Peloton Meditation Review: How It Became a Practice

I never thought I could meditate. At the end of a yoga class during savasana, I’m the person creating to-do lists in my head struggling to stay in the present moment. About a year ago, I tried Peloton’s meditation classes and the same thing happened. I could not clear my head.

That was until I tried Peloton’s two-week-long meditation series, the Power of Sleep program. Twice. And then it clicked. I am now a person who meditates.

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Where Can Peloton Members Find the Meditation Classes?

Peloton’s meditation classes are easy to find. You can find them one of three ways.

Workouts

Peloton classes are their own category under Workouts in the Peloton App.

Programs

Peloton has a couple of meditation Programs:

• Intro to Meditation
• The Power of Sleep

Collections

You can also find Peloton meditation classes scattered throughout various Peloton Collections including:

• Discover New Meditation: the most recent meditation classes
• Peloton Family
• Made for Travel
• Mental Health
• Mood Series
• Juneteenth
• Pride
• Year of Yes
• Breathe In, Speak Up

Types of Meditation Classes

Peloton offers the following types of classes:

• Theme: for example, New Year’s Day, Holiday, LHHM Celebration, AFO Artist series, Earth Day, etc.
• Meditation Basics: an intro to different types of meditation sessions and different techniques
• Relax and Sleep: calming, relaxing, and sleep meditation
• Emotions: happiness, courage, patience, gratitude, energizing, kindness, and healing
• Mindfulness: morning meditation, body scan, witness, level up, zen in 10, unity, breathe in speak up, peak performance, and rest day
• Fitness Focus: fitness goals, rest day, level up, pre-ride, and peak performance
• Family and Pre-Natal
• Breath: short classes focusing on breathwork

How Long are the Peloton Meditation Classes?

The meditation classes range from 5 minutes to 30 minutes.

Who Teaches the Meditation Classes?

The Peloton instructors who teach meditation are Ross Rayburn, Aditi Shah, Anna Greenberg, Kristin McGee, Chelsea Jackson Roberts, Australian instructor Kirra Michel, Spanish instructor Mariana Fernandez, a small amount with Denis Morton, and a couple surprisingly with Cody Rigsby.

How to Filter Peloton Meditation Classes

In the app, you can filter by bookmarked classes, instructor, class type, and subtitles (English, German, Spanish).

You can also sort the classes by those you’ve taken or not taken, newest, trending, popular, top rated, or easiest. You can also sort by easiest or hardest although I doubt this applies to meditation classes.

How does Peloton Meditation Compare to Other Meditation Apps?

For me, it’s a no-brainer. If you’re into fitness, I believe Peloton has the best fitness content out there. The meditation program is not just an added bonus to the Peloton library but an essential component of my emotional health. I don’t want to pay for another membership and I don’t think it’s necessary.

But there are other options that may be right for you.

Peloton vs. Headspace

If you want to access the full Headspace program, you’ll need to subscribe. Their paid subscription is $69.99 per year or $12.99 per month.

With a Peloton membership, you can access their entire fitness content, both on-demand classes and live classes with your All-Access Membership (those who have the Peloton bike, Tread, or Row) or Digital Membership for those who use the Peloton App only.

Note that all of Headspace’s meditation sessions are narrated by its founder, Andy Puddicombe.

With the Peloton app, you have the choice of many different instructors leading the meditations.

Peloton vs. Calm

Fans love the Calm meditation app for its sleep stories and background music. This is very different from Peloton meditations which never uses nature noises or stories at all. It’s just a different technique.

The Calm App offers both guided and non-guided meditations. Peloton only has guided meditation.

The Calm App has various narrators including the Dream With Me Series with Harry Styles.

You can buy a lifetime plan of Calm for $399.99, $69.99 annually, or $14.99 per month.

Peloton vs. Spotify Guided Mediations and Playlists

Spotify offers tons of free guided meditations and playlists. You can read more about the Spotify guided meditations here in this article.

Best Peloton Meditation Instructors

Honestly, they’re all good and it’s very subjective. Many of the meditation instructors also teach Peloton yoga classes. But just because you love them for yoga, they may not be your go-to instructor for meditation.

My favorite meditation instructors are Ross Rayburn, Aditi Shah, and Kirra Michel.

Ross Rayburn is probably the most popular meditation instructor, especially for sleep meditation classes. People joke that all they have to do is hear his voice and they immediately fall asleep within seconds.

Best Peloton Meditation Classes

Again, this is a personal preference. My absolute favorite meditation classes are the Peloton sleep meditation and the emotions meditations.

Sometimes when going through certain things in my life, I like to do a focused meditation. During distance learning, I did a lot of patience meditation and when I’m feeling down, I tend to do the Peloton gratitude meditation.

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What Equipment Do You Need for Meditation?

The beauty of meditation is that you can practice it anywhere, on a plane, in the bath, in the shower, lying down in bed, in your workout room, in your office chair, or on your sofa.

Sometimes the instructors will tell you to sit upright. You can sit against a wall or in a chair. Other times, you can prop yourself up on a yoga mat or meditation cushion. You may want a pillow too.

Unlike other classes, no equipment is needed.

Meditation as a Practice

For me, meditation is truly a practice. I prefer the shorter classes because even even now my attention drifts in a class. If you’re new to meditation, I suggest you start with the introductory classes to learn the basics and then try some 5-minute meditations.

There are so many benefits of meditation. For me, it helps me to clear my head, to sleep, to reduce anxiety, and to relieve stress.

Peloton Sleep Meditation

I took the 14-day Power of Sleep program two times until it became a part of my nightly ritual.

The first time, I rarely fell asleep during the sleep meditation classes. My mind wandered and by the end of the meditation, I was still awake. Finally, on the last day, I got into bed at midnight and started the meditation one minute later, i.e., the next day. I lost my meditation streak and had to start the entire program over.

But I was determined to improve my sleep. So, I tried again. And this time, about halfway through the program, I started to fall asleep before it ended.

I successfully completed the program and today, I play a Peloton meditation nearly every night. It doesn’t matter if I do a 5-minute meditation, 10-minute classes, or a full 30-minute session, I fall asleep every time.

I only wish they would add new classes.

When Is the Best Time of Day to do a Meditation?

I’ve done meditations to start off my mornings, post-workout, in the middle of the day as a mental break, and as I mentioned, at bedtime.

It doesn’t matter when you meditate. Meditate when you want. Meditate when you need it.

Can You Try Peloton Meditation for Free?

Peloton usually offers a free trial to new members of 30 to 90 days depending on the promotion.

Additionally, Delta Air Lines passengers can try out some of the Peloton mindfulness classes in a series of classes they’re calling Classes in the Clouds. This is part of a new partnership between Peloton and Delta.

Final Thoughts

I know how important sleep is for the body. I go to sleep late and wake up early naturally, and often am wide awake at times throughout the night.

Peloton meditation is the best thing that happened to my sleeping. Not only does it help me fall asleep faster but I have better sleep, staying asleep longer and waking us less. And if I do wake up, I simply play another meditation class.

It took me a long time to get into a meditation practice but I truly believe I will continue it in my day-to-day life.

If you’re worried about losing your Peloton streak, taking a meditation class is an easy way not to lose it.

Have you tried Peloton meditation? Let me know in the comments.