If You Can’t Sit Still To Meditate, It Might Be Time To Try ‘Activations’

I've always been a bit of a wellness girlie. I fall asleep to deep sleep frequencies each night, I pull angel cards when I need a little extra guidance, and I've recently made breathwork a part of my daily routine. But one thing I've never been able to successfully incorporate into my routine is meditation.

As an anxious person, the idea of sitting there in silence, alone with my thoughts, is terrifying. That's not to say I haven't given it a crack. I've tried, multiple times, everything from classes to guided audio meditations and visualisation techniques, but nothing seemed to stick — until I found the Superhuman App.

Superhuman is an audio app that offers what it calls "activation" audio that's been designed as a companion to everyday moments. It's not like your standard soft, somewhat monotone meditation. Instead, it uses a combination of visualisation techniques, emotive music and motivational guidance to help unleash some seriously good energy right when you need it most.

The app offers over 15 categories, including pep talks, getting ready, seated, walking and just music. There are also affirmation-based activations like ‘Lucky Girl Energy Affirmations’ audio inspired by the TikTok trend, which founder Mimi Bouchard tells Refinery29 Australia has been played 80,000 times in the short time it’s been up.

"Our subscribers also reach for our sleep activations quite often," Bouchard says. "We have lots of options for winding down at the end of the day, and even audios that can be played overnight to really get that subconscious mind working. My personal favourite category is walking. Our new “Become Your Magnetic Future Self” is on repeat for me!"

Bouchard, much like me — and probably many of you — used to struggle to meditate. "I tried. I really did give it my best shot. But I couldn’t stick to it because, truthfully... I found it boring," she shares. "I didn’t feel different after meditating."

"I craved audio that would invigorate me, make me feel alive. Plus, finding 20 minutes every morning was a challenge. I was busy working four jobs and trying to make my dreams a reality," she explains.

Inspired by her love for audio and the power of visualisation, she decided to take action. "I opened the voice memo app on my phone and recorded the original Activation. It was a visualisation of what I wanted my life to look like. I included affirmations and motivational guidance, and spoke about this future as if it was already my reality. I listened to this audio daily, while getting ready in the morning, on public transport, at the gym, while cooking dinner," Bouchard says.

After repeatedly listening to the voice memo for a few weeks, she eventually grew bored of it and decided to record a new one. And then another. Years passed, and by this point, she had created dozens of these voice memos before deciding to take the plunge and create Superhuman.

"I launched an app, and it caught on like wildfire. This confirmed that there was a real need for something different — something for all those people who, like me, hadn’t found what they needed in traditional meditation. This was for them," she says.

Curious about these activations, I decided to try the app for myself.

The app itself is super user-friendly and beautifully laid out. You can easily scroll through all the categories to find what you're looking for. Superhuman also offers each style of activation with a few different timeframes, so if you only have a few spare minutes up your sleeve such as on a walk to get your morning coffee, you can plug one in and off you go.

The first day, I started with one of the walking activations on my sunrise stroll and honestly, my experience was unreal. Pairing positive framing, affirmations and music with a sunrise over the beach left me feeling on top of the world.

After this, I was hooked. I found myself opening the app multiple times a day. I would listen to the activations at 4am while driving to the Pilates studio to start my day in a positive mindset. I'd reach for the re-energising activations the minute my 3pm slump hit, and I would pop on a wind-down activation while I did my skincare before bed. Overall, I felt so much lighter, happier and more positive in my day just by creating these small moments for myself throughout the day.

I wrote to tell Bouchard that I'd already clocked up 148 minutes in my first few days.

If you're still a little sceptical, I get it — but you'll be happy to know that there's actually science behind it, as Bouchard explains. "From a more pragmatic scientific point of view, when you think new thoughts and new beliefs, the RAS in your brain begins to change," she says. "The RAS is the Reticular Activating System in your mind. It is the function in your brain that decides what to filter out from the information all around you, and decides what to bring to your conscious attention."

Bouchard explains that it's like the red car theory, where when you want to buy a new red car, you start seeing it everywhere. The same can be said for positive thinking. I noticed that the more I was setting myself up to be in a positive mindset, the more I would notice things around me to help get into it. I started to actually get excited to listen to the activations, and even more excited for how I knew I would feel after. I found that when I was in a bit of a funk, an activation was a quick and easy way to shake myself out of it.

One moment that stands out clearly in my mind was one morning when I was trying to hype myself up to teach my first Pilates class at a new studio. It was 4:30am and I was incredibly nervous and imposter syndrome was creeping in. Usually, I'd call my boyfriend or my mum to help me move past that feeling, but it was so early in the morning that I couldn't wake them up. So I decided to try the 'Quickly let go of Insecurity' pep talk while I was setting up the reformer machines. I felt like the universe had me download this app for that very moment. As I listened, my nerves melted away, I felt my confidence come back and I was ready to teach.

One of my favourite parts of the Superhuman app is the ‘future self’ emails that randomly land in my inbox. Sure, it's marketing, but it's damn good marketing. The minute I posted a screenshot of the cute email on my Instagram, I was flooded with DMs from people asking me how they could sign up.

I had to ask Bouchard how this cute idea came about. "The ‘From Your Future Self’ series started just over a year ago after brainstorming ways to add even more value to our users’ lives," Bouchard shares. "I wanted to take the aspects of what I’ve learned throughout my journey with the advice I’ve resonated with and provide actionable tips that can make a huge impact, and turn them into digestible bite-sized motivating, inspiring and loving messages. The intention was to spark our audience to live a better life and activate the person they want to become, in the present. Sometimes you just need a little reminder."

Bouchard wasn't kidding when she said that the app is made for people with busy schedules. Some of the activations go for as little as two minutes, and usually, by the end, I find myself wishing they went for longer and putting another one on.

Because the activations aren't time-consuming or hard to do, I found them super easy to fit into my daily routine in one way or another. I caught myself popping them on quite a bit — when I'd go for walks, cleaning the house, showering — any moment when I used to look for music or a podcast to listen to, I'd choose the Superhuman app instead.

Plus, there was always something new to explore, as new activations drop almost daily. Despite having my faithful go-tos, it's nice to know that I have options when a certain mood arises.

Like all good things, there's a 14-day free trial so you can experience the app before having to pay.

Mimi recommends the 'Expect Good Things To Happen' activation, a 2-minute pep talk to listen to while you’re in the car or before a meeting; the Positive Day Affirmations, a getting-ready activation to get you into a happy, abundant, grateful state; and the 'Become Your Magnetic Future Self' — a walking activation to help you up-level while getting your steps in. And as someone who regularly listens to the 'Positive Day Affirmations', I can confirm it's a goodie!

After the 14-day free trial is up, it will cost you USD$29.99 per month, so around $45 AUD, and you can cancel at any time. While $45 is a bit of the pricier side for us Aussie users, for me, it's been well worth it. Plus, after the two-week free trial, you'll know if it's right for you.