Calm.com Offers Guided Relaxation

Art/photography: Griffin Keller, unsplash.com.

As I write this, I am at the beach. Okay, not really. I’m on my living room sofa with my laptop on my lap and a beach scene from Calm.com running in the background.

I heard about this web site twice in the past week, and since it’s pretty unusual that I hear about any web site twice in the same week, I thought it might be worth a visit.

The concept is simple. Nature scenes with sound and/or music, and sessions in various lengths that are either guided or merely timed. And if you close your eyes during the timed session, you won’t know it’s over -- there are no obnoxious beeps or squeals to alert you. Instead, a pop-up window with buttons that allow you to share your session on social media (if you wish to do so -- I did not) simply and silently appears. There’s a countdown clock in the lower left hand corner of the screen as well.

I tried both the two minuted guided and the two minute timed sessions. Once you click on your time choice, a screen appears that says:

Prepare for your 2 minute session:

choose your preferred nature scene

wear headphones if you have them

ensure you are free from distractions

As I was the only one in the house, the third one was easy. I opted out of the headphones, but I suspect that the experience is more encompassing with headphones.

While I enjoyed the two minute guided relaxation with flowing water and background music, it wasn’t until I found the beach scene (and switched off the music) that I was hooked. In fact, as I said, I have it running in the background as I type this.

Calm.com is available for iPhone and Android, but I liked using the online site. I like the idea of completing a task and taking a calming two to five minute break (options are two, five, ten, fifteen and twenty minutes), and I really like allowing the beach scene and sounds to continue to play in the background while I work.

Now if you’ll excuse me, the beach is calling.