Indulge

43 new emails in your inbox, deadline in two and a half hours, Granny’s birthday and don’t forget that grocery shopping, grab a bite and deflect the phone call from your best friend and oh no, the post office closes in 10 minutes… Stop. Pause. Breathe. Come around again. Even though your New Year’s resolutions included being more mindful, taking more breaks for some me-time, the daily grind just keeps getting in the way. Even just ten minutes micro-holiday per day would make all the difference for spirit, well-being and inner peace. This is where Andy comes in. Andy Puddicombe, the guy with the formidable British accent, dropped out of his sports science studies years ago in favour of travelling the Himalayans and get involved with meditation. This experience was the foundation for the Headspace-App, the virtual mental pause button for every day. This App provides meditation exercises for all needs and levels. The best access for sceptics who still confuse meditation with the collective singing of mantras in the smoke of incense sticks is the programme Take Ten, which is free of charge. Andy’s warm and calming voice leads you through 10 minutes of mindfulness on 10 consecutive days. We tested the programme and are now totally OMM. After the test comes the subscription (for iPhone, Android or computers) and access to hundreds of exercises from 2 minutes to an hour, with and without instructions. Smaller bits are available for certain everyday situations, the SOS-Session, for example, for acutely difficult moments. Whole series attend to a particular focus – be it health, performance or relationships. Meditation supports concentration, the small breaks protect from excessive stress and help reduce fears and find inner balance – positive effects on physical health, creativity and relationship behaviour included. So we won’t be ignoring that best friend’s call – instead, we’ll invite her to dinner and then placidly answer the 10 most important emails. »Free your mind, and the rest will follow«
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Headspace | Mindfulness-App for iPhone, Android and computers | headspace.com | from 4,74 Euro per month