Which one is the best meditation app out there?

Question

Out of so many apps you find out there, which one do you think is the best to meditate?
What unique feature makes this app the best?
Plus, which one would you recommend for absolute beginners?

Leonard Knauß · Accepted Answer

I started with headspace. 
It's a free app that guides you through the topic step by step.
A great introduction to the topic if you like guided mediation.

Nick · Answer

@caros Same, I blew through the free Headspace content when I first used it. Thank you for mentioning the YouTube videos, I should of thought of that. I even have YouTube premium (ugh which they just raised the price...again😒) but now have some new stuff I will look through since you mentioned it. And also same, If I don't like the voice over it ruins it. I'll have to try the White Noise and others, I think there is a multitude of 'color' frequency tracks.

How do you find Spotify to be? For music I use Amazon Unlimited music, but I hate the interface. I wanted to look at the other premium sound streaming apps, but I have to try them out, have you used any of the others like Tidal, Pandora, SoundCloud, etc? I'm always listening to something throughout the day, so I feel those services are worth the money. 😊

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord Haha, you'll love Spotify! It showed me so many artists I'd never heard of that exactly matched my taste. Let me know how you liked it! 🙂

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord I'm glad that you like it! It will take some time for it to really know you, but it will be worth it. 
Your taste sounds cool! I am also a genre-hopper - from old German punk rock like Schleim-Keim to Dark Trap like Ghostemane to Psytrance, Hip-hop, Queer Pop. Music has to be versatile and I need different music for different moods and occasions. 
Thank you very much! I wish you the same! 🎄✨
I'm off work until the 2nd and I am endlessly happy about it - the stress at work before Christmas was huge and my last vacation was in July, so I really needed that. 🫠

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord How cool is it that you now Schleim-Keim! You really seem to know a wide variety of music. 🙂
Oof, PhD sounds stressful - I hope you get that done well and without too much stress. 
I also had so many plans, but actually right now I just enjoy being able to do my chores without time pressure, taking my dog for big walks, and working out in the middle of the day. I usually barely see sunlight at home in winter, that is one of the hardest things about my 9 to 5 this season. I feel you, spending some time on the sofa watching documentaries is a great thing - but I can barely do that for one day without having the urge to move or get out 🥲

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord Ha, it would look so funny if you took your cats for a walk 😅 I wish I could have a cat again, but my dog doesn't really like other animals... But we're working on it and I still have hope. 
I totally know the feeling of having to go the the grocery store to feel part of the real world, I had that when I did home office for a year at my old job. 
I also love summer and I am so looking forward to it, sometimes I'm sad that I am not an animal that sleeps during winter 🥲
We have about 10°C here those days, and it's been raining for the last two weeks, which we call typical Christmas weather... January and February could still be cold, but I think the weather overall has changed so much, we won't have any more freezing cold winters soon (which I kind of like, honestly). 
My dog says thank you! I think he always deserves treats just because he is the best boy 🥰
Give your cats some treats as well, I'm sure they are also the best boys/girls. How many cats do you have?

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord Landstuhl is actually not very far from where I live, this region really has some beautiful forests. I bet you appreciate that more when you live in a city like NY, where everything is full of buildings and people - I could not imagine living somewhere without forests and nature...
I think we should meet again in 30 years and show each other the farms we built up, it sounds like we could exchange some goat knowledge then. 😆 I'll definitely invite you to sit on my porch and watch my millions of animals 🤩
The week started stressful again 😖 Next week, I will be at CES in Las Vegas, and I have to get everything done before the weekend - I'll be so so happy when this week is over! And I'll be happy when I get home again because I never left my dog for that long before, and I could already cry when I think about being without him 😭
Wow, I never heard of a stolen muffler - you really live in the wrong place! 🤣
I hope you have a good rest of the week and no one steals other parts from your car! ✨

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord I just googled the Savannah cat because I never heard of it - omg, how beautiful is that breed 😍
We had snow like four weeks ago or so here, but it was only 2 centimeters - other than in Bavaria, where it was like one meter or so. I find it funny how the weather differs between here and 500 km from here; it's like those are two completely different worlds.
Oh wow, the story of Monkey is so cool! I find it so sweet that you built a shelter for him, and it's so cool that he now wants to stay with you even if he had the chance to leave 😍
And ooh yes, I have the exact same dream! Except I would stay in Europe and have goats, sheep, chickens, and lots of cats and dogs. Some day, I will have earned enough money to afford to take care of animals all day long 🥰
But I totally understand your fascination for monkeys, apes, and the like - they are dead cute!

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord omg I completely forgot to reply to you, I am so sorry! 
I had such a busy time visiting CES and then taking 19 hours to get home (well, 28 hours with the time shift) - and then the jetlag was hell and I directly fell asleep after work almost every day. 😆
Well, now that I had my first "normal" night (where I did not wake up at 2 or 3 am), I remembered that I should answer you. 🥲
How did your Twitter account go? Was it worth it, did you find something interesting there?
I had a great time in Las Vegas, CES was very productive, but the best thing was the helicopter tour we had on Saturday over and into the Grand Canyon, and out of the Grand Canyon at sunset - I had never seen something that beautiful and impressive 😍
I hope you had a good time and didn't get into a snowstorm. 😊

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord Wow, you really came around a lot!
Well, if I follow the rules of my country, I'll have to work for 37 more years before retirement. Of course I hope that I'll have enough money to retire earlier, but you never know - as of now, I am only a slave to the system 🥲
But I'll of course visit your farm in 15 years when it's ready ✨
I am so excited about CES and so looking forward to seeing all the crazy new stuff those big companies developed 🤩 And also so excited about my first time in the US and Las Vegas especially 🥰
Haha he would love staying with you! But I could never take him on a plane, I think dogs don't have a great time in the cargo hold with all the loud noises and stuff... Since we got him, we only spent our vacations in places that we could reach by car - this is the first time he's with a friend for some days. 
Well, maybe your muffler was an exception and your neighborhood's calm again now 🤣
Did the snow storm occur as they said? How was it? 
No worries, I enjoy our little conversation here 🥰
PH is actually the only social platform I'm using at the moment, and reading your messages always feels really refreshing 😊

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord Thanks for the insights! How was Calm for you? Does it have more or less free courses than Headspace?

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord Well, that doesn't sound too convincing - if it is pretty basic, it maybe isn't something for advanced meditators. 
I've tried Headspace, but I went through the free courses pretty fast, and I didn't want to pay any money because then I found that there are tons of meditation videos (of any kind) on YouTube for free. I am very picky regarding voices in guided meditations, and there you can choose from so many. I also often just use nature sounds or white noise to meditate. I found that Spotify has a wide range of playlists for both. 
Thanks for the recommendation, Binaural Beats sounds like something I have to try. The app looks pretty appealing at first sight. :)

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord I liked CES, but unfortunately, I had no time to see all of it as I had to stand at our booth 90 % of the time. I got to see some future cars, which was very cool, but that's it - I missed the whole entertainment part because our booth was in the other location (we were at the Venetian Expo, and the fun things were in the LVCC). I saw a car that could drive sideways and in any possible direction, and I loved that; I hope they will bring this to market someday so I can improve my parking skills. 😆
Oh thank god you were able to sleep that much on the plane. I only slept an hour in total, and that knocked me out for the next day...
I had a calm weekend and had to work a bit, though, because I have a pretty important project going on. I don't even have time for programming these days, and that's what I love most (and where I have to keep up with my deadlines). 🥲
Your schedule sounds not too exhausting, it's great that you have enough time left for research and writing. 🙂
My week is 40+ hours of work at the office, half of the time sitting in meetings and the other half working on that big project - I'm pretty exhausted even though the year has just begun, and I'm trying to keep my spirit healthy by working out and meditating, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to fight the urge to turn off my alarm in the mornings and just sleep for days. 😆
Anyway, this project will be finished by February 2nd, and after that, I'll hopefully be able to work normally again. ✊
My dog really missed me. He was sooo happy when we came back, and I was happy to finally see him again, too. He gives so much love, it's incredible... 
On February 5th, we will continue with dog school, I am so excited about that. Training with him always makes me so happy because I tend to forget how intelligent he is, and then he creates a big smile on my face when he shows me his cleverness. He turns seven this Sunday, but he's still capable of learning almost as fast as a young dog; it's just crazy. 🥰

Caroline Schmidt · Answer

@reconcatlord You're welcome! You'll find so much stuff there, I could spend hours on YouTube - even with the annoying ads because I don't have premium.
I love Spotify! I've been using it forever, and I honestly never tried any of the alternatives you mentioned. I like their algorithm, they somehow often manage to recommend things that I fall in love with immediately - be it songs, playlists, or podcasts. I find their interface very pretty and easy to use. They have many meditation playlists with white noise, nature sounds, or binaural beats, but for guided meditations, I usually look through all the podcasts because I couldn't find THAT voice yet 🥲 I really recommend you to try it out! Its premium is even a bit cheaper than YouTube premium.

Which one is the best meditation app out there?

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