Free Meditation Apps You Should Download Now

Staying sane after spending months in quarantine is no easy feat! 

Though we do very much miss travelling and one of the only things keeping us in check is planning our next adventure post-lockdown, why not also celebrate mindfulness in May and check out these free meditation apps you can now download to help you find some inner peace through all the turbulence during this uncertain time? 

There are lots of benefits to meditation - tuning into your body’s thoughts and emotions will help you become more aware of the signs of stress, control anxiety levels and ultimately better navigate through emotions!

Check out our top picks - 

This app is celebrated for its pretty simple approach to empowering people to ease into meditation practice - with progress trackers, seven-day and 21-day programs offered for beginners, it’s no doubt that Calm is a great place to start your meditation journey. Calm offers relaxing background audios that will transport you from your current location to anywhere in the world - have the liberty to choose from sounds by the beach at sunset, on a still lake surrounded by mountainous backdrops or right in the middle of pouring rain in a tropical rainforest.

They also offer Sleep Stories- which are bedtime stories that are guaranteed to lull you into a deep and restful slumber. Calm has 100+ exclusive Sleep Stories for adults and children alike, featuring well-known talent such as Stephen Fry, Matthew McConaughey, Leona Lewis, and Jerome Flynn. Drift off to dreamland and wake up refreshed.

Get happy. Stress less. Sleep soundly - these are some of Headspace’s mantras.

Headspace is your guide to everyday mindfulness in just a few minutes a day. Choose from hundreds of guided meditations on everything from managing stress and anxiety to sleep, productivity, exercise, and physical health — including short SOS meditations for when you’re on the go. And to help you find some space during tough times, Headspace is here for you with the new Weathering the storm pack.

Named an 'Independent Best Buy' and featured on The Ellen Show and The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, a recent Headspace user review states: "After a few days with guided meditations I could really notice a difference in my way of handling stressful moments."

Insight Timer is definitely one to call out as this app prides itself on guided meditations and talks led by the world's top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and teachers from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford and more. Music tracks are from world-renowned artists too!

Balance is unique as it has angled the app to emulate a personal meditation coach! Each day, you’ll answer questions about your meditation experience, goals, and preferences. Using an audio library of thousands of files, Balance then assembles a daily meditation that's perfect for you. The more you share over time, the more personalised and effective your meditations become.

Have trouble falling asleep at night? Waking up at 2am contemplating everything about life? Then this is the app for you!

Using the latest clinical research, the app's patented system plays you "dreamscapes"— a sleep-optimized mix of music, voiceover, and sound effects that change each night, to quickly quiet your mind, put you to sleep, keep you asleep, and then wake you up feeling refreshed. They also offer power nap modules for a quick recharge during the day!

When the lockdown restrictions get lifted, here’s another way to destress in a world post-lockdown - check out some of Klook’s best mindful activities around the world:

When visiting a place as majestic as the Taj Mahal - you’ll definitely want to take it all in!

What better way to witness its beauty other than a peaceful yoga experience on a rooftop with a direct view of the Taj Mahal as it gets showered by the light of the morning sun? In this experience, you will meditate as you flow through 20 yoga poses perfectly curated for a relaxing beginner class and catered to travelers who want a good stretch before taking on the day! 

How can you not feel serenity perched up on a rock with a view like this?

Experience the ancient Greeks' traditional way of meditating by facing the Parthenon - where you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the beautiful Athens and its inhabitants. On this experience, you’ll also indulge in a Greek vegan brunch in solitude at a local hidden spot!

The Japanese are known for their meditation practices, with a popular one being ‘forest bathing’ - or shinrin-yoku. Shinrin in Japanese means “forest,” and yoku means “bath.” So shinrin-yoku means bathing in the forest atmosphere, or taking in the forest through our senses. This is not exercise, or hiking, or jogging. It is simply being in nature, connecting with it through our senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.

This experience in Hiroshima offers insight into just that- where it takes place in one of the oldest temples in Miyajima called Miyajima Misen Daihonzan Daisho-in.  Inside the temple, you’ll be taught by a local Buddhist teacher on the traditional meditation practice. Inclusive in this experience is also a painting activity - where you’ll participate in painting an image of Buddha, which is called Shabutsu.

Did you know? Taichi is also known as Shadow Boxing and stems back to a form of martial arts!

This graceful, elegant and peaceful form of exercise has been practiced for centuries to benefit the body, mind and spirit. You’ll learn the basics of Taichi from a local master who will walk you through each step on hand positioning, stances and the movement flow. The lesson is carried out outdoors so you can have a great view of the city during the practice.

Last on this list is a zen hiking tour and Qigong experience in Taiwan where you’ll take on Jiantan Mountain! This tranquil expedition takes you to a secret hiking trail that most visitors don’t know of where you’ll get to see features like the observatory deck, impeccable views of the city and Keelung River basin, and a peaceful atmosphere that bustling cities can never bring. 

You will also get to try the traditional Qigong, a Chinese exercise related to tai chi and focuses on breathing control and mediation. And after that, you’ll sit back and relax for a fresh cup of tea in the middle of the forest.