I walked out of the room and around the corner to a bench overlooking one of the small valleys in Santa Barbara. The room I just left was at Serenity House where my Dad was in the final stages of his battle with cancer.

I put in my headphones and opened up Headspace, a guided meditation app, trying to get a little bit of a break from the intensity and emotion of the situation. A few short hours later my dad passed away. Nothing has been the same since and I think about him every single day.

Coincidentally, I started meditating regularly when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. One of the few things that has been consistent since the day my dad passed - along with the incredible love and support of my family and friends - has been my meditation practice.

Over the course of the last few years and more than a thousand sessions, I’ve come to realize that being mindful and present are two cornerstones of not only a healthy meditation practice, but also a healthy brain, and thus, a healthy life.

While these two elements are easy to be aware of when things are going right, it can be quite challenging to keep them top of mind when things go sideways in your life. But the rough times are when mindfulness and living in the moment are the most important. It is in those areas where I found a ton of value in the guided Headspace sessions.

As painful as it was at times to be fully present those last few days with my dad, it was important to be truly there. I needed to be able to say a proper goodbye and to pay tribute to the man I’d looked up to my entire life.

Each Headspace “pack” or “single” is narrated by Andy Puddicombe, one of the app’s founders and someone with a very interesting story that you can read more about here. The tone of Andy’s voice ranks right up there with Morgan Freeman for the people I’d want to narrate my life. I love it! In fact, I feel like he’s narrating this article as I type!

The animations that support and explain different elements of meditation are also entertaining, informative and help break things down for those new to the practice. The gamification built into the app helped push me to be consistent, thus compounding the benefits. The friendly feel to the app made me feel more mentally clear, calm and better able to handle the challenges of life.

Since I started meditating I’ve shared my story with many people and received mostly positive feedback. The fact that meditating is one of the biggest trends right now certainly helps. As much as I wish this were some sort of paid endorsement by Headspace it is not. I’ve tested out a few other popular meditation apps such as Calm but found Headspace to be the best fit for me.

Regardless of the app that’s used - I recommend using something to help establish good habits and realistic expectations from the start - the benefits of a regular meditation practice go well beyond this post. With that said, some of the biggest pros I found were…

IT’S EASY TO START

You can download a number of free apps and be meditating in a matter of minutes. Headspace offers their “Basics” introductory pack for free, which you could easily replay indefinitely, before making the jump to the paid subscription.

EARLY ACHIEVEMENT

After the first session I was already feeling better and within a matter of days I started to become more aware of my mood, surroundings and behavior. The change in my behavior was important to me as my patience was, and is, constantly being tested by my two young children. Picture 4-year old and 18-month old boys running around your house. Needless to say, mindfulness and awareness are a necessity for me. Meditation resulted in my being better at regulating my emotions and working to not get too upset. It also helped me at home to not raise my voice at something my little ones were doing or had done. For me, it’s very much a work in progress but it’s getting better and that is something I know all other parents can relate to!

NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT

I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I struggle with the idea of never having a “perfect” meditation session. Some are better than others but that’s part of the point - learning that there is no such thing as perfection and being okay with that. It’s inevitable that thoughts and emotions are going to creep into every single session, that’s normal. But training the mind to acknowledge them and let them go is a critical skill. One that translates well to the “real world” and helps maintain focus on a given task, say a project at work, for example.

MEDITATE ANYWHERE

There’s no need to find a completely quiet room with a soft cushion where you sit cross-legged as is often the stereotypical setting. I’ve mediated in all different kinds of places - home, gym, running, riding my bike, airports - thanks to the various Headspace packs. While a quiet comfortable space is optimal, it’s not a requirement, affording everyone the opportunity to snag a little break just about anywhere. And the more you meditate, the easier it becomes to block out any possible distractions and focus on the task at hand.

FOR THE KIDS

Headspace even has packs that kids can get into. Will (my 4-year-old) and I have done some of these together and he really enjoys this routine, as do I. Any time you can spend quality time with your kids is a good time. In addition to the facets of daily meditation that I highlighted, there are many more benefits that I have found to make meditation such a great part of my daily routine. However, these were some of the ones that hit home for me.

Mindfulness on a daily basis is one of the greatest gifts one can get. Thinking about my dad every day, I like to think of it as the lasting gift he gave me to make sure I love life with the same enthusiasm he did.

When I posted about mediating and Headspace on social media a while back I got quite a few responses from people saying they were interested, had recently started themselves or previously gave it a shot but stopped.

I would love to hear from everyone about where they are with their meditation practice, what their experiences have been like, and their feedback.

Feel free to reply on social, leave a comment below or email me at sroegner@gmail.com Thanks for reading!