Each year, millions of people live with a mental illness and seek solutions to improving their symptoms. At Yoga Wake Up, we believe that meditation (and yoga!) is a powerful habit that can have a positive impact on relieving symptoms of both anxiety and depression, as well as providing a grounding addition into your daily routine. Meditation, which has been practiced for thousands of years, was originally meant to help deepen the connection to sacred and mystical forces in life. Now, meditation is most commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction. Let’s dive in!
Looking for an easy way to implement meditation into your routine? Download Yoga Wake Up to access hundreds of meditations, and wake up to them too!
What are the benefits of meditation for our mental wellness?
When we meditate, we clear away the overwhelming amount of information that we process on a daily basis and focus on our breath, guided imagery, and stillness. The emotional benefits of meditation include:
Increases self-awareness
Reduces negative emotions and negative feelings toward ourselves
Helps to gain new perspective on stressful situations
Reduces feelings of anxiety
Helps us focus on the present
Increases creativity
Builds skills to help manage stress
Increases our attention span
Stress relief is the most commonly reported reason for practicing meditation, and for good reason! Stress stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, causing a surge of natural stress hormones in the bloodstream. When we meditate, we reduce our cortisol, a stress hormone, levels which results in the body feeling and experiencing less stress. Many people who include meditation in their daily routine can more effectively reduce their stress. Stress reduction is so important because it lowers your blood pressure and your heart rate which results in better sleep, better focus, and improved immunity.
Meditation alone won’t cure depression and anxiety, but it can certainly help. Paired with lifestyle changes, therapy, or medication, introducing meditation into your daily routine has a host of benefits for depression and anxiety, including relief and reductions in daily symptoms.
Experience the benefits of meditation with Yoga Wake Up
We believe that anyone and everyone can practice meditation — and you don’t have to have any prior experience with meditation to try it! Whether you want to sit in stillness with your breath, listen to the relaxing sounds of a soundbath or follow a guided meditation, the Yoga Wake Up app offers hundreds of sessions that can be done anytime, and anywhere. The best part? We make it easy to implement meditation into your daily routine by waking you up with it. Starting your day off with meditation, or a gentle stretching session, leaves you feeling relaxed and ready to take on whatever the day may throw at you. If you need a few minutes of relaxation midday, we have short sessions that can give you the focus and energy boost that you need to fight a midday slump. If you struggle to calm your mind in the evening, fall asleep to one of our many guided sleep meditations that you probably won’t even remember because you’ll fall asleep midway through. Make your mental wellness a priority and implement meditation into your daily routine to reap the benefits of a clearer mind, reduced stress, and a great morning routine.
The Yoga Wake Up app features hundreds of unique audio-guided meditations to support you on your meditation journey. Here are a handful that our community loves most.
How much time you need: 7:52 minutes
About the session: This short, guided breathing practice provides the support you need to reset your stress meter to zero. Get a mindset reset and reconnect to the resilient and clear-headed, energetic being that you truly are by literally changing the tone of your nervous system and reclaiming your output with clear purpose.
What fans are saying: "Ready to tackle the day after this one!"
Instructor: Niki Saccareccia
How much time you need: 12:07 minutes
About the session: End your day by systematically shedding the aches, tension, and fatigue so you can sleep better and more deeply. This practice releases the emotional and mental strain that accumulates during the day, while targeting common stress zones in the hips, back, and shoulders. Unwind your muscles, revive the spine, and shift gears as you prepare for true relaxation and restorative sleep.
What fans are saying: "Amazed." "Has helped me relax!"
Instructor: Maeve McCaffrey
How much time you need: 7:24 minutes
About the session: This meditation is a great way to take a pause and connect to yourself, particularly if you are feeling anxious or stressed.
What fans are saying: "Beautiful meditation, thank you"
Instructor: Justin Randolph
How much time you need: 8:04 minutes
About the session: When you feel overwhelm, dread, doubt, insecurity, or hopelessness, this practice will open your eyes to your rich inner landscape. With breath, gentle movement, and distance Reiki, let this raise your vibration out of despair and into hope and compassion knowing that it’s going to be OK.
What fans are saying: "I needed this today." "Surprised at how much of a help this was!"
Instructor: Nicole Motter
How much time you need: 21:40 minutes
About the session: This 20-minute soundbath can be played in the evening, or anytime to encourage feelings of self-love, compassion, and acceptance.
What fans are saying: "This was beautiful, relaxing, and I love the lessons taught by Nicole!"
Download Yoga Wake Up and reap the benefits of a clearer mind, reduced stress, and a great morning routine!