What if we told you that you could manage your stress, be more productive, more innovative, and sleep better, with just a few minutes a day?
Mindfulness has been proven to do just this, and incorporating mindful practice into our lives can make a huge difference in the quality our lives.
WealthChoice Community recently had Mindfulness expert Christy Cassisa, JD, join us to share her knowledge on the topic, its many benefits, and some ways we can incorporate mindful practice in our busy lives.
Because we are so very busy between work and life, we realize taking time to do one more thing can be overwhelming. For this reason, mindfulness apps seem like a great option. You can access them when it fits in your schedule, and there are many different options to choose from. Below you will find Christy’s resource list. If you’d like to learn more about Mindfulness, programs you can attend on the subject, and resources available, reach out to Christy at her company website, The Institute for Mindful Works.
Christy’s Favorite Mindfulness Apps:
HEADSPACE
Billing itself as “your very own personal trainer, here to help you train your mind,” Headspace will teach you the basics of mediations, provided you surrender ten minutes of your day. If you opt into the program, it offers you a tracking page for your progress, a buddy system designed to help you motivate your friends, reminders for staying on track, and a wide range of recordings for different moods and lifestyles. (Foundation Level 10- free, subscription based after)
INSIGHT TIMER
Insight Timer offers several guided meditations by teachers. If you wish to meditate in complete silence instead, Insight Timer will time your session and wake you to the sound of an authentic Tibetan singing bowl. You can also configure it to ring at any interval you wish and check out the online community of people who meditated with you all around the world. (Free, $2.99 for advanced version)
THE MINDFULNESS APP
The Mindfulness App lets you create your own guided meditations—customizing how long and what type you want to do that day. It also has a convenient reminder function, to help maintain your practice throughout the day. ($4.99)
BUDDHIFY
Seriously user-friendly, Buddhify is for those looking to get something specific out of a guided meditation. The app contains custom recordings for fifteen possible scenarios from your day, including “feeling stressed,” “difficult emotions,” “going to sleep,” “travel,” and “walking in the city.” Want to gauge your progress? It stores stats and presents graphs to track your activity. ($4.99)
STOP, BREATHE & THINK
This app offers a solid sampling of the basics of meditation, featuring a range of exercises at varying lengths (mindfulness meditation, loving-kindness meditation, the body scan practice), ideal for short practices at work and longer sessions at home. This app contains an emotional component that asks you to input how you feel, mentally and physically comprehensively, and then suggests a variety of meditation practices based on your response.
The look and feel of the app is very accessible, with plain-English explanations of what meditation is and how to do it, and with a bit of humor weaved into the whole project. (Free, in-app purchases)
CALM
Calm offers a free seven-day course of guided-meditation exercises. Once you pay for the extended version, the available sessions include a 21-day program for general wellbeing, and a week-long series focusing on helping you get better sleep. There are also individual sessions lasting between two and 20 minutes, and “unguided” sessions using music and nature sounds. ($9.99/mo subscription after free 7-day course)
SMILING MIND
Smiling Mind was developed by a team of psychologists working with a non-profit. Its playlists contain a variety of guided Mindfulness meditations, such as a guided Body Scan, a Breathing Exercise, Mindful Listening Exercises and a Daily Guide. Offers a pre and post evaluation option to see if your mood changes with practice. (Free)
Christy particularly likes Insight Timer and Headspace.
There are other ways to learn more about the subject and how to incorporate mindful practice in your life. Christy offers guided meditations on her website, and if you are interested in learning more in an abbreviated format, you can attend one of the mindfulness retreats she offers. Later this month she’ll be holding a Mindfulness Retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona. This would be a wonderful gift to yourself and a great way to learn about mindfulness.
At WealthChoice we believe health and well-being is critical to living our ideal life. If you’d like to learn more about how to live a better life, please join us for our monthly WealthChoice Community events, which feature fabulous experts on all things that affect our personal, professional, and financial lives.
