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Mastering mindfulness

Mindfulness, Adulting, Meditation

 It  sounds  a  bit  wishy-washy  doesn’t  it?  Meditating,  finding  your  centre  and  being  mindful.  Even  if  you  were  that  sort  of  person,  finding  the  time  to  even  figure  out  where  to  start  isn’t  easy  —  especially  if  you’re  as  lazy  as  me.   

Given  the  pressures  on  lazy  cats  like  you  and  I  to  keep  up  with  the  expectations  of  daily  life  it  hardly  seems  worth  bothering  trying  to  squeeze  mindfulness  practices  in.  However,  the  busier  you  are,  the  more  beneficial  taking  a  moment  to  either  be  present  or  just  slow  down  becomes.   

If  you  have  a  quick  glace  and  this  here  article,  you’ll  see  that  the  benefits  of  mindfulness  range  from  reducing  stress  to  improved  academic  success.  So,  as  usual,  I’ve  been  leaning  on  technology  to  introduce  mindfulness  to  my  own  life,  and  these  three  apps  have  been  incredibly  useful. 

For  the  very  busy:  MindFi
Designed  to  fit  into  your  daily  routine,  MindFi  offers  you  three  options  when  you  open  up  the  app:

  • Break
  • Commute  
  • Meal  
The  idea  is  to  get  you  used  to  being  more  aware  of  what  you’re  experiencing  as  it  happens,  effectively  mediation  on  the  go.  There  is  also  a  handy  deep  work  function  that  lets  you  set  a  goal  and  a  time  goal  to  concentrate  for,  keeping  you  on  task.   

For  people  not  sure  about  mediation:  Meditation  Game
Feel  a  bit  self-conscious  about  diving  in  the  deep  end  with  mediation  sessions?  Then  this  is  for  you.  Pop  in  your  headphones,  get  comfy  and  play  this  ridiculously  calming  and  gorgeous  game. 

Before  you  realise  what’s  happening,  you’re  breathing  more  deeply,  you’re  focus  has  been  drawn  inwards  and  you’re  calm  and  content  —  meditating,  in  other  words. 

I  used  this  a  lot  before  I  got  stuck  in  properly  with  a  daily  guided  mediation  session,  and  if  I’m  having  a  hard  time  focussing  on  the  session  I  play  this  game  to  get  into  the  right  mindset  before  beginning  in  earnest.   

For  people  ready  to  get  stuck  in:  Calm
I  cannot  explain  in  strong  enough  terms  how  much  I  love  this  app.  No,  I  am  not  being  paid  to  say  that.  Calm  has  several  amazing  features  (some  you  do  have  to  pay  a  subscription  to  enjoy  completely). 

First  is  the  daily  calm.  This  is  new  guided  meditation  every  day,  which  is  available  in  the  free  version,  and  the  sessions  are  easy  to  follow  and  not  patronising  in  any  way. 

There  are  also  week-long  courses  with  daily  sessions  every  day  (paid  for),  including  seven  days  of  happiness,  seven  days  of  managing  stress,  the  mindful  eating  series,  seven  days  of  sleep  and  many,  many  more.   

Just  to  put  the  icing  on  the  cake,  there  is  a  sleep  function  that  offers  a  collection  of  bed  time  stories,  some  narrated  by  Stephen  Fry,  and  music  along  with  a  wide  range  of  options  for  background  sounds  to  play  during  and  between  meditation.  It’s  visually  appealing,  easy  to  use  and  is  a  very  supportive  way  to  become  more  mindful. 

These  are  just  the  apps  that  have  helped  me.  If  there  are  other  mindfulness  apps  that  you  have  discovered,  please  drop  me  an  email  at  lazycatguide@gmail.com and  I’ll  add  it  to  the  post. 
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Location: Cannock, UK

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