The importance of mental health is a major challenge as we navigate through a global pandemic as well as the stresses that accompany it.
Meditation, however, is a collection of methods that began at around 1500 BCE to support an Eastern spiritual and religious tradition It has been shown to reduce anxietiesTrusted Source and improve overall well being. Because of the internet age it’s much more accessible than ever to begin.
Headspace is a meditation application that is available on iOS and Android which is great for those who are just starting out. It offers guided meditations and mindful exercises and sleep methods There’s something in the app that will appeal to all users.
Read on to find out more about what this product has to provide.
What Is Headspace?
Headspace is a mindfulness application with an easy-to-use user interface that takes the stress and stress out of mindfulness.
Based on TechCrunch, Headspace is among the most downloaded mindfulness apps around the world, and is ranked second only to Calm and racking up millions of downloads.
The app was founded with Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk who is the one who writes the majority of the meditations that are guided. Though meditation is in fact rooted within the Eastern Buddhist tradition, Headspace doesn’t have any specific religion.
The Pros And Cons
Pros
- Family plans and annual subscriptions offer significant savings.
- The app works with every iOS or Android user.
- The information on their website is available and free to everyone.
- The app will send daily reminders or nudges to do your best.
- You can monitor your progress using the statistics feature.
- It is possible to include other users to your journey with the friends feature.
- The classes for training will be taught by Olympians.
Cons
- The monthly cost is more than other meditation apps.
- Some users have reported finding the app repetitive in certain instances.
- The free trial requires you to insert the credit card into and then commit to an auto-renewal plan.
- Headspace focuses more on courses for beginners this could be a negative for advanced practitioners of meditation.
What Is The Headspace Function?
After registering an account after which you’re taken to the home page where you’ll be greeted with “Wake Up,” a short video series designed to teach concepts like the ability to let go or get away from the mental stresses (sometimes it’s even an actor or a famous person in the video).
The menu bar located at the lower right of the screen contains four categories that you can switch between: Sleep, Meditate Move, Focus, and Sleep.
Here are a few of the most well-known features.
Free Comparison To Paid
Customers of the trial trial can access one of three foundational courses, which are titled “Basics.” There are 10 free sessions included in the “Basics” course. After the initial “Basics” pack, you must become a paid subscriber to gain access to the third and second series of the course.
The trial trial is also free and includes the ability to access three workouts of “Today’s Meditation,” the “Stress Release” and “Reframing Anxiety” exercises under the Move section, as well as one of the app’s most viewed sleep casts “Rainy Day Antiques.”
If you pay for a subscription, you can access the entire collection of content, which includes hundreds of meditations.
The membership fees for Headspace Plus are $12.99 per month or $69.99 per year. If you’re eligible for the student plan, the cost is $9.99 annually. Also, there’s a family plan which gives six accounts with access to $99.99 annually.
Headspace also offers free membership to teachers in the K-12 school principals, school administrators, as well as other staff members in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Meditate
There are meditation classes as well as single programs. Courses are groups of guided meditations centered on different subjects, including the process of dealing with grief, stimulating imagination, building confidence and focusing. One-off programs are a way to calm yourself for times of stress, such as preparing for a presentation or overcoming anxiety prior to flying.
A lot of meditations can be customized. You usually have the option of Puddicombe, the app’s co-founder and co-creator, or a female narrator. You can also decide the length you would like the meditation session to last anything from 3 to 20 minutes. The app keeps track of the amount of time you’ve spent in meditation and will update you with the number of “minutes meditated” after each session.
Headspace also records the number of days in a row that you are meditative and provides a positive quote on mindfulness.
Sleep
Sleeping problems are one of the main reasons why people choose to practice meditation. A majority of those 55 and older suffer from a sleeping disorder, such as difficulty establishing and maintaining their sleep in accordance with a 2015 study conducted by the Trusted Source.
The content for sleep at Headspace includes tranquil guided sessions and sleep casts that last 45 to 55 minutes and offer audio-guided tours of imaginary realms and white background noise.
There are also guided meditations that include brief breathing exercises and soothing visualizations that assist you in letting go of the stress of the day. There’s also an alarm clock that can play up to 8 hours worth of ocean, rain, or other music to help you fall asleep.
Move
Move is among the latest offerings of the app. It provides a wide range of moderate-to-low intensity workouts that last between 10 and 30 minutes long . They concentrate on the connection between mind and body.
Olympians Kim Glass and Leon Taylor will guide you through the exercises and will help you be mindful of the breath exercises.
There is no focus on intensity. In fact, they concentrate on specific topics, such as redefining anxiety with yoga or mindfulness as well as exercising.
Focus
The Focus tab features carefully selected music and meditation playlists created to help you focus on the task in front of you.
Certain playlists have ambient music and low-fi beats, while others feature audioscapes or 3D recordings of all across the globe (like forests, Dehli thunderstorms, monastery bird songs, or even a nighttime jungle).
There are also playlists with a focus that are curated by Grammy Award-winning artists such as John Legend’s that highlights his top jazz songs.
Social Connections
The app lets you add family and friends from your contact list as friends. The addition of buddies lets you track how long your pals have pondered and also send them encouraging messages such as “keep it up” or “thinking of you!” This feature will aid in keeping one another accountable.
Children’s Headspace
Headspace also offers a variety of classes for children that teach them to meditate at an early age. It offers basic breathing practices, peaceful meditation activities, and even brief lessons on the importance of generosity and kindness.
Headspace recently joined forces together with Sesame Street to help youngsters to join.
As an example: Elmo is having trouble falling asleep because he is eager to play. Puddicombe then instructs Elmo a relaxation activity to assist him to relax and fall to sleep.
Headspace’s content for kids is broken into digestible animated videos that teach children how to handle relatable, everyday situations.
Is Headspace Suitable For You?
The Headspace app is an excellent option for those looking to attempt mindfulness for the first time. It’s cheap, simple, easy, and simple to use.
Experienced users of meditation On the other hand they can enhance their meditation up a notch through practicing meditation in untimed sessions or exploring fictional worlds during Sleepcast.
The app provides eight beneficial methods derived in Burmese or Tibetan Buddhist traditions:
- Notification: Labeling experiences as they manifest in “thinking” or “feeling”
- Visualization: Picturing something or someone else in your mind
- Relaxing Consciousness: Letting your mind wander freely during meditation instead of focusing on your breath or a visualization
- Concentrated Attention: Focusing your attention to a specific object (or goal) or mantra
- Love And Compassion: Mentally sending goodwill warm, warmth, and kindness to other people
- Reflection: Asking yourself questions
- Body Scan: Performing a mental scan starting at the highest point of your head, to the bottom of your feet in order to connect your body and the mind.
- Skillsful Compassion: Focusing on a loved one or someone you have known for a while by paying close attention to feelings that come from your heart
Each of these methods is contextualized within the various meditations, and is accompanied with helpful animations to give clarity.
It is possible to enjoy Headspace If you are suffering from symptoms of:
- Depression
- Pain
- Anxiety
- Difficulty Getting Focus
- Sleep Difficulties
Does Headspace work?
According to certain research studies, according to Trusted Source The practice of mindfulness meditation may help to reduce small to moderate mental stressors, such as depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping, and suffering.
An 2017 study found that just one session can cut the amount of time spent wandering around up to 22. An additional report from the year 2017 found that after four days of testing Headspace users experienced an increase in their concentration.
Takeaway
Headspace removes the rigors of meditation by providing a visual and simple-to-use interface. Like the slogan implies, Headspace tries to foster an environment where meditation can be simplified.