Hello Hello Hello!
One of my goals this year, a resolution if you like, was to be more mindful of myself and to take the time to meditate and focus on myself. However, as you will all know, life get’s in the way, and by the end of a long shift at work I’m just too tired to even think about meditation or yoga.
I have been looking at a few different apps for meditation, relaxation and mindfulness, but none have really stuck with me so far. However, I was lucky enough to be contacted by the team behind Thrive, who have developed an app called Feel Stress Free. I downloaded the app and was pretty excited to give it a go!
My first impression of the layout of the app was good, it’s light, bright and easy to navigate. I love how they use a deserted island as the setting, it gets me in the mood for relaxing even before trying any of the exercises!
Mood Meter
Whenever you open the app on a new day, you are immediately asked about your mood. You can swipe from left to right depending on how happy you feel, and the app will suggest a few moods for you, you can select a few different moods-and the app will then recommend one of the exercises for you to complete.It also adds some nice little facts which I really like.
Calm Breathing
I actually tried this one out at work, because I was having a particularly stressful day so I needed to take some time to myself. I have to say it was really nice to just take a few minutes to be totally quiet and relaxed.
Meditation
This part of the app brings your attention deeper into yourself and to just focus on the working of your own body. I love meditation because it brings you fully in tune with your body and I think it helps you to appreciate how your body functions.
Deep Muscle
In this exercise, you are told to tense and relax your muscles and take deep breaths, feeling the tension leave your body. It goes through each part of your body separately, from you face, neck, shoulders and back all the way to your legs.
It also asks you questions- such as:
Is it possible for you to feel pleasantly heavy?
Imagine your body is calm, relaxed and heavy, like a dead weight. This one really helps to get me grounded and I always seem to automatically sink into my seat. I feel like I would be very easy to hypnotise!
It may also ask you to picture a peaceful scene- I usually picture a garden with a waterfall running down into a lake, surrounded by grass and flowers, and a large cherry tree, with it’s blossoms floating around in the sky.
Zen Garden
This is a more creative aspect of the app. It uses the Japanese idea of zen to get you to focus your mind on a creative task, therefore letting any anxieties leave your mind.
My Verdict
I have to admit, I haven’t used this app as much as I have wanted to, but you know, life. I however really like this app, and I think that it has a really great mix of muscle and mind exercises to release tension and to give you that quality time of reflection with yourself each day. I’m giving it 2.5/3!
And the only reason it’s not a 3 is because I haven’t used the hypnosis part of the app, because it’s quite scary to think about, maybe next time!
Giphy
The app actually costs £8.99 per month usually, however I have also been very kindly given a code to share with you guys, so that you can get your first month of Thrive for FREE! All you need to do is visit Thrive, sign up and type in the code below!
FSFMARCH2802
I hope you enjoy this app as much as I have, and that it helps you to become more in touch with yourself. Have a great week!
*This post is sponsored, however as always- all opinions are my own and I will only ever work with brands and companies that I truly like and believe will bring value to my readers*