen tells you when to inhale, hold and exhale, a great way to train people who, like me, have anxiety attacks.
The app is free to try for seven days, with over 100 guided meditations on a variety of topics, plus a library of stories that is renewed weekly. After this period, most features will only be available as a subscription.
Available in App Store e Play Store.
Headspace 283kq
O Headspace is a popular guided meditation app. After ing, you have access to the platform with meditations and courses. One of the first highlights is the possibility of choosing the gender of the narrator's voice, which can be male or female. Thus, it facilitates the identification between the and the application, in addition to facilitating the understanding of the words because of the diction and accent of each narrator.
The content of the headspace is divided by tabs. Under Explore, you can choose the meditation theme. In Weathering the Storm, for example, there is a free selection of experiences to meditate, de-stress or improve sleep quality.
On the other hand, the next tab of the app is dedicated to sleep. In Sleep, you can find podcasts to listen to at night, music to sleep, sounds of landscapes and other meditation exercises.
The last tab is dedicated to your results. In it, we can see the statistics and how the journey through the world of meditation has been carried out. The difference, however, is in Amigos, a space to share content with people you know.
O Headspace offers up to 2 weeks free trial, and can be subscribed to a monthly or yearly plan. A family plan is also offered, billed annually, for up to 6 s.
Available in App Store e Play Store.
Insight Timer 3lz3o
Fifth on the list of tested meditation apps is Insight Timer, which has 200 courses on topics such as anxiety, stress and sleep. New ones are added weekly, which increases interest in using this tool.
An interesting point of this app is the possibility to see s around the world. A map shows where they are and how much they are. When I tested the Insight Timer, there were almost 7 thousand people using the application simultaneously.
Insight Timer has more than 24 thousand meditations. To choose yours, simply select the theme through a set of filters: popular, benefits, practices and backgrounds. Some meditations are in Portuguese from Portugal, which can make it difficult for those who are not used to the Portuguese accent to understand some .
If you are already able to meditate on your own, without the aid of guided meditation, you can start the timer for a predetermined time and add interval sounds, ambient sound and a final bell.
One difficulty was felt in the course page loading time. Even with fast internet, it took a few seconds to load. And as a positive point, it was not necessary to to have access to the main content.
All app content is available for free s, and paid s allow you to listen to the content in offline mode, pick up where you left off, and high-quality audio.
Available to App Store e Play Store.
Prana breath 2x6t1d
Unlike what was seen in the other aplicativos of meditation, Prana breath It starts with a breathing exercise. Great! The home screen is not very inviting, but the curiosity to press the Play button was greater and starting the test in this way proved to be quite positive.
As you swipe the screen down, you notice that there are other exercises: relax, calm, energize, harmonize, anti-stress, anti-appetite and stop smoking.
the look of Prana breath it is very minimalistic, with a predominance of white and grayscales. For those who don't like excess colors and images, going straight to the point, this is the ideal application. However, this excess of minimalism makes navigation a bit confusing for those who are not used to meditating, like me! Therefore, I could not understand the features of the Control tab.
But I liked the next one, Experience. There, you can see how much you practiced on each proposed exercise, see your progress and track how these results affect your health.
And under Motivators, you can add reminders for you to practice meditation exercises. There are 19 presets, making it possible to include them at the desired day and time.
The free version is fully functional, and the paid version of the app removes ads and enables greater control over meditation program settings, lets you keep the screen off, and more.
Available in Play Store.
Zen 2t151i
The application Zen starts with a question: what is your main objective today? You choose one of eight options that are presented. The next screen invites the to try seven days for free and subscribe to a plan, in order to release access to the app's content.
As a way of attracting our attention, some of the contents of Zen like shows, podcasts, music, series and stories are signed by well-known names. This is the case of Mari Moon, Monja Coen, Cid Moreira and Juliana Goes.
The part about meditation comes in the middle tab of the app. The timeline comes with several options, all of which are properly described. One of them, In Difficult Times, talks about the current moment of contagion by the new coronavirus.
It is interesting that the is able to know, in detail, how a particular subject will be approached. Thus, there is no need to start listening to the audio to know whether or not there is interest.
A free tab lists content that can be accessed at any time, free of charge. Just select the theme and listen. And one of the differentials of the audios of Zen are the 15-second forward or back buttons, making it easy to regain focus during meditation.
Available in App Store e Play Store.
Five minutes 6x5626
Five minutes it has that name because it comes with meditations of this duration. It is an initiative of the organization Hands Without Borders, whose objective is to spread the benefits of meditation in a practical, simple and effective way.
The application has activity options, such as Guided Meditation. By pressing the Play button on the first option, a meditation in Spanish was started. There's the translation, which needs to be read, but meditating with my eyes open didn't seem like a good idea.
As the App itself explains, “only 5 minutes a day is enough for the wellness benefits to be achieved”. It wasn't exactly the feeling I had in a week of testing, but it can fit according to each 's lifestyle.
Available in App Store e Play Store.
meditate 38631o
Following the same premise as the previous application, meditate assumes that a few minutes a day will be enough to meditate. But before you start testing, you need to create an .
Here's an observation: unlike what was seen in other apps, there was no possibility of associating the meditate with social networks or Google . The positive point is that the registration has only three fields and is very quick to fill out.
Once ed, a timeline appears with several options to choose from. The first is inviting for those who don't have the practice: an introduction to meditation. There are seven sessions! When selecting your meditation, the app takes advantage of the internet connection to the audio. Therefore, it is possible to listen to it without the need to be connected and, in this way, save data when you are on the street.
Another plus point of the app meditate is its simplicity. In addition to the meditations page, you will find your profile with the results obtained. And one of the ways to encourage the is through the achievement of seals, as when the first five meditations are finished.
It is also possible to share the results and even invite your friends to try the app.
Available in App Store e Play Store.
Verdict: There are meditation apps for all audiences. You can take advantage of free trial periods to choose which one fits your lifestyle best. With enough practice and dedication, you can get to know yourself better and learn self-control through meditation. Worth the effort!
