“Meditation is hard.”, my yoga guru explained, “Sometimes one just needs the right tools.”
As someone who has frequented the hallowed halls of depression and anxiety, I was reluctant to allow yet another tool into my life. However, the halls grew colder and darker with no sign of respite. Tired of mistakes, I decided to try Unmind.
It started with an index, which required me to answer a number of personal questions. I was surprised because most tools just throw a bunch of videos and exercises at the user. Contrary to which, Unmind cares. Just like a caretaker, the tool asks the user to take a good, hard look at their past weeks and how they feel.
Once the index is complete, the magic begins. A beautiful representation of one’s health is available and if you’re anything like me, the numbers will motivate you.
I use the mood check in tool, fairly regularly. It can be a replacement to the thought diary recommended by CBT therapists, if your GP agrees. The Unmind Index and mood check ins helped me keep track of the particularly low days I’d had so I could potentially correlate my mood to other habits. I was inspired to get back to journaling after a long battle with severe depression.
Despite seeing the charts, the sinking feeling refused to disappear. I realised that I still couldn’t meditate. Strangely, I’ve volunteered for years at the Satyug Darshan Trust in India to teach people meditation. In the dark hall of depression, a sliver of light appeared reminding me that meditation doesn’t belong to a place, person or culture. It is simply a tool to enunciate our existence.
I went back to the tool and decided to try the Mindsnacks tool’s Box Breathing audio. It is a simple breathing technique, which brought tears of joy to my eyes. The reason? Box Breathing was the first technique I was taught in yoga class in India. A flood of positive memories illuminated the dark hall and I smiled, after months. With a firm resolve, I committed to using the Mindsnacks Box Breathing tool, the Jungle Rain sounds from the Sleep tool and Body Awareness from the Mindfulness tool.
Two months later, my Unmind index and mood charts have a positive slope and I’m eternally grateful to Arm for introducing this tool. Whilst my Unmind journey began in a dark hall, this isn’t a prerequisite. One can use Unmind’s Series to learn about mental health in order to care for someone, perhaps a partner, friend or colleague. There are wonderful sections on improving performance and resolving conflict too.
My best wishes and truckloads of positive vibes for all readers of this article.