Meditation is important to us. Our beds even more so. What if someone combined the two to make... beditation??? Well, it already exists and it's called In Bed With Betty! I was always intimidated by the idea of meditating. I thought it was something sacred, something you had block an hour of your day for, light some candles, put on some spa music, turn on some waterfall sounds, and sit cross-legged on a yoga mat. 

In Bed With Betty presents meditation in a more accessible, more relatable, and (most importantly) more comfortable way. It's an Instagram Live session that happens 3 different times early in the morning, usually right as you're waking up. Anita Cheung, founder of In Bed With Betty (and also meditation coach) merges the ease of social media with the importance of mental health and wellness in the most fun and least sterile way possible. It's super accessible (you don't need to go to a physical space), and you have an experienced coach guiding you in the comfort of your own bed! In Bed With Betty even has a point system, an online store for the cutest merch, and a "Betty Bulletin" that gets sent out every week! Check out some questions we asked Anita below:

@: Hi Anita, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Anita Cheung: I’m Anita- a freelance creative who moonlights as a yoga therapist and meditation teacher. I got into meditation after struggling with my mental health (depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation) in my early 20s and have been a huge advocate for it since. 

@: What is In Bed With Betty?
A: In Bed With Betty is a subscription-based, digital community based off of Instagram. We offer Real Live Beditations for Real Lazy (or busy!) People. It was designed to help cultivate a real meditation habit- and to put a more positive spin on mornings through community and self care. 

@: Who is Betty?
A: Great Q! There wasn’t really a Betty in my life prior to this but I now refer to anyone in the Betty community as a Betty. She’s female or non-binary, creative, smart and supportive of others. She is passionate, has a full life (hence the need to take some time out) and is most definitely an intersectional feminist. 

@: What inspired you to start? Did you find other ways of meditating (online) not as useful?
A: I’ve been involved in the wellness world for over 8 years and opened one of the first modern meditation studios a few years ago. I found that while the space was beautiful- we weren’t really reaching the people I wanted to reach (young millenials and gen z). This may have been due to price point, or maybe other accessibility barriers- but while people were generally stoked on being in the space, they didn’t come often and felt like it was more of a “treat yourself” kind of thing, rather than something they did regularly (which is really the important part of meditation- doing it consistently). I wanted to do something different- not an app because those are plentiful and also rarely used- so I decided to leverage community and spaces where people would already be: social media. 

@: Why is meditation important?
A: So many reasons! There are studies that show various health benefits (decreased stress, increased happiness, etc.) but the biggest reason for me is that it is some time consciously spent with ourselves. What many people don’t realize is that we can strengthen our mental and emotional health through introspection, meditation, and therapy similarly to how we can strengthen our physical bodies by going to the gym. And at the very least- it’s 10 minutes in a day where you don’t have to do anything or be anyone for anybody else.

@: How did you come up with this concept of doing an Instagram Live meditation every morning?
A: To be honest- it just sort of came to me as an idea that could work. I was playing around with the idea of FB live, snapchat, or IG/other live platforms and figured that IG would be the easiest because that’s where most people in the demographic are spending their time anyway. 

@: How exactly does this work?
A: Super simple- it breaks down into five steps:

1.) People sign up and get access to Betty.
2.) They can tune in live at 6,7,or 8AM PST Monday-Friday. If they want to sleep in, or they live in another time zone, they can catch the replay of the 8AM because it’s saved for 24 hours.
3) Beditations are different each day. Each broadcast starts with a check in question (so that the community can get to know one another) and ends with a takeaway tip/ recommendation/ food for thought.
4.) Every view counts as a point (even views that aren’t live!). Over time, Bettys can earn points to redeem for cash value in our online store (shirts, pins, and in the future- other affiliate goods).
5.) Every week we send out a “Betty Bulletin”- basically a round up of the week’s recommendations, your points balance, as well as a meditation to keep.
BONUS: Every so often (like a few times a week), I’ll send out DMs as reminders to check in, or follow up if I notice someone has been MIA for a few weeks. 

@: How do you think In Bed With Betty sets it apart from other apps?
The biggest thing is that we aren’t an app! There is nothing new to download- no learning curve to overcome- AND, unlike apps, there is a community and a real person (me!) who cares about you and whether or not you show up.

Find In Bed With Betty on their public Instagram, private Instagram (which you get access to once you subscribe), and their website!