If you meditate, and use a timer, you may use an app on a smartphone, or a small, battery-powered clock as a timer. But if you have an Apple Watch, you already have a minimalist, no-frills meditation timer built in. Here’s how to use the Apple Watch to time your meditation.
First, put the Apple Watch into Do Not Disturb mode; the last thing you want is notifications buzzing while you’re meditating. To do this, swipe up on the display to enter Glances mode, and swipe to the Settings glance. Tap the Do Not Disturb button; that’s the crescent moon. This also puts your iPhone in Do Not Disturb mode, so you won’t be bothered by it either.
Next, launch the Timer app. In the screenshot below, it’s the orange icon to the left.
The Timer app lets you set a time using the digital crown. Turn the crown until you’ve found the right time:
When you’re seated and ready to start your meditation session, tap Start. The Timer app will begin counting down.
If you need to know how much time is left in your session, you can easily see this on the watch by raising it slightly.
When the session is over, the watch will vibrate to let you know. You can then dismiss the timer.
This doesn’t offer any features such as logging your meditation sessions, or sharing them with others. But do you really need them? All you need is something to guide you in your sitting; so you sit as long as you want. Of course, you can always sit longer, if you so desire. Just tap Dismiss, and stay still as long as you want.