Calm is the #1 app for mindfulness and meditation – and was recently named Apple’s 2017 App of the year.
Since ancient times, spiritual leaders and monks have been practicing the art of meditation, to attain concentration, a sense of clarity, tranquility and heightened perception.
In the modern world, where stress, anxiety and insomnia affect ever more people, the practice of meditation can play a major role in alleviating such problems.
Calm’s mission is to make the world healthier and happier.
It is best known as a meditation, sleep and mental wellness app, available in both the App Store and Google Play stores. With over 21 million downloads to date and over 50,000 new users daily, Calm was named by Apple as the 2017 iPhone App of the Year; by Google Play as an “Editors’ Choice” in 2018; and ranked by a recent study of 200,000 iPhone users by the Center for Humane Technology as “the world’s happiest app”. It has received over 200,000 five star reviews on either Google Play or the App Store.
Calm creates unique audio content that strengthens mental fitness and tackles some of the biggest mental health challenges of today: stress, anxiety, insomnia and depression. The most popular feature on Calm is a 10-minute meditation called, ‘The Daily Calm, that discusses a new mindful theme and inspiring thought every morning. It also contains over 90 Sleep Stories (bedtime stories for grownups), plus sleep music, meditation lessons, nature sounds, videos, multi-day programs and masterclasses delivered by world experts. The Calm app is free to download. However, a paid subscription to Calm Premium gives access to over 100 hours of premium content, including an ever-growing library of advanced meditations, soothing Sleep Stories, calming nature scenes, a breathing tool and masterclasses.
Gifted Innovators behind Calm
Michael Acton Smith OBE and Alex Tew are the Co-Founders & Co-CEOs of Calm. The young British entrepreneurs, Michael & Alex founded Calm in 2012 with a mission to make the world healthier and happier, and eventually become the “Nike for the mind”.
Prior to Calm, Michael was the founder of Mind Candy and creator of Moshi Monsters, the online world for children that grew to 80 Million registered users and expanded offline into books, toys, games, magazines, music and movies. He is also the founder of Firebox.com, Ping Pong Fight Club and Berwickstock music festival. Michael has long been fascinated by neuroscience, flow states and mental fitness. Learning to meditate had a profound impact on his life and he is passionate about spreading this simple but valuable skill around the world. In 2014, Michael was awarded an OBE for services to the Creative Industries.
Alex Tew, when still just a young student from Wiltshire, England, first became interested in the mind and how to improve it. He explored different ways to develop his memory, generate ideas and focus his attention. Alex then discovered one technique that stood head and shoulders above the rest: mindfulness meditation. Soon with daily practices, He began to feel calmer, more focused and happier. An idea, then, occurred to him that he could create a website to help people meditate. During his hectic years at university and the success of his first start-up: The Million Dollar Homepage, he was no longer taking the time to calm his mind, just when he needed it most. After getting back on track with meditation and launching a string of ventures, he returned with an innovative idea of bringing meditation to the world by leveraging the power of the internet with his close friend Michael and thereby incepted Calm.
Stepwise Development & Growth of Calm
- 2012: Michael Acton Smith and Alex Tew founded Calm.
- 2013: Began developing library of guided meditations and soothing nature sounds and scenes.
- 2014: Tamara Levitt joined Calm as a Head of Mindfulness. She brings 20+ years of meditation expertise to the Calm mission and has been Calm’s Meditation Instructor ever since.
- 2015: Launched Calm book with penguin, which is selling worldwide.
- 2016: Initiated ‘The Daily Calm’, a 10-minute guided meditation. This feature became an instant hit among users, helping them to cultivate a daily meditation practice. Additionally, Breathe Bubble (30 seconds breathing & relation exercise) and Sleep Stories (For grown-ups to relax the body, settle the mind and drift into dreamland) were started.
- 2017:Sleep Mist, an all-natural aromatherapy sleep spray provides a unique, multi-sensory sleep solution with fragrant scent was launched. Moreover, Calm Music, a collection of long music tracks for focus, relaxation or sleep was also introduced. The team of Calm collaborated with RED and raised $46,000 or 138,000 days of life-changing HIV medication in the fight to #endAIDS.
- 2018: Calm Masterclasses, the life-changing audio classes delivered by world-renowned experts was introduced.
Superstars at Calm
The founders have appointed a small and mighty team that is equally passionate about mental fitness, relaxation and sleep as them. They believe that mindfulness and making time for rest combined with talent and hard work are the keys to their creativity, success and awesome working culture.
Peaceful Offerings from Calm
Calm app offers a following collection of guided meditations, sleep stories, soothing nature scenes, a breathing tool and music for focus, relaxation and sleep.
- Mindfulness Resources
- Mindful Living Calendars: Daily challenges are projected to deepen one’s mindfulness practice and insights.
- Sleep Journal: It explores what supports a person’s slumber and what hijacks his/her sleep.
- Mindfulness Journal: The feature provides writing prompts for reflection, contemplation and gratitude along with bonus pictures to color mindfully.
- Meditation Foundations
- Meditation techniques for beginners.
- Anxiety reduction with mindfulness.
- Sleep inducing techniques for a better tomorrow.
- Increased focus for peak performance.
- Stress diminution through meditation.
- Bringing mindfulness into personal relationships.
- Emotional management.
- Self-care practices.
- Upliftment of personal growth.
- Ways to find inner peace.
- Gift of resilience to ride the waves of life with ease.
- Insight deepening through meditative practice.
- Mindfulness programs for kids.
- Sleep Stories
- Fictional stories
- Music
- Nature stories
- Stories for kids
- Non-Fiction stories
- ASMR & foreign language stories
- Stories by special guest narrators
- Calm Masterclass
In a society that encourages overwork, science now shows the world, that individuals can all work better, be more productive, and have happier lives if they learn how to balance work and rest. Dr. Alex Pang conducts a masterclass by sharing how one can avoid burnout and use rest skillfully to get more done by working less.
- Blogs & Quotes
As Yehuda Berg quotes, “Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble.” The quote stands biblically true. Calm bloggers post inspirational, rejuvenating and motivational blogs on their website and app, so that users can seek positive and healing energy from the beauty of powerful words. Well known, talented individuals who are bestowed with amazing intellect and responsible for ground breaking work are often quoted. Calm provides alluring designs with their powerful quotes which can brighten an individual’s day.
- Unique Gift Hamper
Calm offers a special edition of gift box, stuffed with all of Calm’s best sellers and comes beautifully packaged for easy gifting. Mindfulness and a good night’s sleep are the best gifts that can be presented to the loved and dear ones. The fabulous gift package comes with the following items.
- 1 Year Subscription: An all-access pass to one’s daily meditations, sleep stories, and mindfulness programs.
- Sleep Mist: The magic bottle of dreamy elixir of essential oils to smoothen one’s senses, allowing peaceful and deep sleep.
- Calm Book: It is a beautiful guide to living mindfully and inviting a sense of peace into a busy day.
- Premium Box: The entire package of gifts is aesthetically wrapped in a hamper.
Future Expansion Plans of Calm
The founders and their talented team are continuously working hard to expand the number of offerings within its app. At the same time, Calm is also growing offline in various ways that bring more peace, clarity and perspective into people’s busy lives. The mindfulness installing app is planning to come up with new book collaboration with Penguin, Calm clothing line, Calm home wares, Calm hotels and more.
