MEDITATION... BUT FUNNY!

A new crop of wellness practitioners snuffs the earnest vibe out of mindfulness, so you can finally find some peace.

- A.J. JACOBS

IMAGINE YOU OPEN the guided meditation app on your phone and press play on the daily insight. You hear an electric piano and a female voice, smooth as butter. "Wherever you may be right now," she says, "just take a moment to acknowledge that at least one of your exes has it way worse off than you."

Feel better?

This delightfully petty insight is from a daily-meditation app called Gfulness. Think of it as Headspace meets Funny or Die. Stand-up comedy meets the seated lotus position.

The idea behind the service and a growing number of others-is that there's no law that says meditation and mindfulness have to be somber and serious. On the road to enlightenment, maybe it's helpful to lighten the mood.

Beyond Gfulness, serenity seekers can now find dozens of videos, books, apps, and seminars that try to combine humor and mindfulness. You can watch a YouTube video with 17 million views called "F*ck That: An Honest Meditation," which contains such wise advice as "If your thoughts drift to the three-ring shit show of your life, bring your attention back to your breathing." A popular life coach named Supreet gives guided YouTube meditations that take all sorts of wrong turns. "How does your scalp feel? Itchy? Then pause this meditation right now and go wash your hair."