Finding My Zen: Two Weeks with an AI Meditation App

A few years back, I dove headfirst into meditation. As a classic high-strung type-A personality, my mind was a whirlwind of plans, worries, and hypothetical problems (anyone else?). To calm the chaos, I took a month-long online meditation course. It taught me to focus on all my senses and use my breath as an anchor to bring my wandering mind back.

Afterward, I became a devoted Headspace user, appreciating its library of quick and easy meditation sessions. But then, I stumbled upon an intriguing concept: AI chat support for meditation! Could AI enhance meditation apps, making both meditation and therapy more accessible?

Here’s what my two-week experiment with Meditopia revealed:

AI Therapy Replacement? Not Quite Yet.

Meditopia’s “SOUL” feature, powered by AI, aims to provide on-the-go mental health support. This is exciting because therapy can be expensive, limiting access for many. AI has the potential to offer personalized advice to those who can’t afford traditional therapy.

Unfortunately, AI chatbots still have a learning curve. My initial hope was for quick stress-busting tips, but the AI bombarded me with questions: “What’s causing your stress?” “How do you prioritize tasks?” These felt more like an interrogation than a conversation, leaving me feeling more stressed, not less.

AI excels at Content Curation.

Thankfully, Meditopia offers another way to interact with its AI. Instead of endless back-and-forth, you can ask for content suggestions. Here, AI shines.

When I requested stress-management content, the AI delivered! It offered a variety of quick meditations, including “Feeling Overwhelmed.” This 11-minute session left me grounded and calm. It reminded me to focus on my physical sensations and shift my mindset from “I haven’t done enough” to “I’ve done my best.”

The ending narration resonated deeply: “It’s not life’s ups and downs that stress you, but the voice in your head interpreting them. Step back and see that voice as separate from you and from life itself.” This was exactly what I needed to refocus and recharge.

While AI didn’t lead the meditation itself, it found the perfect session for my needs. Empowered, I started asking SOUL for daily content recommendations, like breathing exercises for grounding myself. This led me to some fantastic meditation courses, like “The Breath.”

The Takeaway: Meditation Requires You.

Meditation is challenging. It’s about focusing on your breath, which can be quite boring! Finding the motivation to carve out time for it is also difficult.

The very reason meditation is hard work is also why AI can’t replace it: it demands being present in your body. Ultimately, meditation is the opposite of AI – it’s about breath, life, and being present in the moment.