Meditation app Headspace is free for people who are unemployed

The mindfulness app Headspace is offering its premium tier of meditation sessions for free to people currently unemployed in the US. The app offers guided meditations, animations, articles and videos all focused on mental wellness. 

Read more: The best meditation apps to reduce stress

The deal is available through the Headspace website through June 30. When you apply, Headspace asks for your name, ZIP code and previous employment information. After verification, you have yearlong access to content typically priced at $12.99 a month. 

Headspace will also be adding a new meditation collection on Monday called “Living through unemployment.” The collection will feature six new mindfulness exercises including sessions called “Adapting to sudden change,” “Sadness and loss,” “Recovering confidence” and “Finding purpose.” 

Headspace has also made its content free for health care providers, K-12 educators and residents of Los Angeles County (the company’s headquarters are in the LA area). And it’s designed a landing page with at-home exercises specifically for New Yorkers, as well as one for people in Michigan. 

“While meditation and mindfulness can’t change our circumstances in life, it can help us change our perspective on those circumstances. And, now more than ever, that’s an incredibly powerful skill to learn,” said Rich Pierson, CEO and co-founder of  Headspace, in a blog post on Thursday. 

More than 36 million people have reportedly filed for unemployment in the US over the past few months due to the economic disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic. A survey from the Economic Policy Institute published last month estimates that an additional 14 million people would have filed if the process were easier.