19 Meditation-Related Gifts Everyone Will Love
Updated: May 27, 2021
Shopping for meditation gifts? Experts suggest these thoughtful products, which help promote mindfulness and zen.
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What is meditation?
Meditation is one of the oldest practices in the book. Actually, it precedes the book. It’s seeing something of a revival these days, with what was once a spiritual practice sliding into the mainstream.
Meditation is the practice and state of mental awareness where an individual is able to dive into the mind from a neutral perspective. By meditating, you’re essentially freeing yourself from the emotions, thoughts, and perspectives that take up space in your day-to-day moments and interactions, says Alexandra Amato, a Kundalini energy yoga teacher and meditation expert.
People love meditation for a lot of reasons. It can help you achieve a heightened sense of awareness and focus, and it gives you space to sit still with your feelings without judgment. But there are a lot of mental and physical benefits associated with mediation as well.
Benefits of meditation
You may be familiar with the myriad benefits of meditation. They’re often splashed across news headlines or tucked into social media posts. And if a family member or friend recommended the practice to you, there’s a chance you heard a firsthand account of meditation’s benefits.
These are some of the benefits you stand to gain by incorporating daily meditation into your routine:
Reduced stress: Several studies, including one published in JAMA Internal Medicine, have linked practicing meditation to lower stress levels. “Meditation, either a simple mindfulness technique or a complex yogic protocol, can help us understand and release our triggers for stress,” says Ishan Shivanand, a Himalayan monk and yoga teacher.
(Try these meditations to relieve stress.)
Reduced anxiety: Plenty of research, including a 2014 study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, supports the notion that practicing meditation can help alleviate anxiety. “This is true for people with anxiety disorders, like generalized anxiety and social anxiety, as well as those with mild worry and stress,” says Emily Guarnotta, a licensed clinical psychologist and blogger at The Mindful Mommy.
Improved focus and attention: “Whether you struggle with mild focus and attention issues or suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), meditation has been found to help a person improve in these areas,” says Guarnotta. “Meditation trains you to focus on one specific ‘anchor,’ like your breath or sounds in your environment, which, over time, helps you strengthen your ability to attend to the present moment, rather than becoming distracted by internal thoughts and feelings, and external stimuli.” Here’s more about how meditation can help ADHD.
What to look for in meditation-related gifts
In order to find a product that will aid in a person’s meditation practice, it’s important to look for the following features:
Quality: When it comes to meditation products, go for quality over quantity. Kendra Kirane, director of creative arts therapy and wellness at Wellbridge addiction treatment center, recommends paying close attention to reviews to make sure the product holds up to the test of time.
Comfort: Amato recommends picking items you think will bring comfort, physically or emotionally, to the person you are gifting. “Maybe it’s a scent, a comfortable pillow, or a blanket,” she says, noting that comfort gifts are those a person can add to their meditation corner or room and use with the purpose of creating a safe space.
Aesthetic: When gifting a meditation product, select an eye-catching item. Kirane recommends reaching for colors and patterns that are calming and soothing to the touch. “Find a product that complements your giftee’s home or workspace,” she says.
Price: “Be realistic about your budget and try to stay within your means,” says Kirane. “Meditation isn’t designed to create financial stress.”
(Find out how long you should meditate.)
The best meditation-related gifts
Here are some of the best gifts to help foster your loved one’s meditation practice. Interested in picking up the practice? Learn how to meditate from our beginner’s guide.
The Ohm Store Tibetan Singing Bowl Set
$25
Kirane regularly uses a singing bowl in her meditation and movement therapy sessions. “Many people enjoy the deep resonance of the bowl vibrating after contact with the mallet, creating an instant sense of relaxation,” she says. She recommends seeking out brands that offer a range of singing bowl products, which can be filtered by weight, diameter, and series.
Brentwood Home Crystal Cove Oval Meditation Yoga Cushion
$59
Discomfort can be distracting during meditation, says Guarnotta. That’s why she recommends investing in a good meditation pillow, like this one from Brentwood Home. “This particular pillow was created with the right height and support to allow the spine to sit straight,” she says. “The inside of the pillow is made with buckwheat hulls, which allows it to adjust for your body.”
BonVivo Easy III Padded Folding Floor Chair
$60
If your giftee needs more back support than a meditation cushion can offer, consider a meditation chair. This one from BonVivo is foldable, so it’s useful for traveling. It comes in two colors: blue and beige.
(Beware of the meditation mistakes that secretly stress you out.)
Muse 2 Brain-Sensing Headband
$250
This meditation tool from Muse provides feedback on various bodily responses, like breathing rate, movement, heart rate, and brain activity. “You simply put the device, which contains EEG sensors, on your head while meditating and then receive feedback through the Muse app after your meditation is complete,” Guarnotta says. “This feedback can help you improve your practice over time and is especially helpful for beginners.”
It’s definitely on the pricier side, but if you’re looking for an expensive gift for that loved one who has everything, this may be it.
Asutra Lavender & Chamomile Aromatherapy Mist
$15
Essential oils can help enhance relaxation, which can aid meditation and help a person feel more calm and centered. Plus, Asutra’s aromatherapy mist is a relatively cheap gift option.
“To incorporate aromatherapy into your meditation practice, simply spray some lavender on your wrists and gently rub them together,” says Guarnotta. “You can also spray the room or your meditation pillow and breathe in the scent as you begin your practice.”
InnoGear Essential Oil Diffuser
$14
“Essential oils are great to bring about calm, and an essential oil diffuser will quickly become a way to create sacred space,” explains Amato. She recommends diffusers for filling a meditation space with soothing scents. Gift your pal with InnoGear’s essential oil diffuser, and add some essential oils to the present. Amato suggests lavender oil for calming bedtime meditation sessions and vetiver essential oil to increase focus.
“By using these scents with your practice, you cue your mind to connect the scents to your newfound practice, thereby reinforcing the experience,” she says.
Island Falls Home Zen Garden Kit
$42
To help your giftee truly enhance her meditation space, you can invest in a meditation garden like this one from Island Falls Home. It comes with 11 Asian-inspired features, including cherry blossom trees, small and large zen rocks, a pagoda, a small bridge, a lotus flower, and moss.
Yiview Sleep Mask
$10
People who are new to meditation are often distracted by an environment with too much light. In these instances, an eye cover. If your giftee is a meditation newbie, an eye cover like this one from Yiview can help. “If you prefer to lay down during mediation, a weighted eye pillow is excellent to calm the facial muscles and block out light,” Amato says.
Halfmoon Melange Cotton Yoga Blanket
$50
“When your body is in deep relaxation, you can start to feel chilly,” says Ashley Matejka, a registered yoga teacher and health coach. A yoga blanket, like this one from Halfmoon, will keep your friend or family member warm and cozy. Plus, it can be relaxing to feel a bit of pressure from the blanket while meditating.
(Here’s what to know about weighted blankets.)
Florensi Meditation Cushion
$40
“Seated meditation allows you to sit up tall and comfortably with a straight spine,” says Amato. “A proper cushion will allow your knees to align below the hips for easy energy movement and will allow you to sink deeper into a meditative space.” This one from Florensi comes in six different colors, making it easy to match your giftee’s interior decor.
Crystalya Crystals and Healing Stones
$39
Crystals can serve as wonderful additions to a meditation practice, Amato says. This set from Crystalya offers a wide range of pre-cleansed crystals, including kyanite, white howlite, amethyst, fluorite, amazonite, sodalite, smoky quartz, black obsidian, and lepidolite. It also comes with a sage bundle and selenite tower for cleansing. The keepsake box makes for a nice gift.
Bamboo Folding Meditation Bench
$60
Weight-loss coach and certified yoga instructor Stephanie Mansour is a personal fan of Mindful Modern‘s bamboo folding meditation stool. It’s portable and increases comfort while meditating.
“Meditation stools are meant to help with posture, which in turn helps maintain greater focus and relaxation while meditating,” she says. “I often find it difficult to get into a comfortable position that truly allows me to forget about everything else and meditate, but this stool allows you to kneel comfortably and focus on your breathing.”
The stool comes with a travel bag for that on-the-go friend.
(Here’s how to calm your mind with free meditation.)
Tribe Azure Dragon Sheesham Wood Hand-Carved Altar Table
$224
Though on the pricier side, a meditation altar like this hand-carved piece from Tribe Azure can go a long way toward transforming your giftee’s meditation space and creating a sort of shrine. This one comes in both small and large sizes and can easily be folded up for compact storage.
Offgrid Mindfulness Awake Mindfulness Clock
$49
Have a friend who needs to unplug from social media but still wants to time each meditation session? The Offgrid Mindfulness clock is a great tool. Your giftee can set a warm-up period and optional intervals. Or they can use it as an alarm clock.
XMHF Chinese Meditation Balls
$14
Also known as stress balls, meditation balls are great tools for improving wrist dexterity, says Mansour. Have a friend or family member who has taken up meditation in an attempt to de-stress? You’ve found the perfect gift: these yin-yang meditation balls.
“All you have to do is put a couple in your hand and move them around your palm using your fingers,” she says, noting that the goal is to spin them without them hitting one another. “After some practice, this process will help with relaxation and may even help stimulate blood circulation.”
(Here are the stress-relief toys that work.)
Prana Heart Buddhist Red Sandalwood Mala Bracelet
$17
If you have difficulty focusing during meditation, beads may be a helpful addition to your practice. “Repeating the movement of your fingers across the beads can help you stay focused throughout the meditation process, so long as you keep them in your hands,” says Mansour. “These meditation beads, in particular, are made of sandalwood, which is said to improve the healing of cells, as well as the strength of the immune system.”
Whether those healing claims have merit remains to be seen, but the point is, the beads are a fun gift for meditation-minded friends and may help them focus during the practice.
Bean Products Bamboo Meditation Bench
$30
People don’t need to designate an entire room of their home to meditation, but experts recommend creating a meditating corner. Help friends or family members add to their meditation corners (or get them started on one) by gifting them a meditation bench, like this one from Bean Products. They can use it as a bench to sit on or as a meditation table.
“If you’re planning to meditate on a cushion, you want to make sure your meditation table is low to the ground, but if you plan to meditate on a chair, the table can be higher,” Mansour says. “Put whatever items on the table will keep you calm, whether it be candles or artwork or a personal item.”
Mindful and Modern Zabuton Meditation Mat
$80
If you know your giftee loves to practice meditation just about anywhere they go, they’ll need a meditation mat that’s comfortable and easy to travel with, like this one from Mindful and Modern. The internal cushion is made out of 100 percent cotton, and the outer cover is removable and machine washable.
(These are the best yoga mats on Amazon.)
Indah Koin Believe Meditation Ring
$50
The goal of using meditation rings is to lift your spirits and calm your nerves. “This belief ring is meant to be turned, keeping your fingers busy and distracted, and focuses on reducing negative thoughts, a great addition to meditation,” Mansour says. “If you find yourself fidgeting with anxiety throughout the day, a meditation ring might help you keep calm.”
Next, here are some meditation quotes to keep you grounded.
- Alexandra Amato, Kundalini energy yoga teacher and meditation expert
- Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine: "Effects of the transcendental meditation technique on trait anxiety: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials"
- Emily Guarnotta, licensed clinical psychologist and blogger at The Mindful Mommy
- JAMA Internal Medicine: "Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis"
- Ishan Shivanand, Himalayan monk and yoga teacher
- Kendra Kirane, director of creative arts therapy and wellness at Wellbridge
- Ashley Matejka, CPT, RYT, registered yoga teacher and health coach
Originally Published: April 16, 2021
