Meditation apps offer free mindfulness, as social distancing takes a toll

I’m not sure how many days we are into this “15 days” thing. Frankly, I’m not really sure what day of the week it is. As we collectively lose our grip on reality and socialization and increasingly turn to technology to cope, a number of meditation apps are offering up content free to help folks recenter as we push to shelter in place.

Headspace was among the first to offer a plan. The popular app announced that it would be making its premium tier free for “all US healthcare professionals who work in public health settings,” a nice nod to the first-responders who are among the hardest working and most emotionally wiped amid the pandemic.

Interested parties who qualify can redeem free access to Headspace Plus through the end of 2020 by entering their National Provider Identifier (NPI) and email address on the service’s site.

Simple Habit this morning announced free premium memberships for “all people who are impacted by the pandemic and can no longer afford to pay.” Those who qualify need only email help [at] simplehabit.com and note that they’re in a precarious financial position due to the pandemic. Access includes free meditation collections through the end of April.

Calm CEO Michael Acton Smith told TechCrunch that the company is currently exploring ways it might help a strained community. In the meantime, the service is making a number of meditations available for free to users.

A number of yoga studios and exercise applications are offering similar services for those who are housebound.