 Photo © Judie Hurtado This week I would like to share the app Insight Timer.
Judie Hurtado mentioned this app on Facebook and I was instantly curious! It's free, easy to use and full of cool features. You can see how many other people are meditating when you log on and feel you are connecting to them. If you have ever joined a group meditation you know that what you feel is compounded and expanded as you experience meditation with others. The first time I used it I meditated using one of the free guided meditations (yes, it comes with free guided meditations!). It was a beautiful meditation and one I would recommend to anyone. I was very impressed with the quality of it. Since then I've used the timer alone, which is the main feature of the app. You set your end time, maybe ten minutes, and which bell you'd like to chime for you at the end. It's also possible to set a bell or gong to chime once every minute or so. I love this feature as it's a wonderful way to graduate into meditating in quiet. This is something that will truly ground you in the present moment, and help you practice the famous "Mindfulness meditation" everyone is talking about. Usually, I play music or have a guided meditation going, so this app is really helping me expand and try new methods. What I love about this as just as my thoughts start to drift the gong will play, pulling me back into my mind, heart and body. It really does clear your mind, the sound reverberating throughout you. The timer is also a great way to take a nap and be gently reawoken. Please note some of these features are part of the upgrade, which is $2.99. Whether you upgrade or not there are tons of cool features. It's possible to set a daily reminder, join group discussions and more. I customized it to give me the message, "Have a great day" after each meditation, which always puts a smile on my face because somehow I forget about the message each time. Judie, a Reiki master and kid's yoga instructor (and more, check out her website!), also loves the journal: "I write about my mediation after every practice. It's fun to read what I wrote and also keep track of my meditations." I would agree that a journal is an amazing feature, as I often write about my meditations and really enjoy looking back over my experiences. This feature packed app also keeps track of how many days in a row you meditated. It might help you correlate better feelings and experiences with your practice. (But please don't use this as a way to heap guilt upon yourself. If you didn't mediate then you didn't. No big deal). I sincerely wish this kind of app had been available when I began experimenting with meditation so many years ago. But it's here now and a big think you to Judie Hurtado for bringing it to my attention. Click here to go to Judie's facebook page, where you'll find lots more inspirations and jewels like the Insight Timer. |