Meditation can be slightly challenging at the best of times, but that’s just part of the practice. Like anything, if you ‘train’ enough you will see an improvement. That improvement may have just become a little easier to monitor.
Never did I think the possibility of tapping into my own brain waves was going to be as easy as wearing a headband.
The premise behind this gadget is being able to track your brains ‘movement’s while you meditate as well as assist in the meditation process with sounds and challenges.
Simply download then connect the app to the headset via Bluetooth, watch the tutorial to ensure that the device is picking up your brain waves correctly and off you go!
You will need to calibrate before each session as your brain activity will differ from day-to-day.
One of the key features of the Muse Brain Sensing Headband is that it provides real time feedback while you meditate by interpreting your brain activity into winds sounds. When your mind is rattled you hear winds blowing around and as your mind settles, the winds calm and settle down. I do like this rather peaceful concept of tracking your brain’s activity whilst not really disturbing your practice.
When you’ve finished your meditation, check back into the app to see how you’re tracking and (hopefully) improving.
In theory, I like the idea of this device; it would be of great assistance to someone who is time poor and creates more of a reminder to make the time to sit and meditate. However, personally the idea of being connected to a device in order to disconnect from the world around you and concentrate on being still and within yourself seems a bit contrary to me. To me, meditating is about unplugging and sitting with your mind regardless of the state you’re in, being able to accept what is at the time. Don’t get me wrong, we all like to know if and how we are making progress which is undeniably a great feature of this gadget and would ultimately be a motivator to keep your practice up. But shouldn’t that need come from within, not a brain wave reading headband?
A few of these devices have entered the market recently, like the Emotiv Insight – a Brain Activity Tracker. This is essentially a sleekly designed headset that allows you to advance your brains performance and fitness as well as gain insight into how your brain is functioning. This device will be launching sometime this year. The Emotiv EPOC is a step ahead of the Insight – labelled a ‘Revolutionary Brain Computer Interface’ this device comes in at a hefty $399 for the basic model or $499 for the EPOC+ model. This I’m not so sure about.. I feel like it’s something out of a sci-fi movie, not another gadget you keep at home.
The feedback and buzz so far about the Muse Brain Sensing Headband has been pretty positive – I would want it to be if I was to spend $300 on a device like this, however there has been some feedback from more experienced meditators questioning a few of the devices capabilities. None the less, majority of it is positive.
All of these gadgets are amazing displays of how far technology has come – if this is any indication of the direction we are heading in the future then we are definitely in for some interesting personal insights.
Article by Frederique Bros from Women Love Tech. Frederique Bros is the founder and publisher of Women Love Tech – a well-established technology digital magazine. Frederique’s expertise comes from her 10+ years in multimedia, graphic and web design. Born in France, she lives in Sydney with her French Bulldog, Oscar.