Lifestyle Archives - Meditation Mind

Free Meditation and Mindfulness Apps

Meditation Mind Team — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 01:36:19 +0000

So, you’re curious about all this meditation stuff, but you aren’t quite ready to commit to taking a course that lasts several weeks and a book just doesn’t feel practical. Or maybe you’re already convinced and want to start a practice right away, but you’re not confident you can do it without guidance. Meditation apps are convenient and practical, with a wide variety of guided meditations, and can be a great way to get started, or even to just explore new styles of meditation.

Here we offer a selection of high-quality apps that are completely free (no in-app purchases!), plus two more with paid options that are still worth considering. We’ve also added a handful of free minimalistic timers, method-specific apps, and apps for study. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, join our online Discord community and ask other meditators which apps they recommend.

Special Mention: Fab Apps, Free Options

Special Mention: Paid… But Worth It

Smiling Mind is a FREE mindfulness meditation app developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life. Just as we eat well and stay fit to keep our body healthy, mindfulness meditation is about mental health and looking after the mind.
Our programs are designed to assist people in dealing with the pressure, stress, and challenges of daily life. Listen to meditations as guided by smooth and calming voices. Smiling Mind includes a number of meditations in Indigenous Australian languages (Kriol, Ngaanyatjarra & Pitjantjatjara). We offer programs for all ages including Kids (3-12), Youth (13-18) and Adults (19+).

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

With this easy-to-use app, you can practice mindfulness meditation anywhere, anytime with the guidance of the UCLA Mindful. Scientific research shows mindfulness can help manage stress-related physical conditions, reduce anxiety and depression, cultivate positive emotions, and help improve overall physical health and well-being.
This app offers: (1) Basic Meditations for getting started, in both English and Spanish; (2) Wellness Meditations for people suffering from challenging health conditions; (3) Informative videos exploring how to get started, supportive meditation postures, and the science of mindfulness; (4) Weekly podcasts from UCLA's Hammer Museum--a 30 minute meditation on different themes you can search for and bookmark; and (5) A timer to meditate on your own.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Backed by four decades of research from world-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Richard Davidson and his team at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin - Madison & Healthy Minds Innovations, the Healthy Minds Program trains your mind through meditation and podcast-style lessons to develop skills - to gain focus, reduce stress, and maintain positive social connections.
The ground-breaking Healthy Minds Program App uses neuroscience, contemplative traditions, and skill-based learning methods to help you develop the skills for a healthy mind.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Mindfulness Coach 2.0 was developed to help Veterans, Service members, and others learn how to practice mindfulness. The app provides a gradual, self-guided training program designed to help you understand and adopt a simple mindfulness practice. Mindfulness Coach also offers a library of information about mindfulness (for example “What is Mindfulness?”, “How to Anchor Your Attention”), 12 audio-guided mindfulness exercises and a growing catalog of additional exercises available for free download, goal-setting and tracking, a mindfulness mastery assessment to help you track your progress over time, customizable reminders, and access to other support and crisis resources. Mindfulness Coach is free, doesn’t take or share any of your personal information, and doesn’t require add-on purchases.
Mindfulness Coach was created by VA’s National Center for PTSD.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Looking to touch peace, calm and ease in today’s frantic and often stressful world? The Plum Village practices are an invaluable support.
Use mindfulness meditation techniques taught by a renowned Zen Buddhist Master to connect deeply with the present moment, soothe anxiety, experience more joy and happiness, and taste enlightenment.
Explore a wealth of easy-to-use guided meditations, relaxations, and talks.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Breathr shows you easy and fun ways to practice mindfulness. It was developed for youth by BC Children's Hospital with experts and the help of young people - but open for anyone to give it a try.
Begin to explore and experience practices of mindfulness and self-compassion, choosing from a variety of practices. Breathr can help you to live in the present moment, while providing interesting facts about the many benefits of mindfulness.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Oak helps you decompress by transforming your meditation practice from an experiment into a habit. We support you from your first session to your 500th, with mindful, loving-kindness, and sleep meditations as well as unguided sessions and breathing exercises. Individualize your meditations by duration, and customize with silence or calming background sounds. Oak tracks your progress and encourages you to continue building a healthy meditation practice.

App Website | App Store (iOS)

Start & deepen your meditation journey with Idanim, a meditation app from India that is 100% free. Practice live & guided meditations in Hindi & English.
Guided meditations, mindfulness meditations, and mantra meditations in Hindi & English for inner peace
Morning sessions everyday with Live meditations by meditation experts for deep relaxation
Free meditation app that offers personal guidance by meditation teachers on various topics like mindfulness, focus, stress, and overall health & wellbeing
Various insomnia battling features like sleep meditations, sleep timer, sleep stories, relaxing music, and more

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

The number 1 free meditation app. Guided meditations and talks led by the world's top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and teachers from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford and more. Music tracks from world-renowned artists. Join millions learning to meditate on Insight Timer to help calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage stress, sleep deeply and improve happiness.
With 80+ new free guided meditations added daily, more meditation is practiced on Insight Timer than anywhere else. Great for both beginners and experienced practitioners.

Tons of Free Content + Best Free Timer

While some content is paid, Insight Timer still offers the world's largest free library of more than 130k guided meditations from 14k teachers (including us!). The meditation timer is one of the best - highly configurable, with a great selection of bell sounds. The app also offers extensive social features, including groups. Join ours here.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Discover daily mindfulness and meditation with Sam Harris—neuroscientist, philosopher, and best-selling author—and explore the theory behind meditation practice. Daily guided meditation sessions, lessons on zen, the stoic path, on-demand mindfulness sessions, as well as a practice timer will build your understanding, balance your mind, make your practice shine, and help turn meditation into a new habit. For inquiring and curious minds, learn the related science, philosophy, and ethics in short audio lessons with Sam and through his extended conversations with other influential meditation teachers, scientists, and scholars.

High-Quality Content + Scholarship Options + Special Offer

While most of the content is behind a paywall, the content itself is excellent and covers a wide variety of approaches to meditation and mindfulness from many of the top teachers today. For those who can't afford the price of subscription, partial and full scholarships are available - no questions asked.

We also have a special promo code for three months of free access, available to Meditation Mind community members. Join us on Discord and ask!

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

THE WAY is a new kind of meditation app: a single path, led by an authorized Zen master, that guides you on a deep meditation training program. Study alongside Zen master Henry Shukman as you uncover the deep peace, love, insight and awakening that meditation can bring.
The simple path to deeper meditation.

A star among single-path, journey-style meditation apps

While The Way is a relatively new addition to the meditation app scene, it has quickly become a staff favorite as a beautifully executed example of the single-path, journey-style design. Henry is also a fantastic teacher, which makes The Way really shine.

Henry will be joining the Meditation Mind community for a guided meditation, talk, and Q&A in January 2025. Community members can receive 30 free sessions of The Way, courtesy of Henry, by using the special code: MEDITATIONMIND. (iOS users click here.)

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Brightmind’s approach to teaching meditation is to “make it as simple as possible, but no simpler". So we take deep and transformational concepts and practices, and explain them in simple and practical ways. Making things as simple as possible, but not any simpler, leads to efficient and effective learning and growth.

Recommended + Community Partner

Brightmind was created by Toby Sola, a member of the Meditation Mind community who hosted a special guided meditation and Q&A in August 2023. While a paid app, many of our staff and community members have used and recommend Brightmind.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

No unnecessary voice over guide. No background music or ambient sounds. Just you and your mind, the way mindfulness meditation was meant to be.
Center is an elegant meditation timer which tracks your sittings in a beautiful and simple way. With HealthKit integration so you can see your daily mindfulness practice stats right from the Health app.
The app uses haptic feedback in addition to classic meditation chimes: one chime to start, one chime for intervals, and three consecutive chimes for ending a meditation session.
Before you begin you can edit your sit time, set a delay to prepare, plan interval sounds to keep you focused, and get meditation insights. After each session the app tracks your meditation practice and provides custom insights to help you. This is what makes Center a valuable app: simplicity and a tailored experience to improve your practice the more you use the app.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | ~~Google Play (Android)~~

A minimalist timer. Elegant and peaceful way to meditate or practice restorative yoga. Simply counts down your session, then chimes the Keisu zen bowl. No additional "stuff" or distractions. Set your Simple Timer, take a few deep breaths and relax. You can choose to record your session as Mindful Minutes in the Health App.

App Website | App Store (iOS)

A simple, free meditation timer.
- Vibrant UI and sounds

- Count up with no bell, or down with a bell

- Works with screen on or off

- Integrates with Apple Health

- View and add sessions manually

App Website | App Store (iOS)

Meditation Timer Online

Meditation Timer Online is the ultimate meditation timer for the web.
Set your desired meditation duration, select the intervals and let the gentle Tibetan bells guide you into a profound state of relaxation.

Website

Make meditating into a habit with Shellevate, the meditation app you'll get addicted to. Build a streak by meditating consecutively, earn gems to purchase streak freezes in case you miss a day, and coolest of all, collect and raise turtles from their eggs. The longer you meditate, the rarer the turtles you can find.
It's turtle-y awesome. Hopefully you have a shell of a time building one of the most useful habits you can.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | ~~Google Play (Android)~~

Explore this portal into the Headless Way - a modern path to the one faceless Self we are all looking out of! Enjoy the many short video clips that are nowhere else available, be inspired by the randomly chosen quotations, do the experiments, read the articles, and set your alarm to remind you about your Self!

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Learn to meditate in 12 easy steps, then take the 30 day challenge to make meditation a daily habit.
The 1 Giant Mind app is for anyone who wants to feel less stressed, more calm, present, and experience greater health and wellbeing. Our approach to meditation is easy and effortless. and no previous experience is required. Anyone can learn this technique in 12 short steps and begin to experience the benefits immediately.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Identify your feelings. Connect your feelings to underlying needs. Develop habits to support your underlying needs. Allow your mental health to flourish.
Humanly combines Spiritual, Philosophical, Scientific, and Practical perspectives to create a comprehensive guide towards mental health.
Through guided journaling, habit tracking, lessons, exercises, and insights users learn how to fulfill their needs and help make life wonderful for themselves and those around them.

App Store (iOS)

Practice self empathy with nonviolent communication (NVC).
For those of us who grew up in a dysfunctional environment, learning to communicate with empathy is like learning a new language, and practicing new vocabulary is part of the journey.
This app is designed to make the practice as convenient as possible.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Transform conflicts into connection with people in your personal, work, and societal life, and with yourself, with empathic communication.
The Mediate Your Life (MYL) app is an audio guide to help you when you are in conflict with someone in your life, or with yourself. Listening to the audios you feel better and find new insights and solutions to the difficulty you are facing. The MYL approach is based in the international work of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and integrates a mediation framework and mindfulness.
The app is free and fully accessible to use. And there are options within the app to support the work of Mediate Your Life if you would like.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

This is the entire offline version of John Bullitt's widely recognized and highly recommended Access to Insight (www.accesstoinsight.org) web site, a massive compilation of material about Theravada Buddhism and Buddhism in general.
Herein are contained over 1,000 *actual suttas* (skt: 'sutras') from the Tipitaka (body of Buddhist canonical texts) translated into contemporary English with scholarly rigor and precision by recognized subject domain experts.

Access to Insight Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Access a dynamic collection of teachings on the mind, straight from the source. The 84000 app offers a growing digital library of the Buddhist sūtras set within a minimal, functional design for a clean reading experience.
84000’s interactive Reading Room is a leading resource for accurate and nuanced translations of the words of the Buddha used by scholars of Buddhist Studies, Tibetan Buddhist teachers of the living tradition, and practitioners.

84000 Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

How We Feel is a free app created by scientists, designers, engineers, and therapists to help people better understand their emotions and find strategies to help them navigate their emotions in the moment. Conceived in conjunction with Yale University's Center for Emotional Intelligence and based on the work of Dr Marc Brackett, How We Feel helps people find the right word to describe how they feel while tracking their sleep, exercise, and health trends using HealthKit in order to spot patterns over time.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Transform your daily routine with Daily Thanks, the ultimate gratitude journaling and affirmations app designed to help you focus on the positive aspects of life. Whether you’re a seasoned journaler or just starting, Daily Thanks makes it easy to cultivate a habit of gratitude, mindfulness, and positive thinking.

App Website | App Store (iOS)

Transform your mindset with Delightful, the simple gratitude journal app that helps you focus on positive moments in your life. Just 3 good things each day can boost your happiness and mental well-being!

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

A simple way to track and improve your mental health.
Track seven major categories of needs and see how they influence feelings when met or unmet, so you can better understand why you feel the way you feel.

App Store (iOS)

Transform your well-being with Breath Ball, the ultimate app designed to guide you through scientifically proven breathing exercises that help reduce stress and anxiety, improve concentration, and promote mindfulness. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced practitioner, Breath Ball adapts to your pace, helping you find calm and balance in just a few minutes a day.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

Breathe2Heal is a modern breathing app rooted in ancient wisdom. Whether you're looking to reduce stress, improve sleep, enhance focus, or simply find a moment of tranquility, Breathe2Heal is here to support you.

- 4 breathing modes with 12 different rhythms

- Clean, elegant interface with light and dark themes

- Available in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and English

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android) | APK for Android

PAUSE before opening a distracting website or app. The most customizable app blocker. FREE. Easy to setup.

App Website | App Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

The post Free Meditation and Mindfulness Apps appeared first on Meditation Mind.

The Benefits of Meditation

Christiaan Neeteson — Sat, 16 May 2020 15:39:37 +0000

“Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.”

James Allen

The Science of Meditation

While meditation has been a mindfulness practice for thousands of years and is known for putting people in a peaceful and relaxing state, there is scientific evidence to suggest that meditation can cause changes to occur in different regions of the brain. For example, Sara Lazar, a Neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, has tested the benefits of meditation and mindfulness by using brain scans.

Lazar’s research was examined in the online site Ideapod, where she conducted a study that showed an increase in brain volume of meditators who meditated every day for eight weeks.Lazar discovered from her study that there was thickening in four regions of the brain, which included the following:

1. The posterior cingulate, which is involved in mind wandering and self-relevance.
2. The left hippocampus, which assists in learning, cognition, and memory and emotional regulation.
3. The temporo-parietal junction or TPJ, which is associated with perspective-taking, empathy and compassion.
4. The Pons, where a lot of regulatory neurotransmitters are produced.

Lazar research was ground-breaking, even proving that the part of the brain responsible for people experiencing anxiety, fear and stress, was greatly reduced through meditation. With the support of scientific research, people seeking support through guided mediation for self-harm or guided mediation for depression can experience the benefits of mindfulness and a better quality of life.

Functional MRI (left) showing activation in the amygdala when participants were watching images with emotional content before learning meditation. After eight weeks of training in mindful attention meditation (right) note the amygdala is less activated after the meditation training. Courtesy of Gaelle Desbordes

Benefits of Meditation

According to “How to Cure,” the benefits of meditation include the following:

• Meditation helps manage stress
• Through guided meditation you can find inner peace
• Meditation improves mental function and abilities
• Meditation helps to cultivate self-awareness
• Practicing meditation helps to build compassion and empathy
• Meditation enhances psychological and physical health
• Meditation improves your visualization skill
• Practicing meditation boosts overall cognitive ability

The benefits of meditation are compelling and for people who suffer from anxiety, for example, deciding to pursue guided meditation for anxiety can be an effective way to ascend to a new path in life. The following statistics show why meditation can be a positive force for change:

• The Anxiety and Depression Association of America states that 322 million people worldwide, live with depression.
• According to AnxietyCentre.com, anxiety disorders affect 18.1 percent of adults in the United States (approximately 40 million adults between the ages of 18 and 54). – National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
• HuffPost reported that workplace stress is the health epidemic of the 21st century.

Everyday, people are under a great deal of pressure and find it extremely difficult to experience a sense of calm and wellbeing. Meditation offers an amazing outlet for the direction you desire to go.

Sources
1. Guided Meditation for Relaxation: Benefits and Helping …
https://howtocure.com/guided-meditation-for-relaxation
2. Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression Association of …
https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics
3. Anxiety Effects On Society Statistics – anxietycentre.com
https://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-statistics-information.shtml
4. Workplace Stress: The Health Epidemic of the 21st Century …
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/workplace-stress-the-heal_b_8923678
5. Harvard Neuroscientist Demonstrates That Meditation and …
https://ideapod.com/harvard-neuroscientist-demonstrates-meditation-mindfulness…

Extensive list of the benefits of meditation

Neuroscience Findings

Meditation increases gray matter volume in the right orbito-frontal cortex and right hippocampus; these regions are associated with emotional stability.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3184843/
Meditation increases gray matter density in brain regions associated with learning, memory processing, emotion regulation, self-awareness, and perspective-taking.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092549271000288X
Meditation increases gray matter density in brain regions associated with attention, interoception, and sensory processing.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361002/
Meditation promotes changes in white matter connectivity, potentially reducing age-related degradation.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712309/

Physical Benefits

Meditation is associated with longevity, and reduced cellular aging.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2693686/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19735238
Meditation under pain reduces “pain-unpleasantness” by 57% and pain-intensity by 40%. Regular meditation reduces chronic pain by 33-50%.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3090218/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0163834382900263
Meditation counteracts symptoms of chronic-insomnia; in older adults meditation improves sleep-quality and reduces daytime fatigue.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3060715/
https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/37/9/1553/2416992
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2110998
Meditation reduces heart rate, blood pressure, and likelihood of heart attacks.
https://www.nature.com/articles/1002275
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08964280209596049
Meditation reduces inflammation and inflammatory gene expression.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453013004071

Cognitive Benefits

Meditation shows positive influence in memory, attention, cognitive flexibility, and verbal fluency in elderly patients, suggesting a reduction in age-related cognitive decline.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3903052/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4001007/
Meditation significantly improves visuo-spatial processing, working memory, and executive functioning.
http://jtoomim.org/brain-training/Zeidan2010_Mindfulness_Meditation.pdf
Meditation is associated with fewer cognitive errors.
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2012/821307/abs/
Meditation reduces daydreaming and promotes “living in the present.”
http://www.pnas.org/content/108/50/20254.short
Meditation improves attention and self-control, and is theorized to counteract symptoms of ADD and ADHD non-pharmaceutically.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24135553
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2040428/
http://cochranelibrary-wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006507/full
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301051112001998

Emotional Benefits

Meditation counteracts symptoms of anxiety disorders, reducing anxiety and stress-response.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3772979/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20350028
Meditation decreases negative emotional experience, emotional reactivity, and negative self-beliefs, while improving emotion-regulation.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20141305
Meditation shows promise as a therapeutic technique for depression.
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/03/cover-mindfulness.aspx

The post The Benefits of Meditation appeared first on Meditation Mind.

Meditation Retreats: 9 Tips to get Ready

Christiaan Neeteson — Sun, 05 May 2019 15:48:45 +0000

Meditation hall of Wu Artspace, Sjönevad Sweden.

Together with Greg Jacoby, we talk about meditation retreats in this podcast episode. Why should you join one? What should you look for? What are the benefits and risks? Greg has organized and been part of numerous meditation retreats such as the Vipassana 10-day retreats and retreats with Swami J. The summer meditation retreats are coming up and we give you some insight into why you should or shouldn’t join a retreat. Here are our 9 tips to prepare you for your first meditation retreat.

9 tips to prepare yourself for a meditation retreat

1. It’s going to be just you and your mind

Sure, you are together with other people. Yet, in a way, you aren’t. Especially if you are going on a silent retreat, it will mostly be you and your own mind. Your thoughts, emotions, and perceptions will be your main concern. Make sure you are fully committed to the decision of going to a meditation retreat. Make sure you feel comfortable attending a retreat. Don’t stretch yourself too much, if it’s not the right time yet, it isn’t the right time yet. It will be worth it, but simply be prepared to spend some alone time with your mind.

2. Sitting still is hard

Whatever meditation retreat you are going to attend, there will be a lot of sitting meditation involved. Some retreats do 10 hours a day, some do 5 hours a day. In any case, prepare yourself for some serious sitting. We can tell you, it will be hard. There will be times you might wish to be somewhere else entirely. We can only say, it will be worth it. Don’t worry about having the perfect posture too much, but do make sure your knees touch the pillow and your back is straight. If you can’t sit full lotus, just sit in Burmese. Don’t force yourself into something you can’t do for longer than 10 minutes. While it may seem like it, this isn’t a marathon race where you compete with others. This isn’t a time to prove yourself as an extreme athlete. Sitting still is hard, make no mistake about that.

3. It’s not a competition

No doubt at times your mind will start to compare yourself with others and their practice. You might see someone in front of you, or your teacher, sitting perfectly still without moving a single muscle. There might be frustration boiling up and a feeling that you aren’t succeeding. This is normal. Just because someone is sitting still doesn’t mean they are practicing well. Just because someone is moving often, same story. We all have our own things to deal with, our own path to walk, so take your time and accept whatever comes up. It’s not a competition.

4. Take care of yourself

Food and a sleeping place will be provided for. You won’t have to worry about attending to your daily needs in this way. Make sure that you do attend to other needs that might pop up. We are not talking about desires here, but about simple practical things. Are your knees hurting a lot? Maybe try to put a pillow underneath them to make them touch the floor. Have an extreme headache? Try to drink more or possibly even ask for some small medication. While it seems hard to distinguish, you will still be operating under the laws governing our universe. Yes, meditation is training your mind but it’s not going to make you a superhero. Take care of yourself and your needs when necessary. Don’t force yourself too much.

5. Teachers are humans

Weird right? Sometimes it’s hard to imagine someone with so much insight and a perfect posture is anything but a Buddha. We are not telling you they aren’t to be respected, but just make sure you keep your expectations in check. Teachers are humans too, and they will not always see everything and be able to attend to everything. If something they say doesn’t resonate with you, let it be for now. If they do something you feel strange about, just talk with the retreat spokesperson. There is no need to try to pretend they can’t make mistakes. Just keep a certain amount of respect and commit to following their instructions as much as possible.

6. Things might seem extremely annoying

Whether it is that coughing person behind you, or the girl who seems to move like a tree in walking meditation, you might get extremely annoyed by small things. Flies buzzing around your head, the lack of variety in food, your mind will try to find any excuse to get very annoyed. Don’t worry, it’s not them, it’s you. And we mean that in a loving way, it’s your agitated mind that can’t attend the regular playground. Without all the distractions, it will possibly get rather obsessive about small things. Just keep going, it will disappear by itself.

7. Check yourself before you wreck yourself

In the podcast, we talk a bit about the benefits and risks of attending a meditation retreat. What are the risks? Well, working with the mind can be a dangerous thing. If you have a past in mental health issues, especially relating to personality disorders, it might be a good thing to take that into account. Consult your doctor before jumping into this. Meditation isn’t a cure-all solution. It’s a tool to help you deal with life and the mind. So what are the benefits of a retreat? Our mind is constantly busy in daily life dealing and processing things, a retreat can be a time to process and allow yourself space to do this. A time to dedicate to yourself, to deal with unprocessed events and thoughts. A meditation retreat is a perfect time to relax, take a step back and observe what is going on.

The main meditation hall at Dhamma Dhara, in Shelburne Falls, MA (Photo courtesy of Dhamma Dhara)

8. Not everything works for everyone

It can happen something doesn’t work for you. It might even be that it works for most people but not for you. They say “the exception confirms the rule”. There is no need to worry if something doesn’t work for you. Maybe there is something else on your path that needs attending to. There is a reason there are so many different traditions and teachings who offer meditation. If Zen doesn’t resonate, maybe check out Vipassana. If you don’t feel comfortable with Buddhism, go check out more secular meditation approaches. You don’t have to force yourself into some criterion. Just commit to what you are doing, give it a fair shot and simply move on if it isn’t for you at this time. If you find sitting crushingly hard, maybe find a retreat with more walking meditations. If you practice Hatha Yoga, go find a retreat that does Hatha Yoga.

9. Going back into the normal world after a retreat can be overwhelming

After time in a retreat, things are a bit different. There is probably a lot of calmness and mindfulness in what you do. You might not notice the difference that much, but once you head back into the ‘normal’ world, you will be able to tell the difference. After a silent retreat, you might be overwhelmed with everyone suddenly talking again. We recommend you don’t immediately start getting back fully into your daily life after a retreat. Just take a day or 2 of rest after doing a retreat. Allow yourself the time to process what happened and give it a proper place in your life.

Want to know more?

If you’d like to talk about this podcast or have comments and ideas, please let me know by joining our community on Discord
Simply use @christiaan or send me a DM! I would love to hear from you.

With warm regards,

Christiaan Neeteson

This podcast is available on…
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The post Meditation Retreats: 9 Tips to get Ready appeared first on Meditation Mind.

Lifestyle Archives - Meditation Mind

Free Meditation and Mindfulness Apps

Full-Featured Meditation Apps

Minimalistic Timers

Gamified Timers

Method-Specific Apps

Buddhist Sutta/Sutra Study

General Mindfulness/Wellbeing

Smiling Mind App

UCLA Mindful App

Healthy Minds Program App

VA Mindfulness Coach

Plum Village Mobile App

Breathr: Mindful Moments

Oak Meditation and Breathing

Idanim: Meditate, Sleep, Focus

Insight Timer

Waking Up

The Way

Brightmind Meditation

Center Meditation Timer

Simple Meditation Timer

Peace Out

Meditation Timer Online

Shellevate

The Headless Way

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Humanly (NVC/Atomic Habits)

Inner Giraffe (NVC)

Mediate Your Life (NVC)

Access to Insight (Pali Canon)

84000 (Tibetan Canon)

How We Feel

Daily Thanks Gratitude Journal

Delightful: Gratitude Journal

Inner Therapist

Breath Ball

Breathe2Heal - Conscious Breathing

ScreenZen

The Benefits of Meditation

The Science of Meditation

Benefits of Meditation

Extensive list of the benefits of meditation

Neuroscience Findings

Physical Benefits

Cognitive Benefits

Emotional Benefits

Meditation Retreats: 9 Tips to get Ready

9 tips to prepare yourself for a meditation retreat

1. It’s going to be just you and your mind

2. Sitting still is hard

3. It’s not a competition

4. Take care of yourself

5. Teachers are humans

6. Things might seem extremely annoying

7. Check yourself before you wreck yourself

8. Not everything works for everyone

9. Going back into the normal world after a retreat can be overwhelming

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