Meditation Apps or Device-and-App-Free Meditation Skills for Life?
Written by Anastasia Ling, Chief @Re:Well Rebels
In the age of information overload, the topic of Meditation is a universe of free resources mixed with apps and then some – like meditation programmes taught by teachers live.
But let’s start to understand the current general landscape out there which is accessible to most people.
Free resources on internet like those on YouTube
Tons of options here but first, you do need to have internet connection to access it every time and second, it does take time to trawl through what might suit you or what resonates with you. It is very daunting if you are a newbie trying to find your first practice or just trying to understand the what, why and how of meditation. You might even give up before finding the first meditation to practise.
Meditation apps
This is probably a better starting point than random searches on the internet and good if you are just starting out and want to check out meditation, follow a specific teacher or look for a general practice. Although you need to have an internet connection most of the time, the apps usually have an offline option for you to download the meditations onto your device to access anytime. Some well-known ones are Calm, Headspace and Insight Timer.
The shortcoming of internet resources and apps
However, what most people do not realise is that the above resources are pretty much self-service, one-size-fits-all which also means the progress is self-determinant. Be it the free internet resources or the apps, they give general meditations that will yield general results. Following a challenge or a teacher on these platforms often gives general progress as well.
People sometimes struggle when their standard meditations do not match their expectations of getting specific results for the specific problems they are facing as the general perception is that as long you meditate, it can help solve all of life’s challenges. What they fail to realise is that you need to know which meditations suit what situations to achieve efficiency and efficacy.
If you were ill, do you take medicine that is general or specific to the condition? My bet is you won’t be taking Panadol for every condition, will you?
Besides, you need to be digitally “on” all the time (which has other side effects like EMF radiation) with these platforms and the meditation becomes reliant on internet connection or a device or both. Whereas our ancestors have been practising meditation the plain old-fashioned way for centuries, free of any of these modern inventions.
Is being app-free device-free a good thing?
It is understandable that we are used to employing apps for everything and anything in our daily lives and the motivation to deviate from this is low unless what is waiting for us at the other end is so attractive that we are willing to shift our learned behaviour.
As shared by meditation teacher and mind athlete, Subba of BeingSattvaa, general progress from general meditations is the main reason why people remain inconsistent in their practice and fall off the bandwagon, never reaping the true benefits of meditation. Even meditation challenges that are meant to overcome this inconsistency have very high dropout rates due to the general results they produce. When you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel in a relatively short period of time, you will naturally throw in the towel.
However, by connecting meditations to specific life skills and life situations, people are able to meld the practice with their day to day lives and life goals, i.e. it connects the WHY with the WHAT of the practice. This provides the positive reinforcement and necessary motivation to shift the needle.
This not only helps us to live a better life but also allows us to internalise the practice. The practice then becomes a way of life rather than frantically searching on YouTube and in apps when we need them, which produces sub-optimal results while making us device dependant.
Does having a teacher make a difference?
Just like learning martial arts, sport or any other skill, learning directly from a coach/mentor/teacher cuts through the noise and confusion to bring about maximum benefits.
An experienced teacher has the ability to structure your learning journey but more importantly, has the intuition to know what is happening within the student so that the right guidance may be given at the right time.
Why having a structured learning programme matter?
Meditation is an internal practice, so you do not have photos or videos as reference. Hence a structured programme coupled with a teacher to guide you are necessary ingredients for success because it is a very personal journey.
If the programme is done in a group setting, the support network keeps your practice sustainable and provides accountability too.
There is an all-rounded meditation programme out there
Imagine learning meditation through a structured group programme (with talks, meditations, explanation for each meditation and how to apply them) with access to live guidance by the teacher that will teach you to meditate anytime, anywhere, without any device, for use in a range of life situations?
And with access to monthly live calls with the teacher and weekly meditations with the community after you complete the programme?
Look no further - Calm in Chaos, a 3-part meditation programme helps people to build life skills with meditation.
It starts with FOCUS (building focus and calm to be your best under pressure), followed by BALANCE(balancing your emotions to make your best decisions) and finally TRANSFORM (building inner strength and agility to transform your life).
Calm in Chaos is a practice for TODAY that costs less than a haircut and colour which you can use for life! What are you waiting for?