Want to start meditating and don’t know where to begin? Or maybe you already have an established meditation practice and want to add more tools to your routine.

Mobile apps are great to help out in almost every aspect of our lives. From apps that keep grocery lists and recipes to apps that help us with interior decorating, there’s an app for practically everything! Apps are also great to learn new things, like languages and meditation.

It is well-known that meditation can calm the mind, help us with focus and memory, as well as help us sleep better. But starting and maintaining a regular meditation practice can sometimes be challenging. Without accountability and motivation, it can be difficult to keep at. That’s where meditation apps come in handy.

Read HOW I IMPROVED MY SLEEP WITH MEDITATION AND YOGA LIFESTYLE.

Benefits of Meditation

We all know that regular exercise and eating healthy keep our bodies in shape and functioning well. We sometimes forget that our mind is just as important and needs to be taken care of.

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. Meditation originally was meant to help deepen understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life. These days, meditation is commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction.

—Mayo Clinic

Trusted Mayo Clinic mentions that the benefits of meditation may include:

• Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations,
• Building skills to manage your stress,
• Increasing self-awareness,
• Focusing on the present,
• Reducing negative emotions,
• Increasing imagination and creativity,
• Increasing patience and tolerance,
• Lowering resting heart rate,
• Lowering resting blood pressure,
• Improving sleep quality.

Read HOW MEDITATION CAN IMPROVE YOUR ENERGY.

Meditation Apps for Mature Women

I have tried several different meditation apps, and this is a list of my favorites:

Headspace

The Headspace app specializes in meditation and mindfulness. It teaches you how to relax, how to manage stress, and how to find your focus through guided meditations, courses, and mindfulness exercises. It helps you build a daily practice to live a stress-free and happy life. The app also offers sleep sounds and guided sleep meditations. With over 70 million downloads, they must be on to something.

Headspace for Android

Headspace for Apple

Calm

Calm helps you manage stress, helps to balance your moods, refocus your attention and also sleep better. The app has guided meditations, sleep stories, soundscapes, breathwork, and stretching exercises as well. It offers a mental daily health tracker to keep you mindful and on track.

Calm for Android

Calm for Apple

Meditopia

Meditopia is another popular meditation app that also offers guided meditations and bedtime stories. It has over 1000 guided meditations on a variety of subjects that affect our moods and daily lives. It sends daily reminders so you remain accountable for your meditation practice. Meditopia is translated and offered in 12 languages.

Meditopia for Android

Meditopia for Apple

Insight Timer

Insight Timer is an acclaimed mindfulness app that offers guided meditations and talks led by leading meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists, and university teachers. It also has sleep music tracks recorded by world-renowned artists.

Insight Timer for Android

Insight Timer for Apple

Chopra: Meditation and Wellbeing

Whether you’re new to meditation or you’re an advanced practitioner, the Chopra app will help you find your peace on a path that suits you. The guided meditations are based on Deepak Chopra’s wisdom and scientific research. The app offers well-being tools, tips, and practices.

Chopra for Android

Chopra for Apple

Read GUIDED MEDITATION FOR WOMEN OVER 60.

Try out the free versions or free trial periods of a few apps before deciding which one best suits your needs and lifestyle. At the base, they are all very similar, but the user interfaces are all different and you may feel more comfortable with one over the others. It’s worth paying a monthly or yearly subscription to your favorite app in order to have access to full features.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you meditate? Will you start meditating? What is your favorite way or technique to meditate? Will you – or do you – use a mobile app to mediate? Tell us about it in the comments below.