Meditation has become a vital part of many people’s daily routines, offering a way to relax, reduce stress, and improve mental clarity. But sometimes, even seasoned meditators can get stuck in a rut. That’s where meditation devices come in.
The great thing about meditation is being able to do it whenever and wherever, but I also believe meditation is about self-exploration. These tools may help you to explore further–to enhance your practice and more easily reach deeper states of relaxation and mindfulness.
Let’s dive into eight incredible meditation devices that can help you take your practice to the next level.
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Kipcush Tibetan Meditation Bowls Machine
Tibetan bowls are a great way to use sound and vibration to promote relaxation and deepen your meditation. However, when you’re meditating alone or trying to fall asleep, manipulating the bowls can take your focus off your meditation. Enter the Kipcush Tibetan Meditation Bowls Machine.
This machine brings the ancient practice of sound therapy into the modern age. It’s perfect if want to enjoy the sounds of Tibetan bowls without having to move your hands.
Tibetan singing bowls have been used for centuries to promote healing and relaxation, and this machine automates the process, allowing you to focus solely on your meditation.
How It Works: The machine replicates the resonant tones of seven different traditional Tibetan bowls, which were collected from actual singing bowls hammered by artisans in the Himalayan Foothills (according to Kipcush). Five of the sounds are different frequencies of bowls, and the other two are also different frequencies but paired with nature sounds.
Choose your tone and listen to soothing sound waves that help you enter a meditative state. The vibrations produced by these bowls can help align your energy centers and promote a sense of peace and tranquility.
Why You’ll Love It:
- Ease of Use: Just set the machine to your preferred tone and duration, then let it work its magic. The sounds can be looped and set to a timer.
- Customizable Experience: You can choose from different bowl sounds and adjust the volume and ambient lighting to your liking.
- Consistent Results: Unlike manual bowls, this machine provides a consistent sound that helps you stay focused.
Why You May Not Love It:
- Limited Options: With only seven sounds, the options are a bit limited.
- Usefulness: With so many sound options available through your phone these days, you may be able to find similar sounds on your current device, but the Kipcush machine is still good if you don’t want to search the internet for sounds or don’t want to waste phone battery.
Sensate Relaxation Device
The Sensate Relaxation Device is a game-changer for those who struggle with stress and anxiety. This compact egg-shaped device uses infrasonic resonance to help you relax deeply and quickly.
How It Works: You connect the Sensate device to your phone via Bluetooth, place the Sensate on your chest, open the accompanying app, and the device sends soft vibrations through your body accompanied by soothing soundscapes through the app.
These vibrations are said to stimulate the vagus nerve, which plays a crucial role in your body’s relaxation response. By activating this nerve, Sensate helps improve your heart rate variability and reduce stress.
Why You’ll Love It:
- Quick Relaxation: Feel calmer in just a few minutes.
- Portable: Small enough to take with you anywhere.
- Scientifically Backed: Uses proven technology to enhance relaxation.
Why You May Not Love It:
- Price: The device does come with a high price tag at $299.99 on Amazon at the time of publication.
- Connectivity: Some users have reported problems with the Bluetooth either not connecting or losing its connection. Also, in order to pair it with the soundscapes through the app, you’ll need a pair of wired headphones.
Perytong Sleep Headphones
If you prefer guided meditations or sleep meditations, or like to listen to guided affirmations as you fall asleep, Perytong Sleep Headphones are a comfortable choice. The soft, comfortable headband is designed to be worn while lying down, making it perfect for meditation and sleep.
How It Works: Perytong Sleep Headphones connect to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth, allowing you to play your favorite meditation tracks, binaural beats, meditation music, or white noise. The ultra-thin speakers are embedded in a soft, stretchy headband that you can wear comfortably even while lying on your side.
Why You’ll Love It:
- Comfortable Fit: Perfect for long meditation sessions or sleeping.
- Versatile: Great for meditation, sleep, or listening to music. It also has a built-in microphone so you can use it to talk on the phone too.
- Battery Life: Perytong boasts a battery life of up to 10 hours.
- Low Price: These headphones come at a reasonable price considering the features.
Why You May Not Love It:
- Outside Noise: The HD Stereo Sound quality is actually fairly good albeit a bit quiet when I tested it, but don’t expect these to be noise canceling.
- Charging: Although the battery life is good, some users reported that, after 9 or 10 months, the battery did not last as long or wouldn’t hold a charge.
Flo Stress Relief Necklace
Fun story: I actually bought the Flo Stress Relief Necklace for my partner years ago to help her quit smoking. It served as a great reminder to breathe in order to cope with the stress of smoking cessation, plus it has the tactile sensation of holding a cigarette, without any of the negative consequences. She still wears it to this day.
In short, this necklace is both a stylish piece of jewelry and a breathing tool. It’s designed to help you manage stress and anxiety through controlled breathing, which is a key component of many meditation practices.
How It Works: The necklace has a hollow pendant through which you exhale to slow down your exhalations. Breathe in deeply and slowly through your nose, then exhale for 8-10 seconds through the pendant. Extending your breath helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system and promote relaxation.
Why You’ll Love It:
- Discreet and Stylish: Looks like a regular necklace, so you can wear it all day.
- Easy to Use: No app or batteries required.
- Effective: Helps you quickly reduce stress through mindful breathing.
Why You May Not Love It:
- Value: The Flo necklace isn’t expensive, but it’s a question of whether the tool is worth the price. For me and my partner, it made a nice gift and was worth the price, but for others it may not be.
Muse 2 Meditation Headband
No list of meditation devices would be complete without the Muse 2 Meditation Headband. After all, it is the standard bearer for meditation-based biofeedback.
The Muse 2 headband is like having a personal meditation coach. This high-tech headband uses EEG and other sensors to monitor your brain activity, heart rate, blood circulation, and body movements, giving you real-time feedback on your meditation practice.
How It Works: You wear the headband during your meditation sessions, and it connects to an app on your smartphone. The app provides guided meditations and real-time feedback based on your physiological data.
It uses various sounds like windchimes, music, or weather sounds to indicate, during meditation, your body movements, the pace of your breath, brain frequency, and other real-time data. This helps you understand how different thoughts and techniques affect your body.
Why You’ll Love It:
- Insightful Feedback: Learn how to improve your meditation practice with detailed analytics.
- Guided Meditations: Access a variety of guided sessions tailored to your needs.
- All-in-One Device: Monitors multiple aspects of your physiology for a comprehensive view of your meditation practice.
Why You May Not Love It:
- Connectivity: Bluetooth connectivity can be poor at times, sometimes disconnecting during meditations.
- High Price: The high price can be a barrier to entry for some meditators.
- Difficult Calibration: Some users report that it is difficult to accurately calibrate the device, which may reduce the accuracy of the feedback.
Omnipemf NeoRhythm
The Omnipemf NeoRhythm is also a wearable device, but this one uses pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy to change your brain’s frequency. This cutting-edge technology helps you achieve different mental states, from relaxation to deep focus.
How It Works: You wear the NeoRhythm headband during your meditation sessions. It emits electromagnetic waves at a selected frequency that influence your physiology, entraining your body or brain to match the desired frequency. This helps you achieve a desired mental state, ease physical pain, or promote relaxation or deeper sleep.
The device comes with an app that allows you to choose from 12 different programs separated into categories such as relaxation, meditation, energy, and more. The device can emit Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta, or Gamma frequencies.
Why You’ll Love It:
- Versatile: Choose from multiple programs to suit your needs.
- Enhances Focus: Helps you achieve deeper states of meditation and mental clarity.
- One-of-a-Kind: As far as I know, there aren’t any other products out there like this one.
Why You May Not Love It:
- High Price: As you would expect for a piece of technology like this, it is quite pricy.
- Lack of Feedback: The device does not provide any biofeedback to demonstrate whether you are achieving the desired entrainment of frequencies.
- Efficacy: Some users report that it didn’t help them achieve their desired results, even after several weeks of use. However, many users praised its efficacy, so results may depend on the user.
Mindsight Breathing Buddha
The Mindsight Breathing Buddha is a simple device designed to visually guide you through breathing exercises. Shaped like a small Buddha, the device lights up in a pattern that guides your inhalation and exhalation.
How It Works: You follow the light pattern on the Buddha statue to synchronize your breathing. This practice helps you control the pace of your breath, slowing down each inhalation, holding the breath (in one of two breathing cycles), and slowing down your exhalation.
This is a fundamental aspect of many meditation techniques. Over time, this can improve your mindfulness and reduce stress. Measured breathing, or square breathing, has also shown promising results for managing PTSD.
Why You’ll Love It:
- Visual Aid: Makes it easy to follow along with breathing exercises.
- Compact and Attractive: A beautiful addition to your meditation space.
- Effective: Helps you develop better breathing habits for meditation and relaxation.
Why You May Not Love It:
- Limited Options: There are only two breathing cycles to choose from.
- Quality: Some users reported poor product quality, but it appears to be a small minority of purchasers.
Meta Quest 2
I know what you’re thinking: “What’s a virtual reality headset doing in a list of meditation devices? Playing Beat Sabre is the opposite of relaxation for me.” Hear me out.
Yes, the Meta Quest 2 is a virtual reality headset that’s primarily used for gaming and other VR experiences. However, it also offers apps that provide a unique and immersive meditation experience.
With a variety of meditation apps available like Tripp and Headspace XR, you can explore serene landscapes and ethereal scenes, follow guided meditations, and practice mindfulness exercises in a fully immersive environment. Some of them even combine subtle, calm games to hone your focus. It really is a unique experience.
How It Works: You wear the VR headset and choose a meditation app. The ones listed above are either free with a low-price subscription or come with a cost for downloading the app.
Once you’re in an app, choose from a range of meditation experiences. The immersive nature of VR helps you disconnect from the outside world and focus entirely on your meditation. You can explore virtual environments designed to enhance relaxation, mindfulness, and focus.
Why You’ll Love It:
- Immersive Experience: Feel like you’re truly escaping to another world.
- Variety of Options: Access a wide range of meditation and relaxation apps, including some experimental apps for you to try.
- Interactive: Engage with your meditation practice in a whole new way.
Why You May Not Love It:
- Price: Although the Meta Quest 2 is less expensive than the Meta Quest 3, it is still pricy, unless you’re going to put it to full use by playing games too.
- Comfort: The VR headset is not the most comfortable or lightweight thing to wear, which can detract from the experience.
- Charging: The device tends to take a while to charge, so you may need to plan ahead or just keep it on the charger when not in use.
Conclusion
Incorporating these meditation devices into your practice can help you deepen your meditation, reduce stress, and improve focus and overall well-being. Whether you’re looking for sound therapy, real-time biofeedback, or an immersive meditation experience, there’s a device out there for you to try.
As always, approach your meditation with curiosity and playfulness. Try new things. Enjoy the journey however works best for you.
If you’re looking for tips and advice on how to find a good zafu or zabuton, or a guide on some different types of meditation, look no further than these resources!