Stress never knocks on your door before it comes in; so it’s hard to anticipate stressful times in life before they happen. If you’ve ever been in Lagos traffic, you most likely have an idea of what I’m talking about.
I’ve also had my fair share of Lagos traffic. Imagine the transition from enjoying a month of rest, to spending at least two hours in traffic every morning – motion sickness included. I wish someone had told me ahead of time. Couple that with personal and professional situations appearing at every turn – I’m sure you get the picture I’m trying to paint here.
Meditation has always been seen as an effective way to manage stress and improve focus but I never believed that or let’s say I was indifferent about it. But somehow, I found a meditation app called Headspace and I decided to give it a shot.
About Headspace
Headspace, founded by Andy Puddicombe and Richard Pierson is one of the most popular mobile meditation apps available today, with about 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store. This app teaches you to stay calm, breathe and meditate.
Asides tackling stress, Headspace also focuses on other areas such as:
- Falling asleep and waking up
- Personal growth
- Work and Productivity
- Life challenges
- Movement and sport
- Physical health
- and Student meditation courses
How does it work?
You simply download it from the app store, sign up, and you will be presented with a page that helps to personalize the app.
You will then be required to choose a topic to focus on.
The app goes on to ask you if you have any experience meditating. I guess this is also to help put the settings of the app to your taste.
You can also set a reminder.
You then go on to The Basics which is basically a free course that will usher you into the world of meditation for 10 days.
About the meditation sessions
I don’t know what you expect when you hear the word meditation; but the sessions are plain. No drama, just a guy – Andy Puddicombe – speaking in a very calm, English- accented voice. Deep breathing exercises are included in the meditation sessions.
What do I think about Headspace?
Adding meditation to my daily routine was difficult at first. But after I familiarized myself with the practice and found my own meditation groove, Headspace has since become an invaluable tool that I use. I find that meditating before my day starts, helps keep me calm for the day’s activities. Meditating at night also help with whatever stress I’ve been through during the day; making me fall asleep better.
I enjoy using this app because it reminds me to calm down and relax even when I forget that things may be spiraling out of control. It’s definitely worth a try if you struggle with stress and anxiety.
The ugly part? After the free course of 10 days, it requires a subscription fee.