Hello there my Fellow Foodie!
(or in this case, should I say my fellow Yogi)!
Today I give to you my "food for though" on 4 of my favorite 'mindfulness' iPhone apps; Breakwrk, Hallow, I Love Hue & Insight Timer!
Disclaimer: this is a NON-PAID review. I have received no requests/form of contact from any app developer, as I, The Posh Pear, give you my reader an honest review.
Now, before I begin my review, I would just like to state that while there are many meditation/mindfulness apps out there, the 4 I've chosen to feature in this post are some of my favorites, that I personally use on a daily basis.
In case you're new to the world of "Mindfulness", have no fear (seriously, practicing mindfulness can help you manage those fears if you have one, so no worries), below, I've included a few list of terms to help you get to know the "lifestyle"!
"Choosing to practice mindfulness is a lifestyle - one that takes practice, yet offers endless rewards all rooted in gratitude".
- Meghan Chayka, The Posh Pear
Terms to Know:
(definitions according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary)
Lifestyle =
Def: the typical way of life of an individual, group, or culture
Mindfulness =
Def: also known as such a state of awareness; the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.
Meditation =
Def: a discourse intended to express its author's reflections or to guide others in contemplation.
Without a doubt, ever since I truly started meditating at least once a day (sometimes for 5 minutes, others for 45 minutes, depending on what I need in the moment)... everyday for the past year (devotedly since 2019) no matter the predicament, I've felt a significant decrease in my overall anxiety level & a tremendous increase in my overall sense of well being / clarity.
Before I do any task (a challenge, such as writing this post), I take three big deep breaths, center myself & write down my top five goals that will allow me to mark my progress! That's just an example of one small easy tip I learned during a meditation that I hope inspires you too, to take some positive action!
So without further adieu, I give my top favorite apps to you!
Top 4 Favorite Mindfulness Apps
1) Breathwrk
Category: For Anxiety, Sleep, Energy & Mediation
Audience: For Everyone & Anyone, in particular good for people looking to improve their stress levels through breathing techniques.
Thoughts: What I perhaps love most about Breathwrk is the fact that once I feel confident enough using a particular breathing technique I've learned via the guided audio, I find that in my daily life, when I feel myself in a situation where I feel anxious / the need to take a deep breath, I'm able to close my eyes, recall a lesson & breath without the audio present. Respectfully, to get to that point/level of confidence for some might take some time, but by downloading the app & signing up, you're automatically enrolled in a 10-day breathing challenge (tailored using a personal quiz to help suit your exact needs) to help you build a good habit in breathing - myself, I signed up for the 10-day challenge with a reminder to meditate at 9:30pm as my goal was to improve my sleep, with each guided session lasting just 15 minutes. Without a doubt, I can confidently say by day 5 I felt a big difference... around 9pm my body/mind was already starting to wind down & get excited for my meditation at 9:30pm (yes my fellow friend, I go to bed around 10:30/11pm, but I also wake up around 6:30/7am everyday, I'm a morning person, so go ahead & judge me but I love my routine)! After completing the first 10-day challenge, I still listen to / participate in a breathing exercise using the app almost every night as it helps me fall to sleep faster & erase any racing thoughts I might be having... overall, allowing me to wind down & recharge to face another day! I highly recommend this app (not only because it's free) but because it helps set you up for success by participating in something as simple as breathing!
Price: Free
Find the App: iTunes Store or Official Website
2) Hallow
Category: Catholic Meditation App
Audience: Faith driven, aimed at millennial's
Thoughts: Personally, I use this app daily - as a practicing Catholic, I find this app helps me focus during my prayer time. However, one doesn't have to be Catholic to participate, anyone looking for help centering their Divine calls, seeking religious guidance, is a Christian, looking to start the path of becoming a Born Again Christian or simply is just curious to know more of what I am talking about, I highly recommend checking out Hallow. While this app centers around meditations & prayers in Faith, I find at times when I need a more God yogi guided practice or a full-body scan audio this app helps me concentrate. It is worth noting that while there are other religious meditation apps out there (such as Abide & The Bible App) I do enjoy that Hallow has a well-rounded library of meditation selections (both free & paid) for me to enjoy at any time of the day. Also, as a final thought / critique - the entire app isn't free... as I try not to pay for an app or it's features unless I really love it, I wish this app offered more free variables because the paid version I think it quite expensive. With that being said, I do absolutely LOVE Hallow, yet I am just not willing to pay for the full version, which is why I have a collection of free religion apps on my phone that help to fill in the 'paid' gaps where I feel one app leaves off & I still wnt guidance.
Price: Free & Offers in App Purchases
Find the App: iTunes Store or Official Website
3) I Love Hue
Category: Game, "A Gentle Color Journey" & Mindfulness
Audience: Good for everyone & anyone looking for a "mindless" outlet of creativity/game (I also highly recommend this app for people who like doing puzzles).
Thoughts: Without a doubt, this is probably one of the most played game apps on my phone. As someone who loves design, get's annoyed / can tell when immediately when walking into a room if a particular color is "off", & just sometimes needs to step away from the computer by participating in a mindless activity, I find that I Love Hue satisfies every anxious part of me. By taking a look at the apps icon above, one can see the heart is filled in with color blocks, ranging every so slightly from shade to shade. The object of the game, once the player hits start, is to match in each round, the "mixed up colors" under every hue from lightest to darkest. For example, keeping in mind that each round progressively gets slightly harder, the screen will open up in a rectangle shape (relatively a bit smaller than the phones screen), with at least five rows of colors needed to be sorted by shade. The top & bottoms rows will always display the lightest / darkest shades (so there's no need to move any of those tiles), but the player will be able to see various other tiles throughout the grid are in the wrong place (similar to a rubix cube). Therefore, by dragging the colored squares around, the player is able to rearrange the board until all the colors correspond correctly. Sound like something that might satisfy your OCD, creative, or mindless obsession needs? I promise this app is AMAZING & if it's your thing, once you start playing, you'll look at the clock two hours later & wonder where the time went because you got so relaxed playing you didn't want the fun to end! Personally, I play this game maybe 5 times a day - limiting myself to one round each time (I will admit, I've gotten quite good at arranging the hues so each round takes me roughly less than a minute), which is perfect because sometimes that quick 1-minute release is all my brain needs to help me continue being productive (such as writing this review) for the day!
Price: Free & Offers in App Purchases
Find the App: iTunes Store or Official Website
4) Insight Timer
Category: Meditation, Teaching, Audio/Music, Health, Fitness
Audience: All Yogis! Those looking to learn meditation, those already familiar with the practice & looking to deeper their understanding, kids, adults, everyone!
Thoughts: This is hands down my all time favorite meditation app. Yes, you read that correct my fellow yogi friend, this app has become my saving grace many times - let me explain. Pre-2020 pandemic, I first found the app during the summer of 2019 while I was job-hunting post-college graduation. For those who know the though journey a job search can be, to help me deal with my worries, I decided to devote time each day to meditating - only, I didn't quite know where to begin. Then I found Insight Timer... & my life has never been the same since. The amount of times I've fallen asleep listening to a 'guided nighttime meditation', used it to help me connect deeper during my prayers, listened to the 'podcast/lecture' audios to learn more about life skills / health & wellness, and overall, not to mention, I've listened to so many sessions, my favorite app feature is being able to bookmark my favorite teachers because some have softer voices than others (I have a favorite one I listen to every morning & likewise, a favorite one for at night). I can filter the audios depending on how long I'm needing a session to be (in minutes) and feel confident throughout my day knowing I can always go back to my meditation sessions when I need it! Flash forward to today, living in the 2020 pandemic (& as someone who permanently lost their 'now former' job as a direct result of the health crisis), I can say that now more than ever I find myself using the app - listening to new audio sessions as new authors come out with posts to help people focus on the positive as a direct result of the current uncharted times. On that note, as I could go on & on about how much I love this app, let me wrap up my thoughts with this: since starting Insight Timer, I'm grateful for/noticed the following things: my everyday essence of self-confidence has improved by 110%, I sleep much better (I still have trouble some days) but the app has helped me make a big improvement, it's important to use meditation to give both thanks (when you're happy) & when you're in need of a quite space (to process running thoughts) as every stage of your life deserves to be nurtured & last but not least, I feel as thought my personal creativity levels have increased as a direct result from my elevated levels of sense of clarity & peace. So do yourself a favor & download Insight Timer (this whole time I've been using the Free version with no intention of making any purchase as I feel the free parts are all I need), so the way I see it, you have everything to gain & nothing to loose by downloading it :)
Price: Free & Offers in App Purchases
Find the App: iTunes Store or Official Website
BONUS Favorite App:
Motivation - Daily Quotes
Category: Positive reminders / Daily Devotional
Audience: Good for Everyone
Thoughts: To be honest, I used to use this app daily & often look forward to the quote every morning! The only reason why I say "used to use" primarily stems from the reason that I started getting overwhelmed by the amount of notifications my phone would set off daily - the app would give me anywhere between 5-7 quote notifications a day - on top of other notifications my phone often gets, I found it much easier to simply keep the app on my phone (turn off the notifications) & just look at it once a day to get my dose of inspiration (which I might not check everyday, but when I do, the quotes are always perfect & uplifting - often just what I'm needing to hear). For those who don't mind lots of phone notifications then this app is for you - or if you're like me, simply turn the notifications off & visit it as you please.
Price: Free & Offers in App Purchases
Find the App: iTunes Store
Still hungry? Until my next review, let me leave you with this 'food for thought'...
"How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you." - Rupi Kaur
Wishing you much health, happiness & success!
Hungry for more reviews?
Check out my other blog - The Platinum Passport - to visit my travel world!
Cheers,
The Posh Pear
Meghan Chayka
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