Strengthen your mental muscles
Tim Bothwell introduces you to the art of mindful meditation.
In a world still feeling the impacts of a global pandemic, it’s now more important than ever to pause and take stock of the things most important to you, in particular your mental health. One way of doing this is through the art of mindful meditation – something that has proven benefits for your general wellbeing. Launched in 2012, Smiling Mind is an Australian-made app created in collaboration with psychologists and educators with the goal of helping to reduce stress and anxiety amongst Aussies. Given Smiling Mind is a not-for-profit organisation, the app is also 100 percent free (unlike many other meditation apps). With programs designed for people of all ages, why not give mindful meditation a go.
The basics
Getting started After downloading the Smiling Mind app from the Google Play or Apple App store, register for a new account using your name and email address, before deciding whether to receive the occasional email with mindfulness tips and tricks. The app will also ask you a series of questions including your age, profession, plus reasons for downloading the app – whether it’s to reduce stress, improve relationships, or achieve better sleep. These answers will help Smiling Mind provide you with class recommendations.
Browsing. Once you’ve completed the initial set-up process, you’ll be taken to the main area of the app. To find a class, visit the Explore tab. From here you can browse the entire library of programs organised by category. Smiling Mind offers a range of classes tailored to topics such as sleep, stress, study, and even the daily commute. After locating a program you like, tap to see its description, plus the number of sessions included within. As you meditate more and more, you’ll see a running tally of classes you’ve completed, along with the number of minutes meditated across the last month on the Home tab.
Meditating. If you’re new to meditation, might we recommend ‘An Intro to Mindfulness’. The program begins with a series of short videos talking about the benefits of mindfulness, before guiding you through a short practice meditation. Each class consists of a narrator who guides you through the session. Before starting a meditation, be sure to think about your surroundings – you’ll want to find yourself somewhere free from distractions. Once ready, start the session by tapping the play button. During the class you can pause and rewind, plus adjust the volume of background music.
Keep track of how you’re feeling overtime with the app’s built-in wellbeing checker.
Step it up a level
Wellbeing check. Keep track of how you’re feeling overtime with the app’s built-in wellbeing checker. Before every class, you’ll be asked to rate yourself on things like ease of distraction, agitation and sleep satisfaction. You’ll find
these ratings marked on a calendar located on the Home tab. It’s a great way of seeing how your mood varies day-to-day.
Voices. Whereas many of the other popular meditation apps use an American or British narrator, Smiling Mind features an Australian voice to guide you through each class. Not limited to just one, for some meditations you can even switch between a male and female narrator. You’ll see this as an option on the class description screen where available.
Offline playback. There may be days when you don’t have time to meditate at home. Luckily, you can perform meditations on-the-go without needing to use your precious data by downloading classes for offline playback. To do this, from the description screen of a class or program simply tap the download icon. On the More tab you can access a complete list of saved classes, plus delete ones you no longer need – useful if you have limited storage space.
Favourites. There are some programs you’ll likely want to refer back to again and again. Smiling Mind makes it easy to keep tabs on your favourite sessions and programs. Just tap the heart icon next to the name of a class and it will be added to a list you can access on the Favourites tab.
Going pro
Google assistant. In addition to your smartphone, you can also perform meditations using a Google Home smart speaker. To summon the app, simply say “Hey Google, talk to Smiling Mind”. A voice will then ask whether you’d like to do a meditation for relaxation, focus, or sleep.
Kids. Not limited to just adults, Smiling Mind has programs for children as young as three years old. On the Explore tab you’ll find entire categories with programs designed specifically for kids (aged 3-12) and teenagers (aged 13-18). Carefully tailored to a younger audience, these programs deal with relevant topics such as study, school, and relationships. Also included are programs for families and workplaces.
Reminders. It’s important to note that mindfulness takes practice. Know that it’s completely normal to find meditation challenging at the start. Stick with it long enough though and you’ll likely begin to see improvements in a short amount of time. Smiling Mind recommends doing at least 10 minutes of meditation every day. You can set up daily reminders to help keep you on track. To do this, from the More tab select ‘Reminders’ and choose a time that works best for you. Use the streak tracker on the Home tab to help keep yourself accountable.
Additional resources. If for some reason you are unable to access the Smiling Mind app on your smartphone, you can also listen to meditations from a web browser. Just visit www.smilingmind.com. au/ and log in using your email address and password to access all of the classes featured in the smartphone app. Also on the website you’ll find a range of useful meditation resources, along with a blog covering stories on a variety of topics.