Navigating Digital Meditation Spaces as BIPOC
Meditation is an ancient, expansive practice with noted roots in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color cultures across the globe. Today, it is widely incorporated in healing as a staple resource. However, as in most spaces and industries, representation of BIPOC communities is hardly ever the focus of concern in some of the most popularized and talked-about meditation spaces and conversations.
Part of my work as an herbalist and ethnobotanist is to not only seek the cultural root of the healing modalities available to us, but to ask, “Where are the descendants of the people who introduced these practices? Are we being represented and advocated for in the way these tools are displayed today?” Unfortunately, the answer to the second question is no, we’re not. While we live in a system that benefits from our culture and history, it certainly does not ensure that we are or feel seen in the fruits of our ancestors’ labor and contributions. Meditative practices — and particularly, meditation apps — are not free from this truth. As our society continues to infuse technology into virtually every aspect of our lives, many of us look to mobile applications to incorporate wellness practices into our regimens. As a meditator myself, I’ve utilized meditation apps to aid in my journey, and what I found throughout the years is that the majority of the teachers on many of these apps almost never look like me — or any Person of Color, for that matter.
What if the search for representation in meditation apps wasn’t so difficult? What if someone did the research, assessed the differences, and let the community know what was up? Would it solve the systemic problem that caused this lack of representation to begin with? Nope, still working on that. But if focusing my research on Black Healing Modalities has taught me anything, it’s the power of storytelling — that our word is our saving grace.
Below is a list of three meditation apps that I’ve reviewed for their presence of BIPOC meditation teachers. As BIPOC, we deserve to see ourselves in every aspect of healing, and as we continue to take up space in the wellness world, we redefine what it means to be a part of this space to begin with and why it is absolutely necessary that we are here.
Liberate Meditation is a Black-founded meditation app empowering the BIPOC community on our path to finding inner peace. Created by Afro-Latino Julio Rivera this app brings BIPOC teachers together on one platform and features talks and meditations on topics such as mindfulness, microaggressions, self-worth, the ancestors, and more. Liberate Meditation surfaced in 2019 in various articles featuring Rivera and the story behind his founding of the app. I’m excited to see it expand and promote healing through meditation. There’s a choose-your-own-price option on a sliding scale from $0/month to $59.99/month.
A meditation I recommend is Restitching: Healing Ancestry and Displacement. (Please note this link only seems to work if you have the app downloaded.)For me, this meditation empowered me in my journey to confront my connection with this land as the place of my ancestors displacement, the show of their labor, and the sacred space to the many Indigenous people who’ve existed here since the beginning.
What I love: I’ve spent a lot of time seeking BIPOC teachers on other apps and it’s really sweet to see a place where they are the norm rather than tucked away in the box in which we are always placed — the minority. I also love that you can learn about each of the teachers, including their pronouns, backgrounds, connections to the work, etc., in most of their introduction talks. I feel connected to these teachers in hearing their stories, and I hope this app can one day create space for them to grow their reach to community in other ways as well.
Things to consider: Much of this app is aligned with Buddhist thought and theory. If you’re looking for an app with zero religious attachment or affiliation, this app may not have enough content in that realm (yet). From my understanding and brief research, it doesn’t seem like teachers get paid for their recordings. Rather, the app relies on donations to give to teachers (although I’m unsure of how these donations are distributed and with what frequency).
Insight Timer has an extensive offering of deeply powerful meditations from teachers across the globe. This meditation app was recommended to me by a previous therapist who suggested it after I expressed my dissatisfaction with a couple of other apps that looked pretty but felt less authentic. Insight Timer breaks down its content into courses, meditations, talks, music, and an option to meditate with ambient (or no) sound accompanied with a timer. If you’re more of a do-it-yourself meditator but want to track or set a time limit for yourself, the latter option is for you. The courses — there are over 200 to choose from on the app — are often a blend of both meditations and talks, and they’re the only paid feature on the app (for $59.99/year). Aside from that, you can send donations to a particular teacher should you decide to show monetary gratitude to them; the rest of the app is completely free. Bonus fact: If a teacher chooses not to personally accept donations made by app users, they can donate their proceeds to a charitable organization. To learn more about teacher payouts on the Insight Timer app, check here.
A meditation I recommend is Morning Mirror Self-Love Practice by Randi-Mae. I love starting my day with this meditation because it encourages me to intentionally look at and feel myself. Instead of starting my day from a place of potential self-judgement or viewing my skincare routine as a chore, this practice allows me to find grace and tenderness in taking care of myself early in the morning.
What I love: Insight Timer has an abundant offering of meditations, which makes searching for “the right one” a simple task. During new and full moon cycles, I enjoy trying out different meditation offerings from teachers who have featured ones for specific moon cycles, like New Moon in Gemini, for example. I also like the option to have a meditation timer without having to do a guided meditation. Sometimes it’s nice to simply sit in stillness for my practice rather than be guided by another voice. I enjoy having access to both options — plus the ability to incorporate audio such as sound healing, music, and chanting. Also, Insight Timer is doing a Black History Month tribute featuring Black teachers as their highlight meditation each day in February.
Things to consider: The search for BIPOC teachers on Insight Timer has been exhausting. I started saving meditations and instructor profiles as I found them in hopes of illuminating them in posts like this. While I’ve had a pleasurable experience with most of the offerings on the Insight Timer, it’s both comforting and affirming to see BIPOC people on the app — without having to search for them. If Insight weren’t featuring Black people like Alex Elle and Lalah Delia, my search would continue to be just as tiring as it has been the last six months.
3. Spotify
I started using Spotify for the functionalities it’s most known for: music and well-curated playlists. Last year, a friend sent me a meditation on the Spotify app that literally changed my life. I’d never even considered seeking meditations on Spotify in the past, but that one experience led me to discover other great ones, as well as some ambient meditation playlists and sound-healing tracks.
A meditation I recommend is Serious Daydreaming by Shelah Marie. This meditation and journaling practice had me thinking about manifesting my future self’s reality in a purely divine way. With Serious Daydreaming, you take a mental journey to your future self’s home — taking in the details of what the home looks and feels like, and how your future self looks and feels. You spend time with them in whatever way feels organic for you. My creativity and inspiration after this experience completely soared. I still hold onto those moments and return to the meditation whenever I need to be reminded of my purpose in this realm.
What I love: If you’re like me, and you search for meditation content from BIPOC healers and teachers, Spotify’s algorithm for categorizing content based on artists and their work typically leads you down the right path. On an artist’s page, you can scroll down and see who that artist has collaborated with — or at least who they are aligned with. My favorite part is the section just below that, the “Fans also like” section, where I’ve found a host of great BIPOC artists and teachers who’ve contributed to my meditation practice.
Things to consider: There’s no counter on Spotify that allows for you to track or time your meditations, if you’re into that. It’s a music platform after all, so it’s obvious where the focus lies . . . and because Spotify pays artists by streams, and most Spotify users are not coming to the app to stream meditation content, I’m not sure if the payout for these teachers is comparable to that of an app such as Insight. For more info on how Spotify pays its artists, check here.
