How Tech Can Help You Live In The Now

It’s the sweet dessert of the wellness circle. The chocolate creme brulee of fitness fanatics. Everyone has their tongue wagging about it. You heard it too. It’s called mindfulness. And everyone who’s someone from Lady Gaga, Hugh Jackman, LeBron James to Ringo Star and Paul McCartney are advocating this 10.000-year old Indian practice that leads to countless health benefits - plus a profound sense of peace, joy, love, and bliss. Mindfulness is a movement on its own and it’s made huge positive changes to our society already. Big corporate companies have witnessed a huge boost in productivity among workers who started meditating as little as 5-10 minutes a day. Hollywood is constantly churning out mega box-office hits with movies that project meditation as a lifestyle. Anyone watched ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ starring the gorgeous Julia Roberts?

The Power Of Living In The NOW

It’s all we will ever have - NOW. Past is just stored information and the future hasn’t happened. Yet, most of us live mostly deliberating over the past, planning upcoming to-dos and don’ts. We play a million different scenarios in our head - most of which never happen. The nonstop chatter leads us away from what matters most - FOCUS. This is the key to health, happiness, and success in everything - from career to relationships. Like Oprah Winfrey loves to say, where attention goes, energy flows. And where you put energy, it blossoms.

And the only thing that we know that can sharpen our focus in the middle of a non-stop barrage of distractions is - meditation.

Top Tech To Help You Meditate

Businesses are no slobs. They sniff an expanding movement and they invariably step in with new ideas and products. And that’s not always a bad thing. Some of the best things in life have come out of business strategies - for example, the internet. Apps and devices to aid meditation are among the top trends. They’re not all helpful but some can genuinely transform your life.

Calm | Insight Timer

This is a mindful meditation app. It’s the best in this category and the undisputed number one for mindfulness. It’s a paid app with some free guided meditations that allow you to get a taste of bliss. You get a week’s worth of free meditation in a series called ‘7 Days Of Calm’. After that, there’s an annual subscription fee of $70. It may sound steep but trust me, the benefits far outweigh $6 a month.

If you’re unsure and not willing to spend money on mindfulness, try the app Insight Timer. It’s the biggest free library of guided meditations, sleep music, and numerous paid courses.

Vortix Eye Massager. Melt Away Stress.

This device was primarily designed and engineered to mimic a shiatsu-style eye massage. Within weeks of launch, It instantly became a hit in the mindfulness circle. Mindful practitioners are aware of the white light overload that our eyes take from constantly staring at screens. The eye massager uses warm airflow to gently massage the areas around your eyes to leave you with a refreshed feeling. Here’s how you can use this as a meditation tool.

• Find a quiet place where you can rest and relax, whether lounging, sitting, or lying down
• Disconnect from all other devices and all to-dos. Everything else can wait
• Put the eye massager around your eyes. Choose a relaxing built-in tune and relax
• Take 3 deep breaths. Inhale to the count of 4 and exhale to the count of 6
• Now let your breath resume its normal 
• Focus on your breathing without trying too hard
• Your mind will wander from time to time. That’s normal. 
• When you notice your focus is no longer on your breath … gently and kindly bring it back to your breathing. 

Do it for 5-10 minutes every day at any time you can manage and notice a renewed upbeat energy, focus, and mood. And you can’t miss, the difference in your sparkling eyes.