It’s been a while since I have updated my experiences using the Muse system. You may recall from a previous post (see it HERE is you missed it) that the muse system uses an EEG headband to provide feedback on one’s meditation practice.
Since starting with the system, I have now completed over 450 meditation sessions! Not bad for a guy who was pretty much a disbeliever at the beginning!
About six months ago, I wrote a post in which I described how one of my sessions encouraged me to incorporate what I learned from one of the Muse guided meditations into my pre-shot routine (you can find that post HERE). I was able to access that particular guided meditation as part of a Muse Challenge. From time to time, Muse allows users to access a portion of the premium content at no charge during which users are invited to try the guided meditations daily for a week or so. Those that complete the challenge, are entered into a drawing for premium content memberships and other Muse offerings. This not only provides a nice introduction into some of the premium content, but probably also hooks a few new users into paying for the premium content!
Well, in January 2022, Muse sent out an invitation to join the “New Year, New you Meditation Challenge”. I signed up and started exploring the new meditations each day of the challenge. About mid-way through, I got curious as to what other content was available. I could see the titles of all 500+ guided mediations on my phone even if I could not fully access them. I was intrigued when I saw there was a category devoted to “Performance”.
I was intrigued by the titles within the category – here is a screen shot of the first few – these titles really piqued my interest!:
Well, it just so happens that Muse was offering a special price of $10.71 for an annual membership. It was more than I could resist. That price was less than I pay each week for my amazon book habit, and less than the price of a box of shot shells. I was hooked! I ordered a year’s subscription to the premium content.
A couple of days later, I finished up the “New Year, New You challenge and received an email notifying me that I was entered in the drawing. Guess what… the next day I got another email notifying me I had won a year membership to the premium content! So, the new year was added to the first year I had subscribed to – two years for $10.71!
Since that time, I have explored many of the categories that are available. I have listened to all of the content in the performance category (most of them multiple times). I have also enjoyed the 8 meditations in the “Attitudes of Mindfulness” category. This one was interesting to me in that each meditation explores a basic tenant of mindfulness described by Jon Kabat-Zinn. If that name sounds familiar, it might be because I reviewed his book “Mindfulness for Beginners” in a post you can review HERE. Another category I have found interesting is the “Muse Mindset Talks”. These 41 meditations are more like “mini-lectures” on a myriad of helpful topics – really great stuff!
So, as I mentioned in the title, Muse set the hook with their challenges and special sale – and then really sweetened it with awarding me an additional year – I am glad!
And because I want to leave you with something useful, let me finish this post by introducing a breathing technique that I encountered in a few of the muse meditations and from other readings that you may find useful when you need to do a quick reset (say just after struggling on a particular sporting clays station). It is called “square breathing”. Basically, you take an inhale while counting to four, then hold your breath for a count of four, exhale for a count of four, and then hold for another count of four. Repeat this a couple of times, and you should feel a sense of calm. Breathe deep into your diaphragm – you should feel your belly rise more than your chest when doing this. I breathe in and out through my nose, but you can also try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth if that works better for you.
For more on Muse, you can visit their website: