http://uk.businessinsider.com/should-i-buy-headspace-2017-10/#you-can-come-to-headspace-with-zero-meditation-experience-in-fact-its-probably-better-if-you-do-2
The history of meditation is deep, stretching back to before the beginning of the Current Era. It's important to understand the difference between meditation as part of Hindu and Buddhist traditions on the one hand and secular mindfulness meditation on the other. Headspace doesn't purport to offer enlightenment or to explain the concept of Samsara — the endless cycle of suffering, death and rebirth that is at the center of those Indian religions. Instead, the app aims to teach "the essentials of living a healthier, happier life."
Though the principle of the practice is very similar — watching your breath — the underpinnings of each are drastically different. Headspace is based in modern science, while Buddhist and Hindu meditation is based on the writings and teachings of various spiritual leaders. In many ways, Headspace feels like Buddhism-lite. It's got all the flavour of spiritual meditation with none of the religious underpinnings. The goal with the app is to bring meditation to people who might not have tried it otherwise. It takes the methods of meditation used by Buddhists — focusing on your breath, mentally scanning your body, and noting, or applying labels to parts of your consciousness — but removes discussion of enlightenment and related notions.
The difference is in the details: Modern secular mindfulness meditation aims to translate a traditionally spiritual practice into a secular one through explanation. Kabat-Zinn, Shinzen Young, and other teachers use scientific studies to explain the value of meditation practice. They aim to explain concepts like enlightenment and suffering through modern day, secular terminology.
Visually:
Headspace is an English-American online healthcare company, specialising in meditation. It was incorporated in May 2010 in London, England by writer, public speaker and health advocate Andy Puddicombe and entrepreneur Richard Pierson. The company mainly operates through its online platform, which provides sessions of guided meditation to its registered users with the goal of mindfulness. Puddicombe is a former Buddhist monk, and Pierson has a background in marketing and new brand development.
Puddicombe cut short his university studies in Sports Science at the age of 22, and travelled to Asia to become a Buddhist monk. Over the course of ten years, his meditation training took him to Nepal, India, Burma, Thailand, Australia and Russia. He was fully ordained at a Tibetan Monastery in the Himalayas.In 2004 he returned to the UK on a mission "to make meditation accessible, relevant and beneficial to as many people as possible".
Headspace began as an events company, holding mindfulness talks in and around London. Demand from attendees for a way to share these techniques led to Puddicombe and Pierson looking into developing a mobile app. Headspace provides guided meditation resources online; accessible to users through the company’s website and via a mobile app on the iPhone and Android platforms. The techniques taught through the programme combine elements of both calming and insight meditation.
Headspace is a startup with one simple goal: Make meditation accessible to everyone. It does this through a smartphone app full of "guided meditations" — audio sessions where one of the company's co-creators leads listeners on a journey of contemplation. Headspace's app is designed for the totally uninitiated. It expects that you've never meditated before and that you may not understand the "point" of meditation practice. Its goal is to teach you the foundational aspects of meditation in your first 10 days of using the app.
Cultural appropriation or cultural appreciation?
The history of meditation is deep, stretching back to before the beginning of the Current Era. It's important to understand the difference between meditation as part of Hindu and Buddhist traditions on the one hand and secular mindfulness meditation on the other. Headspace doesn't purport to offer enlightenment or to explain the concept of Samsara — the endless cycle of suffering, death and rebirth that is at the center of those Indian religions. Instead, the app aims to teach "the essentials of living a healthier, happier life."
Though the principle of the practice is very similar — watching your breath — the underpinnings of each are drastically different. Headspace is based in modern science, while Buddhist and Hindu meditation is based on the writings and teachings of various spiritual leaders. In many ways, Headspace feels like Buddhism-lite. It's got all the flavour of spiritual meditation with none of the religious underpinnings. The goal with the app is to bring meditation to people who might not have tried it otherwise. It takes the methods of meditation used by Buddhists — focusing on your breath, mentally scanning your body, and noting, or applying labels to parts of your consciousness — but removes discussion of enlightenment and related notions.
The difference is in the details: Modern secular mindfulness meditation aims to translate a traditionally spiritual practice into a secular one through explanation. Kabat-Zinn, Shinzen Young, and other teachers use scientific studies to explain the value of meditation practice. They aim to explain concepts like enlightenment and suffering through modern day, secular terminology.
Visually:
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Headspace uses a series of cartoons to illustrate meditation principles. The calming design is relaxing and the choice of words make the app seems like a comfortable and trustworthy place to be. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headspace_(guided_meditation_platform)
HeadspaceHeadspace is an English-American online healthcare company, specialising in meditation. It was incorporated in May 2010 in London, England by writer, public speaker and health advocate Andy Puddicombe and entrepreneur Richard Pierson. The company mainly operates through its online platform, which provides sessions of guided meditation to its registered users with the goal of mindfulness. Puddicombe is a former Buddhist monk, and Pierson has a background in marketing and new brand development.
Puddicombe cut short his university studies in Sports Science at the age of 22, and travelled to Asia to become a Buddhist monk. Over the course of ten years, his meditation training took him to Nepal, India, Burma, Thailand, Australia and Russia. He was fully ordained at a Tibetan Monastery in the Himalayas.In 2004 he returned to the UK on a mission "to make meditation accessible, relevant and beneficial to as many people as possible".
Headspace began as an events company, holding mindfulness talks in and around London. Demand from attendees for a way to share these techniques led to Puddicombe and Pierson looking into developing a mobile app. Headspace provides guided meditation resources online; accessible to users through the company’s website and via a mobile app on the iPhone and Android platforms. The techniques taught through the programme combine elements of both calming and insight meditation.
The app's interface shows different levels of meditation and employs gamification. Users are asked to complete and master a level of meditation before they can move on to the more advanced section. Each session is about ten minutes long, usually in audio format.
The Headspace app is set up in series, in which users complete one session (one meditation) every day for ten days. Currently there are six series for users to complete: Foundation, Sport, Health, Relationships, Performance, and Headspace Pro. Each series after the introductory series has different categories and meditation tasks for you to complete. Users are not able to preview other categories’ sessions until they have “unlocked them” by completing the sessions up to that point. Additionally, the app offers “one-off” meditation sessions called “Singles” for users to do on-the-go when they don’t have time to complete a full sessions.
Headspace has been used in a number of clinical trials investigating the effects of mindfulness training. In one such study, researchers from UCL, funded by the British Heart Foundation, examined the impact of mindfulness on workplace stress in two major multi-national corporations, using the Headspace app as the intervention. The study found a significant increase in wellbeing, reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms, significant reductions in diastolic blood pressures, significant increases in perceived job control, as well as a significant reduction in sleeping problems. It also helps in significantly reducing stress in the mind and the body.
The Headspace app is set up in series, in which users complete one session (one meditation) every day for ten days. Currently there are six series for users to complete: Foundation, Sport, Health, Relationships, Performance, and Headspace Pro. Each series after the introductory series has different categories and meditation tasks for you to complete. Users are not able to preview other categories’ sessions until they have “unlocked them” by completing the sessions up to that point. Additionally, the app offers “one-off” meditation sessions called “Singles” for users to do on-the-go when they don’t have time to complete a full sessions.
Headspace has been used in a number of clinical trials investigating the effects of mindfulness training. In one such study, researchers from UCL, funded by the British Heart Foundation, examined the impact of mindfulness on workplace stress in two major multi-national corporations, using the Headspace app as the intervention. The study found a significant increase in wellbeing, reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms, significant reductions in diastolic blood pressures, significant increases in perceived job control, as well as a significant reduction in sleeping problems. It also helps in significantly reducing stress in the mind and the body.
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