Today, for the latest edition of TONY TAKEOVER WEEK on Heels in the Hills, Tony is meditating on meditation with his favorite apps to help you stay calm and carry on…

Feeling funky? Can’t seem to get rid of the constant stream of stress? Wake up in fear almost every morning? Same here, but luckily I’m able to recognize this tension and I have some tools that I use to break free from crap even just for 20 minutes.

Meditation is a something I have incorporated into my daily routine over the last few years and it has been essential in my spiritual well-being. That’s correct, this meatstick has a spiritual well-being he’s concerned about on a daily basis.

The fact is this, I can’t be of service to anyone else in my life unless I am of service to myself EVERYDAY, I repeat “EVERY friggin’ DAY.” Each morning I wake up and I recite a few prayers, (just pick 1-3 you like or do a short gratitude list of about 5 things if praying isn’t your bag), then I sit and do 10-20 minutes of meditation.

If you’re a spaz-monkey like me, then the idea of sitting still for twenty minutes and trying to remain calm is the complete opposite of what your (my) whole being wants to do. I built up my meditation by adding time incrementally. I started by using an app on my iPhone such as Headspace, Calm, or Omvana for 5 minutes. Initially my meditation seemed to have the opposite effect of what I wanted. I would sit there, in my own head, going over all the dumb stuff I had done and freaking out about all the things I was remembering I had to get done OR my life would cease. Slowly but surely, though, I was able to use timed and guided meditations to get in the zone, mainly by focusing on breath or through body scans. I built up time, and five minutes turned into ten and then fifteen and now I’m around 20-30 minutes a few times a week.

A few key ingredients for my meditation are headphones, a peaceful place, a comfortable position, and putting my phone into a mode where I won’t receive any texts, emails, or calls throughout. Everyone has 20 minutes a day to set aside to become a happier/calmer person. Just really focus on dedicating yourself to doing this. Put a reminder on your phone. Make it a priority and do it at the same time everyday. I prefer the morning, but sometimes Annie and I will do it together at night (get it?).

These are the apps that I have used and think work well. All have “free” programs up to a certain point and then you have to pay for additional guided practices, but they are definitely a good place to start.

Headspace. The first ten days are free and work really well as an introduction, but using the same ten days for the next year can get stale. If you think meditation might be really difficult for you to get, I would recommend you pay for the subscription on this one. I also use this one for their free 10 minute guided mediation to change it up.

Calm. Like Headspace, Calm offers some free meditations and actually quite a few more than Headspace, but this is less introductory. I like to use Calm’s 20 minute guided body scan or gratitude mediation.

Omvana. This is kind of like the iTunes of meditation. You can purchase many different types of guided mediations from a variety of people and techniques. Again, I try to get the most out of the free programs offered here. You can also mix and match different ambient sounds with the guides who are speaking.

Personally, I like to mix it up every week and use all three of these apps so that it doesn’t get stale. Thanks for reading, dudes and dudes! See you tomorrow for a gratitude list.

What are your meditation techniques or secrets? What classes are out there that you recommend?