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| battery park sculpture |
Websites
Equinox meditation (free, great for beginners): I didn't download the app. Right on that website, they have short 10 minute sessions for different times of the day.
- Rise (waking up, early morning)
- Recharge (refresh, good for late morning or maybe afternoon when you're aching for coffee but should actually take a walk and listen to this instead)
- Unwind (great for coming back from work or maybe a workout)
- Sleep (listen and relax before going to sleep). Once you go through all 4 sessions in some combination for a week, you'll build up good habits to incorporate this practice into your daily routine.
https://plumvillage.org/ this site offers a lot of reading and resources. If you haven't read any books by Thich Nhat Hanh, you should check them out at the library or your favorite bookstore.
Mobile Apps (Google and AppleStore)
Meditation studio ($3.99 one time fee): they have intro as well as themed collections. so you can quickly pick up a theme like "dealing with stress" or "relax before sleep" or even body scan. You can also filter by type of meditation and length of the session. I like exploring different teachers and then looking up their other meditation sessions. Two teachers I have enjoyed are Chodo Campbell and Elisha Goldstein. This app links to the Mindfulness section of Apple Health.
Calm (free for limited meditation, subscription for more): good background music and some free guided meditation. If you subscribe, you get a nice library of guided meditation as well as a daily themed meditation. I also like their calendar for tracking your meditation time so it's encouraging to keep up with the daily routine. You can add outside meditation sessions to the app by using their "add a session" function. I've been tracking Yoga classes there. This app also links to the Mindfulness section of Apple Health. After trying this for free for a few months, I signed up for an annual subscription when they were running a promotion. If you are interested in signing up, I can send you a referral.
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| ship near Liberty State Park |
Relax Melodies (free for limited sound library, paid for more and also meditations): Mostly music and some free meditation as well. I like the playlists you can build from sound blocks. Enjoy rain and city sounds and the ocean? You can make it into your own sound playlist. Timer for exiting the app is also helpful when you want to drift off to sleep but don't want the app running all night. Unfortunately it doesn't link to your health app for the meditation sessions so you have to track it separately.
In Person Resources
Besides some meditation before and after yoga class, I have not been to a meditation class in person. There are a lot of different resources in NY and Jersey City so feel free to try them and see if they are helpful for you.
- https://meditationinnewyork.org (multiple locations in the boros of NY as well as a few sessions in Jersey City, suggested $10)
- Rubin Museum: wonderful art museum which hosts some meditation classes. Also check out their concert series and cafe too.
- http://www.shinnyocenternyc.org/ (midtown NY)
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| Lower Manhattan seen on top of ferry |
Where to try meditation (besides your home)
- Neighborhood Park. I love Van Vorst Park for this, especially when it's raining lightly (bring an umbrella) or when it's early morning, right before the crowds get to the playgrounds.
- Beach (or even the waterfront just to hear sound of water)
- Friend's apartment or house. Offer to take a break together if you're doing a game night or cooking food.
- Before, during, and after music practice. Good for clearing your mind, practicing breathing, and reflecting on your intentions for your group (or even playing solo in a practice room).
- Quiet corner of an art museum or botanical garden
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| Van Vorst Park Fountain |
Try it out and enjoy!
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| Ship and State of Liberty |
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