The Mindful Challenge – Headspace App and the Search for Inner Calm

Intro

Throwback to Yogi days

I’m not new to meditation. In fact, I often dabble in and out of my meditative phases, but I had read so much about the ‘new’ craze that is mindfulness and in particular the Headspace app that I thought I would give it a go.

Meditation is said to reduce stress and anxiety, whilst not being a chronic sufferer I have had bouts of anxiety. Usually, it’s when I have put myself in extremely stressful situations and during winter I have often faced SAD (seasonal affective disorder or for people strongly affected seasonal aided depression).

When I first encountered SAD I was around 15 years old and thought I was just lazy, but winter for me was painful. I wanted to stay in bed, I hated the dark mornings so much I use to fantasize about the excuses I could make for not leaving my bed.

Apart from the mornings, I was ok for many years, but the symptoms got worse as I got older and I started taking herbal medication to relax myself (I have sleeping problems that started from being a baby so on occasion I feel anxious that I won’t get enough sleep and therefore panic about being overtired when I wake). Believe it or not, this is one of the reasons I choose not to live in the UK. I can’t cope with the worsening weather; those grey skies are deadly.

February’s challenge is to test out this ‘amazing app’ (the aim is to test the free sessions available with the app and see if it’s worth purchasing a subscription). Last year I read that this app is the best out there. With such glowing reviews I've decided to try it out myself.

I have to admit I’m a little excited to see if this app is as life changing as they're making out...

Session 1 – Basics

Iskon New Govardhana

For me meditation is a personal thing, some people sit crossed legged on the floor, or on a chair. I use it to help me sleep. I have experienced many types of meditation on my travels and I have my preference’s.

Having preinstalled the Headspace app into my phone a few days before, I received daily reminder’s in the form of a little dot icon persuading me to try it out. The app is easy to work and my idea is to start of with the first free session called Basics.

The app has a great layout visually and on entering the first session I'm greeted with a short cartoon explaining that meditation doesn’t always feel the same. The cartoon also guides you through three simple preparatory steps;

Step 1: Look for a time slot in your day where this session can easily enter to become part of your daily routine (I have decided to do the ‘Mindfulness’ exercise on waking and before I sleep). 

Step 2: Find somewhere you won’t be disturbed (apparently noise doesn't matter we will be shown how to deal with noise).

Step 3: Make sure your sitting comfortably ( I'm advised that it is OK to sit on a chair and not crossed legged on the floor).

After the cutesy cartoon, you are left to decide how long you want to do the meditative exercise for 3, 5 or 10 minutes? For me this seems incredibly short. Having experienced meditational experiences before, I would have expected at least 20-30-minute sessions. Well, I suppose it is for beginners, but I feel a little cheated after waking up a good 30 minutes earlier than usual.

So, having meditated for 10 minutes, lets walk through the experience.

First of all, I was introduced to Andy, the guru (obviously just the voice of Andy it is an app after all). He spoke for almost the whole ten minutes in a monotone voice without music or stopping for breath (OK maybe 20 seconds) and at one-point he advises that I count my breaths. And that was it.

I felt that the meditation lacked the most important part of meditation, the meditative state, the bit where it’s silent or there’s tranquil music. The bit where you feel in-between being conscious and sleeping. I’m left hanging in uncharted waters, feeling a mixture of calm and dissatisfaction. I feel as though I haven't fully finished meditating.

However, I guess it is for beginners and it’s not all that bad. 

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