Calm – A perfect app to introduce yourself to meditation

I’m like many of those who want to learn and practice meditation but could not find time. Though many meditation courses are offered around the neighbourhood where I live, finding 2 to 3 hours time required(get ready, drive, meditate & return home) to attend those classes is always hard. Other priorities like taking care of weekend chores at home, entertaining kids or finding some time to take midday nap were pushing meditation plans down the order. One way or another, for the past two years I wanted to join a meditation course but could not. If you are in a situation like me, then here is some good news. Get the mobile app Calm and you can start  meditation in no time.

Last week I heard about the app Calm, while listening to a podcast on the way to work. The same day I installed the app and to my wonder I’m meditating everyday since I installed the app. On the day I installed the app, it guided me to successfully complete first meditation session in two minutes and it made a lot of difference to me.  Apart from relaxing my mind, it boosted my confidence that I can also learn & practice meditation. Thanks to Calm app for giving me that confidence!

Now I’m regularly meditating at least twice a day, once early in the morning and another time just before going to bed. My sessions are either 5 minutes or 10 minutes long depending on the time I’ve. I think in another few weeks I’ll be able to meditate for longer sessions.

Now lets talk a bit about the app. Calm app is available on Android, iOS and on web at calm.com. The mobile app is more powerful than the web version. The app is well designed and let you track your progress once you create a profile though its not required.

The app shows you few relaxing scenes and sounds to pick, options on how long you want to meditate (2 mins, 5 mins, 10 mins or 20 mins). Once you pick the options, a narrator guides you through the meditation process. It’s very easy to follow the instructions and does not require any prior meditation experience.

There is also a 7 day meditation program available on the app if you want to learn more than the basic guided meditation. The basic guided meditation and the 7 day meditation programs are free. You need to buy membership if you would like take premium meditation courses for Anxiety Release, Compassion, Confidence, Creativity, Energy, Focus, Forgiveness, etc. The premium features are available at $9.99/month or $39.99/year plans as I write this post. I’ve not tried any of the premium features.

Another nice feature of this app is that the  guided meditation sessions offered by the app are not based on any religious teachings. The guided sessions are simply based on focusing on your body, breathing and living at the moment. Its a very important one to me as I don’t want to mix meditation with religious teaching.

Calm is a perfect app to introduce yourself to meditation. Get Calm for Android and iOS.