Best Meditation Music and Apps
There are many resources available to guide you through meditation. These include different types of music and apps, each offering various styles for you to explore.
Meditation Music Supports Your Intention
Whatever mental state you are in, meditation music can support you and the experience you are aiming to cultivate.
Relaxing
Listening to relaxing, mediative music can bring you deeper into restoration, even if you’re starting from a different mental state. Binaural Beats is a particular style within this genre that is considered sound wave therapy. This style is therapeutic because it uses altering frequencies for each ear, and as the brain computes these as one singular tone, it encourages a pattern in the mind that can support the reduction of anxiety and stress.
Awakening
You can awaken your mind through meditation music, whether that means listening when you wake up early in the morning or need to reenergize yourself midday. This type of music is a healthy, accessible way to bring about a more alert state.
Focusing
Sometimes it may feel like your mind is moving in multiple directions at once. But when you make an effort to gather your attention, you can harness your focus better serve your well-being. Having a focused mind can help you understand your thinking and behavioral patterns. When you have a clearer understanding of the inner workings of your mind, you will have a greater capacity to learn about the world outside of you.
Flowing
Bringing movement into your meditation is another way to guide your attention into what is happening right now. And there’s music to support your efforts in this area. Meditative music that encourages movement can include instrumentation from the piano, as well as more traditionally meditative instruments like singing bowls. When you add in gentle movement to your meditation, it gives your mind a mirror to see what responses arise when different parts of your body are activated.
Meditation Apps Provide Guided Experiences
There are multiple pathways into noticing your current state, each led by the meditation app of your choosing.
Waking Up
The Waking Up App with Sam Harris is one of the best resources available for meditation. It includes lessons, conversations, and Q&A’s around meditation and consciousness. Spiritual teachers and meditation researchers speak on these topics within the app, and offer insights and their personal perspectives on the process of meditating. It also offers different meditation styles, all designed to expand your awareness of what is happening in and around you.
Headspace
The Headspace App specializes in mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation is all about awareness - growing your understanding of the present moment. This means getting in touch with your feelings and emotions, without judging or pushing them away. This app offers mindfulness meditations that are just a few minutes long, others that are up to an hour, and also many options in between.
Calm
The Calm App is a popular choice, especially for beginners in meditation. The app includes research studies around meditation and its use for relaxing and sleeping better. Many people who use this app have said it is their favorite way to meditate.
Insight Timer
The Insight Timer App targets specific needs for meditators, including managing anxiety, decreasing stress, and improving sleep. All in all, the app has over 200 categories to meet a wide range of needs. In addition, it has meditation music that you can sit back and enjoy, whether you’re meditating, or simply wanting to relax.