Yes, Even Deepak Chopra Wears A Wellness Tracker — Here's Why

"Bring your awareness to any sensation you have in your body. Be aware of the sensation. Now, take your awareness outside the sensation and into the rest of the body," I could hear the soothing voice of Deepak Chopra, M.D., FACP, guiding my mind away from scattered and toward serene.

I was lucky enough to attend a virtual meditation session with the mbg Collective member and spiritual icon himself, in celebration of his new Mindful Method offerings (a series of guided mindfulness practices) on Fitbit Premium. I inhaled, exhaled, and visualized my way to calm with every one of his comforting words. However, in the moments when my mind wandered (which, Chopra reassured, is a perfectly natural part of meditation), I couldn't help but wonder how this mindfulness expert stays present while wearing a fitness watch all day long.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of accessible health and fitness micro-metrics on my wrist—in fact, we highlighted this phenomenon as part of mbg's 2021 wellness trends. Still, with so many notifications and insights that boil your well-being into a series of numbers and scores, I was curious about how someone as in-tune with himself as Chopra embraces this information without losing sight of mindfulness.

"The most exciting part of this new era of technology is that we can immediately see the metrics behind how our bodies respond when we introduce mindfulness, breathing, and mind-body connection techniques into a routine," Chopra tells mbg. So, in that sense, Chopra sees these metrics as a way to enhance his mental and physical awareness—not detract from it.

Chopra loves to watch his body respond in real-time to healthy practices, like meditation. "I look at my heart rate right before I begin a meditation session and notice how much it has lowered when I've finished my practice," he says. He also takes note of how his heart-rate variability, breathing rate, and stress levels change over time when he maintains a consistent practice.

Another tool he uses regularly on the Fitbit Sense, in particular, is a two-minute EDA scan that measures his body's response to stress. "I log my mood afterward so I capture how I'm feeling as another data point," Chopra adds.

While Chopra does wear his tracker while meditating, he turns off all notifications so he "can practice peacefully and disconnect with distractions."

In the same vein, Chopra recommends completely disconnecting when you meditate, even just for a few minutes. "It is impossible for the human brain to do more than one thing at a time," he says. "While most people think multitasking makes them more productive, it actually takes away from the activity at hand."

While health and fitness metrics certainly shouldn't (and can't) replace your own intuition, based on Chopra's wise words, it seems this technology can be a tool to get better acquainted with your internal self.