For a long time, I have watched meditation apps come and go. I feel the apps have crossed a threshold of quality and reliability such that it’s ok to pony up some cash for what I see. Two have served quite well, 10% Happier: Meditation for Skeptics and Headspace.
10% Happier: Meditation for Skeptics
The content is fascinating and top notch. The daily video and meditations are short enough and thus bite sized for the busy person.
They hit on topics I care about deeply and didn’t see anywhere else. Specifically, I wanted to know if meditating would keep me from hitting goals I want to go for. I wanted to know if I would become complacent. They answer that question head-on and many other pragmatic topics. One can also replay the videos as often as desired.
Besides the Q & A sessions between Dan Harris and highly respected meditation experts such as Joseph Goldstein, it comes with guided meditations and even a personal coach who can send and receive messages.
It’s especially nice to have someone who can respond to your individual questions or an experience you want to share. Also, there is something nice about how easy it is to just send a message in the mobile app as opposed to sending emails back and forth.
Headspace
There are some really well done videos such as this “blue sky” animation titled Underlying Calm that is shown right in the app as you progress through the steps.
Other Noteworthy Items:
- The mobile application gives you a sense of progress and accomplishment.
- There’s a download manager in the mobile application which I found very useful.
- You can try it for free and then subscribe to the later packs.
- There are many other items that are great about it. I highly recommend checking out their How It Works webpage.
“Which One Should I Choose?”
Ah. Good question. I started with Headspace. However, I switched to the 10% Happier app after trying both for a year. I found the 10% Happier app essential to getting answers to some questions I have had. If I had never tried either, I would suggest starting with the 10% Happier: Meditation for Skeptics. However, the choice is yours and you will come out ahead if you choose at least one.
Wrap Up
Although there are many meditation related apps out there, the best ones I know about are the two I covered in this article. Is there a fantastic one that I should try? Please feel free to leave a comment to share what you know or to just say hi. Good luck on your journey and be well!
Updated: December 7, 2017: I updated the Headspace video and content in this entire post.
Hey Mike. Thanks for including us in your top 2. We’re excited by the response we’ve seen to the app and will be leaning in to help answer the #1 question we get: “what should I do when the course is over?” (so stay tuned!). Glad you enjoyed the experience. All the best! -Derek
It’s a great app that I refer back to often!