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15 April 2019

The best guided meditation apps… chosen by you

Some people choose to use a guided meditation app to help them meditate and so we've asked the community for their favourite apps.

Support and tips
Stress management

There are so many meditation apps, books, CDs available that it can be hard to know what to choose. By asking real users in the Overcoming MS community, we hope to help. 

Guided meditation is not for everyone, some people choose to meditate without any prompts or distractions, and you certainly don’t need to spend money to meditate, choose what’s right for you!

Cost

Price can be a barrier, however you can often try a free version that allows you to ‘try before you buy’.  

Some workplaces have free access to apps such as Headspace, it’s worth finding out whether you have access to this. 

Overcoming MS has some guided meditations on our website which are all free. 

Other things to consider when choosing a meditation app

  • The range of meditations on offer.
  • The type and length of meditations on offer.
  • Whether you like the meditation practitioners’ style.
  • Ease of use.
  • Look and imagery of the app.
  • Does it offer guidance for beginners?.
  • Additional features such as background sounds or bedtime stories if needed.

Most popular guided meditation apps

The three most popular were: 

1. Headspace

What users said about it 

  • I find Andy’s voice the easiest to listen to
  • Like the layout (easy to navigate and not too overwhelming), style (I find the concepts are well explained) and visuals( helps to understand the concepts)
  • I’ve been using Headspace for 3.5 years now ❤️ Love it!!

Price : Free trial with very limited meditations, or US$12.99/month or US$95/year

2. Calm

Guided meditation, sleep sounds, sleep stories and mindful movement videos. 

What users said about it 

  • I love the varied amount and the daily calm. When I first started though I used ‘omg I can meditate’ free version which really introduced me to meditation and was really useful. However, it is quite an expensive subscription 

Price : The initial 7 Days of Calm, unguided sessions, some guided sessions and tracking features has no cost. For full catalogue US$9.99/month or US$39.99/year.

3. Insight Timer

What users said about it 

  • It’s free and has a great variety (the whole gamut from the brilliant to the questionable end of the spectrum). It’s a little overwhelming at first as there are so many but with perseverance you can find ones you like and bookmark them.

Price: Most of the functionality is free, you can pay for Insight Premium which has bonus features and is US$5/month

 

Other popular meditation apps mentioned

Smiling Minds

  • Guided meditation app, developed mainly for young people in Australia. 

Price: Free – Smiling Mind is a non-profit that works to make mindfulness accessible to all.

Simple Habit

  • Five minute meditation app for specific scenarios. 

Price: US$3.99/ week, $11.99/month and $99.99/year.

Buddhify

  • 200 + guided meditations, designed for on the go. 
  • Good variety for different emotions and situations.

Price: US$2.99 one-off cost / membership is US$30 a year for additional features.

Relax Melodies

Play and mix relaxation sounds. 

  • I started meditating in a group setting 3 years ago and now take time each day to sit in my space and meditate, read, or just connect with my crystals lol. It’s been calming. I try to stay stress free and it’s really helped

Pause app

  • Not so much a meditation app, but a mindfulness tool – interactive animations 

Price: US$1.99 on-off price

Other helpful meditation resources

Websites

  • Overcoming MS website – I use the body scan from Overcoming MS daily. The voice on the 10 and 20 min suits me well.
  • Innate Being (some of Innate Being’s meditations are also on the Overcoming MS site, with thanks to Alison Potts).
  • YouTube channels – there are loads of guided meditations.

Books 

  • I would recommend reading Mind Calm, Sandy C. Newbigging totally changed my meditation and the way I think.

Nature

  • I love to meditate in the woods or near a stream, but that’s not available to everyone. However, just being near a tree helps tremendously. Any natural setting really. A garden, a park, even a balcony with plants. Natural materials help – wood, stone, water. Technological reproductions can be soothing and beautiful, but they do not contain the life force and energy of a natural setting. Water can be particularly powerful. This is really powerful for being alone with oneself. 

Share your experiences in the comments!