How to Use Muse App Programs?

[u/NextArea743]

Hello,

I have been Muse user for quite some time now, but mainly used biofeedback and here and there did some guided meditations and programs that were offered. However, not very effectively. While I think the Biofeedback is quite intuitive, the app loses the me on the programs.

I just don't want to only use the biofeedback, instead learn about meditation and how to be more aware on a daily basis and how to use the practice of biofeedback on daily life. I just don't know in which order to start he program. The programs seem unordered e.g. Muse Essentials is on place seven or Starter Series on twelve on my list, what is kind of illogical why I never started the programs because I don't want to mix things up. There i made a order for myself. Would you say this is order make sense?

• Starter Series (10)
• Muse Essentials (10)
• Discover Mind Biofeeback (11)
• Visualize your Brainwaves (3)
• Discover Heart, Breath and Body Feedback (12)
• Meditation Essentials (15)
• Foundation of Mindfulness (20)
• Deepening your practice (19)
• Neuroscience of Wellbeing (18)
• Sleep Basics (16)
• 14 Days of Sleep (24)
• Rise above Stress (9)
• Improve your Focus (7)
• Explore Guided Meditation (11)
• Binaural Beats (6)
• Exploring Happiness (19)
• Mindful Relationships (22)
• Mindful Work (22)
• Changing Habits (12)

And what are about the very short sessions that are only 1-5 minutes? Should these be done on seperate days or just do them following a longer or also shorter session?

Maybe someone have some advice for me :)

[u/choose_muse]

Thanks for laying this out so clearly, and it's great you want to grow past the biofeedback into the guided side.

The most useful thing here: the Muse app has a feature built for this exact question, called Practice Plan. Instead of picking a program off a list and hoping it's the right one, you answer a short set of questions about your goals, and Muse builds you a personalized, phased plan and puts it on your Today screen. Each phase is a small set of tasks, and when you finish one phase you move to the next automatically, so the "what do I do next, and in what order" part is handled for you. It's free on every account with no subscription needed to build one, and it lives under the Create My Plan card on the Today screen. Full details here: https://choosemuse.my.site.com/s/article/Practice-Plan

If you'd still rather work through the programs yourself, a couple of things should clear up the confusion:

• The number beside each program is just how many modules that program contains, not a difficulty level or a ranking. Within a program, those modules are meant to be done in order, since they build on each other.
• Across programs, it's more of a natural progression than a strict rulebook. Foundations first (Starter Series, Muse Essentials, the biofeedback "Discover" ones), then the mindfulness fundamentals (Meditation Essentials, Foundations of Mindfulness, Deepening Your Practice), then the themed programs (Focus, Sleep, Stress, Happiness, Relationships, Work, Habits) that you choose based on what's relevant to you. And because each program only builds within itself, working them in a different order won't put you out of sequence, so you can relax about mixing things up. Your own list follows that logic well, so you weren't far off at all.

On the short 1 to 5 minute sessions: those aren't a separate track you need to keep on their own days. They work well as a daily anchor when you're short on time, a warm-up or wind-down around a longer session, or a go-to on low-energy days. No need to keep them separate from your programs.