To say life has been stressful the past few years is a massive understatement. Learning and practicing ways to ease stress can help boost your overall health and wellness – and there’s an app for that. 

Headspace offers K-12 educators free access to its extensive and well-organized content library centered on mindfulness and meditation. You can choose from intro sessions and short courses to more advanced work, from breathwork and calming techniques to guided and group meditation.

Headspace

Need help sleeping or eating better? Try “sleepcasts” or mindful cooking and eating tips. Workouts based on mind-body connections are led by Olympic athletes, curated playlists from Grammy-winning artists help you focus, and informative articles deal with everything from social to election anxiety. “Navigating Injustice” presents meditations by voices with diverse perspectives to help recognize our differences, struggles and unique journeys. 

“We are constantly evolving materials,” says Alice Nathoo, a spokesperson for Headspace, which is based in Santa Monica. “We work with LA Unified School District and specific schools” to understand educators’ needs, she adds.   

The app is easy to navigate and can be set up to give you daily reminders, track your progress and include others through a buddies feature. 

“The goal is to provide a platform for teens to be kind to their mind.” 

Just launched in November 2021 is Headspace for Teens – also free, with content tailored for young people, offering tools to de-stress, sleep and focus.  

“The goal is to provide a platform for teens to be kind to their mind,” says Nathoo. 

Teens can sign up individually, or by joining or bringing a “Bring Change 2 Mind” program to their high school. The latter helps raise awareness, normalize conversations around mental health, and create a culture of peer support within schools.  

“We want to convert the conversations to action,” Nathoo says. 

Educators can use Headspace for teens as a supplemental resource to social emotional learning and mindfulness in the classroom; the app supports teachers with a variety of materials, including videos, posters and other tools, to assist with this.