Mindfulness” — a method of living fully in the moment, without judgment — can be achieved with regular meditation. But it takes practice and commitment to get there.
A new guiding app makes it possible, and easy to do, when you’ve got a jam-packed schedule.
Tools for Peace, the national educational non-profit, has created the Stop, Breathe & Think app for iPhone and iPad — a friendly, simple tool to guide people of all ages and backgrounds through meditations for mindfulness and compassion. And it’s free.
Finding inner peace
Most people, especially parents, speed through life and get caught up in a daily avalanche of distractions and details. If you’re feeling off-kilter, meditation — a consciousness workout — can help you achieve emotional and spiritual balance and get you back on track. In some ways, it mirrors the benefits of a physical workout.
“Imagine what it would be like if we could shift into a calmer, more compassionate perspective before communicating with our spouses, children, or siblings?” says Jamie Price, executive director of Tools for Peace. “The Stop, Breathe & Think app can help to transform how we interact with our families in a really beautiful way.”
She says the company has been hearing from parents, who even use the app with their children.
“One 11 year old is now meditating, because, she says, ‘It makes me feel good!’ That child now has a skill she can use to benefit her for the rest of her life, both socially and academically. Another family uses the app along with their 5 and 2 year olds, teaching them mindful breathing to ease frustration, when they’re upset. The app has changed how the two siblings interact with their parents and each other — all for the better.”
Clearing your mind of all the clutter for 10 to 15 minutes a day by meditating will make your world calmer and much more manageable.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the emotional benefits of meditation include:
• Heightened self-awareness
• Ability to focus more on the present
• Reduced negative emotions
• Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
• Skills-building to manage stress
Some research suggests that meditation may also be useful if you have a medical condition, especially one that could be worsened by stress, such as:
• Allergies
• Anxiety disorders
• Asthma
• Binge eating
• Cancer
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Pain*
• Sleep problems
• Substance abuse
*A 2011 brain imaging study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that even very brief instruction in mindfulness meditation (four 20-minute sessions) was effective in relieving pain by reducing the brain’s emotional response to painful stimuli.
A growing body of scientific research supports the health benefits of meditation, but some researchers believe it’s not yet possible to draw conclusions about its possible benefits.
How it works
The way the Stop, Breathe & Think app works is three-fold. First, when the app is opened, the person using it is greeted with a check-in, asking her to tune in and report how her mind, body, and emotions are feeling. Then, the app leads the person to a list of meditations, which can be played at will, each taking between five and 10 minutes to complete. Finally, the app records progress, so the person using it will see improvement over time, as meditation becomes more routine.
Helpful tool
In a recent statement published on Nonesuch.com, singer-songwriter and Tools for Peace supporter K.D. Lang talked about her new Broadway show and how the Stop, Breathe & Think app helped to calm her nerves:
Lang says she embarked on a “quintessential New York journey,” when she made her Broadway debut last month in “After Midnight” at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. The show, which runs through March 9, is based on the music of the famed Cotton Club, and uses the original Duke Ellington arrangements.
“Of course, I was a bit nervous,” she said. But she used the app and found it to be “an incredibly helpful tool to help you focus and settle your mind down; to help me get into ‘the zone’ for performing at my best.”
The performer added, “I would like to believe that through this free app, meditation can become a natural part of our everyday lives. It’s simple to use and has the ability to reach far and wide — from children riding buses to school; to teenagers just hanging out; to business leaders in countries around the world.
“Accessing kindness and compassion through the practice of meditation is simple with this app, which is comfortable, easy, and always at our fingertips.”
A personal meditation coach at your fingertips
“We knew the app had to be friendly and accessible, but it also had to be almost counterintuitive, turning our busy, buzzing smartphones into much-needed retreats,” Price told Nonesuch. “We were also intent on building something that was flexible, so each person using it could get exactly what he or she needed, at any given moment. That’s why we structured the app to offer personalized guidance into slowing down, managing stress and shifting to a kinder, more understanding and compassionate perspective.”
Incredibly, meditation can actually change your perspective and help you avoid blowing things out of proportion.
You can download the Stop, Breathe & Think app (available at the App Store on iTunes) here: https://appsto.re/us/0MeBU.i
To learn more about the app, visit: www.stopbreathethink.org.
Be sure to talk to your health care provider about the pros and cons of using meditation if you have any of these conditions or other health problems. In some cases, meditation can worsen symptoms associated with certain mental health conditions. Meditation isn’t a replacement for traditional medical treatment. But it may be a useful addition to your other treatments.
