"One of the more challenging problems in learning to meditate is remembering to do it."
I do it every night before going to sleep. That's not hard to remember, plus it clears your mind for a deeper sleep. You can go to bed at your normal time as well, as the meditation can be considered as part of your sleep schedule. It definitely won't (and hasn't for me) detract from your sleep.
Just start by focusing on the tip of your nose and controlling your breathing. Then when you are ready, allow your body to take over the breathing while you watch. Then also allow it to take over the monologue in your head and you listen. Eventually you become an observer of all your thoughts and senses, and so become free of them.
Except it's a lot easier said than done. I've personally enjoyed my Headspace subscription. I have no qualms with paying for it, and feel it has been more effective than all of the material I've ever read on meditation that I've looked at. But YMMV.
Plenty of people find them valuable, but they're also a pretty extreme way to start out. To me it seems likely to turn people off; after all they're designed to be a kind of boot camp experience.
And then on the internet people are often bringing up how they sit in lotus posture for an hour every day...
People can discuss whatever they want and make whatever suggestions they want, of course, but I think it's all likely to construe meditation as necessarily tedious, painful, and time-consuming.
I'm curious, have you tried maintaining a habit of sitting for something like 10 or 5 minutes per day? In some non-contorted posture, like kneeling on a meditation bench?
Not to imply that "everyone should be able to do that" or whatever, but if all your attempts for years have been ambitious, that could be demotivating... whereas kneeling and breathing for 5 minutes is a great way to get started.
https://itunes.apple.com/app/tiny-calm/id1039698577?mt=8
Has simple reminders, quick access widget, tracking and encouragement - basically all the features I wanted in a meditation app but I couldn't find for free on the appstore.
It was my first app and released it after 2 months of learning to code. Mostly learned from reading Apple's swift book, taking a $10 udemy course (there are a bunch out there) and lots of stackoverflow when I got stuck.
I blogged about the process from hello world here - http://tinyhappysteps.com/
All you need is a timer which is already built in to most phones; if you want a slightly better timer that has a soothing chime, use https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.xipa.medigo... which is also free (and has no ads, social networking features or other annoying stuff).
There's no discussion of any substance here, it's pure filler. Differences in meditation technique and course format between apps find no mention, and there's no evidence provided showing that any of these apps is an effective aid to meditation. Most considerations on the list are applicable to an app focused on just about any positive habit people might want to incorporate into their daily lives.
How to Pick a Meditation App (well.blogs.nytimes.com)
13 points by delambo 1 hour ago
user: delambo
about: My real-name HN handle. Web developer at The New York Times. @delambro
Please be mindful, everybody has their own ways.
I haven't looked into any of those yet but was wondering if HN would recommend them.
What I've been doing on and off is to play a calming "meditation tune", sit down on a pillow, try to get into lotus (eventually shifting to a simple sitting when it becomes uncomfortable), and flush thoughts out. So far I haven't reached the stage of focusing on breathing, so many things rushing through my mind lately.
I now use Enso app [1] just to alert the 15 min duration, it's free on the App Store (optional purchases for different alert bells).
[1] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/enso-meditation-timer-bell/i...