COMMUNITY // MEDITATION
C
ould meditation be our 2018 love
language? Well, it’s a trending solution
and modern-day mind-hack. Its reach is
wide and its shape fluid. That shape increasingly
looks like plugging in. For years, technology has
been shouldering the rap for the punishing pace
in which we currently dwell. In an interesting
plot twist, we may have the avenger of tech to
thank for helping us collectively rise above the
noise and confusion of our scattered life-scape.Structuring Practice
using Technology
Erik Myers was meditating on and off before
he downloaded the Yogaglo app. Since he now
has a teacher literally in his pocket, he’s able
to start and end his day with meditation. Erik
says, “I’m the type of person who needs struc-
ture and something to follow and the Yogaglo
app makes everything 10 times smoother.”
Beyond the ability “To BE the peace and calm
energy that I want in my life, instead of wait-
ing for it to come to me,” Erik reports, “My
relationship with my wife has dramatically
improved since becoming consistent with it.”Gratitude Daily
The meditation that Erik uses to bookmark his
day is gratitude. He’s not the only one. Nina
Polo Wieja noticed that the most significantshifts in her own life have come as a result of
increasing the awareness of gratitude in her
practice. The Yogaglo app compliments her
already established practice by serving as a
source of fresh inspiration, tools for expanding
kindness, and a way to deepen her practice at
home and on the road.unplug for an outlet
Television Writer/Producer Brad considers
Brentwood (California) home, but he spends
much of his time on the go. His medita-
tion practice is in a state of evolution. Brad
found his way to unplug meditation studio
on Wilshire Boulevard where he connected
with a number of teachers and was hooked.
When unplug launched their app, both he and
his wife made use of its wide range of video
meditation sessions and ability to maintain a
practice anywhere.
“I was a completely different man before I
started meditation. I had a lot more anxiety,
would often feel tense, and had no way to re-
lieve any of the stress. Constantly on edge and
often agitated, meditation was the difference. I
have an outlet now, and it’s given me a greater
perspective on my life and made me far more
introspective. I’m not perfect, but incorporat-
ing a regular meditation practice has dramati-
cally altered my life.”Minimum Dosage Required
Lynne Goldberg, co-founder of the medita-
tion app Breethe describes herself as a former
“Type A crazy person.” She attributes Breethe’s
steady growth and global reach to its varied
menu of small dose teachings. “What I notice is
that people in general don’t want to sit for 25
minutes. Breethe distills information in a very
different way so as to not overwhelm people.
People using apps for meditation guidance are
often people who would likely not be meditat-
ing if not for technology. They want to know
what the minimum dosage is in order to see
changes. So, what we’ve done is to come up
with five-minute meditations to address that
population. Then, as the user becomes more ef-
ficient and their habit strengthens, we have no-
ticed they begin to crave longer meditations.”The Creation of a Meditation Convert
Monica is a 75-year-old retired psychotherapist
and mediation convert (thanks largely in part to
Breethe) from Montreal. “The most important
factor for me is that on this meditation app, the
guide with her easy delivery gives a short ex-
planation introducing each daily session. Also,
there is a meditation concept that is developed
through each week’s session. Being able to use
the app on my iPhone makes it so accessible. I
have it whenever and wherever I want it.”Meditation is having a moment. You can listen to the hum of
instructions such as “Call on the breath, notice what you notice, let
your thoughts come and go...” streaming through your earbuds
on your portable device anywhere you go, even on a city sidewalk
or in a subway. According to recent data provided by the National
Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, upwards of
8% of adults use meditation as a form of mind-body wellness. Is
mindfulness meditation proving to be one thing we can all agree on?
How Do You Take
Your Mindfulness?
To Go...Please
Meditation Apps Allow Users
to Access the Studio Anywhere
by Susan Currie // photos by Sami Sneider