Headspace Wants You to Get in Touch With Your Body
*By Alyssa Caverley*
You might not think that your smartphone, with all its flashing message alerts and beeping reminders, would be the tool to help you slow down and get in touch with your thoughts.
But that's what the guided meditation app Headspace aims to do by giving its 28 million users a way to improve their health and happiness at any time of day. It was one of the top lifestyle and wellness apps in the first quarter of 2018.
"It is genuinely a coming together of a consumer need and something being offered in a very different way," said the Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe in an interview with Cheddar's CEO Jon Steinberg. "You have meditation that's been around for a few thousand years, so this isn't new."
Puddicombe, who trained for 10 years as a Tibetan Buddhist monk in Northern India, said that Headspace was designed to help make meditation accessible to people's modern daily lives.
"So most people think of meditation ー 'O.K. I've got to sit down on the floor, cross legged, light some incense' ー we've tried to kind of take it away from that to make you feel sort of grounded and down to earth," Puddicombe said. "So I encourage people to sit down on a comfortable chair and just focus their attention in the distance."
He said the point was to show people who download the app that meditation is an individual experience and anyone can do it. And it's Puddicombe's voice ー the voice of Headspace ー that will help guide you through it and maybe even lull you to sleep.
"Meditation gives you what you need and if, at that time, you need sleep and you feel amazing when you wake up, that's a win," he said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/headspace-founder-on-why-meditation-app-clears-up-the-brain-fog-for-users).
Tech analyst Rene Ritchie discusses new EU legislation that will force iPhones to use a USB-C charger in fall 2024 and what that means for Apple's strategy in Europe.
Robotics automation technology company Symbotic made its market debut on the Nasdaq via a SPAC merger with SVF Investment Corp. 3, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of SoftBank Investment Advisers. Symbotic rang the Opening Bell at the Nasdaq to celebrate the occasion this morning. Its debut on Wall Street comes amid an urgent need for logistics solutions, as it aims to reimagine supply chains with its A.I.-powered robotic and software platform. Tom Earnst, CFO of Symbotic, and Vikas Parekh, managing partner at Softbank Investment Advisors, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Michelle Castillo joined Closing Bell to break down Elon Musk's announcement to SpaceX employees that the Starlink internet business might not see itself as an IPO until 2025, Twitter planning to hand over the user data he requested as a condition of the acquisition, and Warren Buffet-backed Chinese EV company BYD stating it will be supplying batteries to Tesla "very soon."
Meta announced its plans to join the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. This is leaving businesses and customers wondering what the tech giant has in store for the event. Nicola Mendelsohn, the vice president of the global business group at Meta, joined Cheddar News to preview what the tech giant will discuss at this year's festival. "We're going to be showcasing more about reels. We're going to be talking about our commerce solutions, are messaging solutions, and of course, the method of us speaking of new ways to kind of connect with customers," she said.
Paul Tracey, Founder & CEO of Innovative Technologies, and author of 'Delete The Hacker Playbook' and 'Cyber Storm', joins Cheddar to discuss the most effective ways to protect small businesses from cyber attacks, the labor shortage's effects on cybercrime, and how businesses and employees can stay cyber secure while working from home.
