Fitbit is expanding on its holistic approach to health and wellness by entering a partnership with world-renowned New Age icon and long-time Fitbit user Deepak Chopra to launch Deepak Chopra’s Mindful Method.
He has created an exclusive wellness collection created for Fitbit Premium members, designed to help users improve their emotional wellbeing as an important part of overall health.
Mindful Method features audio and video sessions led by Chopra on themes such as mindfulness, sleep, stress management, mental wellness and the mind-body connection.
It is added to Fitbit’s existing mindfulness and stress-management offerings, found in the Discover tab of the Fitbit mobile app.
Stress management is one of the core features of the top-end Fitbit Sense that includes an on-device electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor to help track the body’s response to stress and manage it with a daily Stress Management Score.
It is linked to additional mindfulness content – most of it for Premium subscribers – to help calm users’ minds.
Other recent Fitbit devices, such as the Fitbit Versa 3 and Fitbit Charge 4, also come with personalised Relax guided breathing sessions on the wrist to help users find moments of calm throughout the day.
Fitbit Premium costs £7.99/$9.99 per month or £79.99/$79.99 a year. A free 90-day trial is available to users who are new or returning to Premium, or longer with purchases of some Fitbit trackers.
Fitbit started as an activity measurement company, broadened into all types of exercise, and leads the way in adding mindfulness features to the smartwatch arena.
Chopra is therefore a good fit as he studies the mind and body functioning as a single unit.
“I share Fitbit’s belief that mindfulness and mental wellbeing are critical centrepieces of your health that are interconnected with physical wellbeing and other aspects like building immunity against illness, your activity and energy levels, how well you sleep, what you nourish your body with, and how you manage your personal relationships,” said Chopra.
“Meditation is a learned, and sometimes intimidating, habit that is most effective when practised consistently, similar to an exercise routine, and has profound results on your health.”
Deepak Chopra’s Mindful Method features over 30 mindfulness sessions for Fitbit Premium members. Each session is less than 20 minutes to make it easy to fit mindfulness into the day, on topics ranging from meditation, managing emotions, winding down for the day, and stress relief.
The collection launches with 10 audio and video sessions, including guided meditations, sessions to prepare for restful sleep, and techniques to help cultivate happiness and optimism.
Fitbit says that the collection will expand over the coming months, with “dozens more” custom sessions including:
- A focus on mindfulness for total wellbeing, detailing the benefits of meditation based on Deepak Chopra’s four pillars: mind, body, emotions and spirit.
- How to incorporate mindfulness throughout your day, from setting the tone each morning, a pick-me-up during a stressful workday, resetting a bad mood, and preparing for restful sleep.
- Deeper guidance for using mindfulness as a tool to build awareness, manage stress and emotions, and build concentration.
Author: Simon Jary, Contributing writer
Simon was Editor of Macworld from the dark days of 1995 to the triumphant return of Steve Jobs and the launch of the iPhone. His desk is a test bench for tech accessories, from USB-C and Thunderbolt docks to chargers, batteries, Powerline adaptors and Fitbits.