How to meditate and short mindfulness sessions
There are 24 hours in a day, but sometimes it seems like it’s just not enough. While we can’t create more hours in a day, we can learn techniques to make it easier to deal with the time we’ve got and use it more effectively with meditation.
Apparently, 20 minutes of meditation is equivalent to 8 hours sleep, so it’s worth investing in a brief brain vacation. We’ve scouted the island, and the Internet, to bring you some simple ways to get started. Now let’s inhale, exhale, inhale…
Centres and courses for the real deal
SoulCentre Academy
This is a good option if you can’t spare the time in daylight hours. Classes are usually held on weekday nights for 2 hours. If you really want to speed things up and learn proper meditation techniques quickly and deeply, take up a Soul2Soul class for one-on-one guidance.
SoulCentre Academy, #12-04 Sunshine Plaza, 91 Bencoolen Street, Singapore 189652
The Art of Living
This is a great course to learn how you can dissolve stress and negative emotions. It’s intense but only for a short time and then you come away with skills you can practice on your own. Once the kids are in bed, join these 3 hour sessions each evening for 5 nights. You’ll come out feeling recharged, energised, and ready to redecorate the world.
The Art of Living, various locations. Register online for courses, or email [email protected] for more info.
The Reiki Centre
Reiki is an energy-based therapy that promotes our natural healing processes and restores our sense of balance. This centre offers various types of meditation classes and workshops. Take up a chakra clearing and healing meditation class to release energy blockages and clear out the clutter in your mind, stat!
The Reiki Centre, 42A Joo Chiat Place, Singapore 427766. Call Elaine Grundy at 9660 4893 for more info.
Apps for smart phones (and smart people)
Headspace
An app for meditation – revolutionary! Headspace was developed by a former Buddhist monk with time-poor parents in mind. After dropping the kids off at school, take the free 10-minutes-for-10-days challenge in your car, home, or wherever you are. You can also download meditations for offline use and take your pick from 9 paid meditation programmes. The app is full of scientific facts on how relaxing your body and regulating your emotions will develop a healthier brain and a happier you. With very little effort, peace can be yours.
Download Headspace on iTunes and Android.
Smiling Mind
Clarity is only a click away with this handy app. Designed for young, trendy folks, a team of psychologists trained in youth and adolescent therapy developed this clever app. With age-specific programmes and a page for you to rate how you feel after completing each session, this definitely ranks as an app you’ll use daily (after Instagram and Facebook, that is).
Download Smiling Mind on iTunes or Android.
Calm
Lazing by the beach in a hammock making pictures out of clouds sound like an ideal way to spend an afternoon? You can get there virtually with this app. Calm has 10 different nature scenes for you to choose from when you practice deep breathing for 2 minutes or half an hour. Best part? You can even access short guided meditation sessions on their website while you’re at work. Now you’ve got no excuse!
Download Calm from iTunes.
For your listening pleasure
Shakti Gawain
Think you’ll be distracted when using meditation apps on your mobile phone? Listen to a guided meditation CD to keep your mind from wandering. Shakti Gawain’s creative visualisations and meditations help you practice forming mental images to produce positive life changes. Plonk yourself down in a quiet space during the kids’ nap-time and allow your mind to empty while listening to Shakti’s soothing voice.
Order Shakti Gawain’s Creative Visualization Meditations on Amazon.
BrainSync
We’ve heard of Cesar Milan, the celebrated dog whisperer, but we didn’t know there is also a brain whisperer! Get a free guided meditation online and listen to Kelly Howell, the brains behind Brain Sync. If you like what you hear then go for a CD. Her audio coaching uses binaural beat therapy and guided meditation to optimise brain performance. Sounds far-out? Well, put a CD on while you’re on the road dashing from place to place and feel the results for yourself!
Order BrainSync’sGuided Meditation CDs or Deep Meditation CDs on Amazon.
Main image: Calm Facebook