The following article is about how to integrate peace and calm into your jam-packed routine. Also, if you’re a parent, we invite you to attend the upcoming free webinar “Happy Child, Bright Future: Raising Kids Who Live to Thrive,” this February 9, 2021 at 3PM (GMT+8) hosted by certified meditation teacher Komal Chopra Jodha, in partnership with the British International School of Kuala Lumpur. RSVP here.
Whatever you’re doing, just drop it for a quick moment and breathe.
Start by inhaling through your nostrils at the count of one. Two. Three. Four.
Then, slowly release your breath—and with it, whatever pent-up stress or worries you may be harboring—through your mouth in eight counts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Feel better? That’s just a sampling of what daily meditation can do for you! Meditating is having a moment right now, and for good reason—in a period defined by much uncertainty, many are looking to ground themselves and cultivate their inner peace.
If done consistently, daily meditation can bring you the following benefits:
Reduces anxiety and stress. Experts have proven that regular meditation lowers your cortisol levels, the stress hormone that produces the many inflammatory effects of stress. Another study found that eight weeks of mindfulness meditation reduces anxiety symptoms in people with generalized anxiety disorder.
Improves your attention span. As meditating pushes you to hone your focus amid several distractions, you will emerge with a clearer mind. In fact, spending just 13 minutes a day meditating can enhance your attention span and memory for the next eight weeks!
Boosts self-awareness. A regular meditation practice makes you hyper-aware of your thought habits, which allows you to recognize and overhaul any flawed or harmful thought patterns. This can also lead to you developing more creative problem-solving skills.
Thankfully, the era of smartphones can help you maintain a daily meditation habit with minimal effort! Check out the following top-rated meditation apps we love:
Calm
Calm touts itself as “the world’s number-one meditation app,” with over 100 million users and over 1.5 million 5-star reviews. Chosen as Apple’s App of the Year in 2017, Calm has over a hundred guided meditations in its database, making it a perfect choice for someone new to meditating.
Available for iOS and Android.
Headspace
With over 70 million downloads and a 4.9 app rating, Headspace is definitely one of the leading meditation apps in the market today. And the results speak for themselves: just 10 days of using Headspace can reduce your stress levels by up to 28 percent.
Available for iOS and Android.
Insight Timer
Both Calm and Headspace have minimal subscription fees for a wide database of guided meditations. But if you want your inner peace without a price tag attached, download Insight Timer. You get access to over 70,000 free guided meditations without paying a cent!
Available for iOS and Android.
Sattva
If you want to pay tribute to meditation’s Vedic roots, consider checking out Sattva. The app features meditations, mantras, and chants by Sanskrit scholars, making it a perfect choice for aspiring meditators who lean towards the spiritual.
Available for iOS and Android.
Don’t forget, if you’re a parent you can attend upcoming the free webinar “Happy Child, Bright Future: Raising Kids Who Live to Thrive,” this February 9, 2021 at 3PM (GMT+8) hosted by certified meditation teacher Komal Chopra Jodha, in partnership with the British International School of Kuala Lumpur. RSVP here.
