World Yoga Day 2024: Here's how Apple Watch can help maintain mental wellness and fitness

On average, a corporate employee in an Indian city spends close to eight to nine hours at work and an additional two hours commuting to and fro between home and office. And, with ever-increasing air pollution, it takes a heavy toll on body fitness and mental wellness.

Yoga, the ancient Indian practice that combines meditation and physical exercise can help in lessening anxiety and recover faster from stress. It is also known to significantly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by improving memory and cognition capability as people get older.

As we mark the International Day of Yoga (June 21), we have tips from expert Samiksha Shetty on how to make good use of the Apple Watch to practice Yoga and perform meditation for mental wellness.

What is the best time to practice yoga, early morning or evening?

"The best time to practice yoga depends on personal preference, lifestyle and schedule. Morning yoga can help set a positive tone for the day and can help kick-start our system. It’s a great way to help wake our mind and body and prepare us for the day," said Samiksha Shetty

"Whereas, Evening yoga, on the other hand, can help unwind and de-stress after a busy day. It helps in getting us into relaxation mode which in turn promotes better sleep," Shetty added.

Samiksha Shetty.

"Personally, I like practising in the morning as it helps me feel energised throughout the day. There are some days when I practice right before bed (a yin practice), which helps me open my body and relax my body to be able to go to bed and get some sound sleep. So it depends on what your goal is. Do you need yoga to energise you or do you need yoga to calm down and help you relax!?," noted Shetty.

Apple Watch's native apps for yoga and mental wellness

Apple Watch comes with a dedicated Yoga tracking feature on the Workouts app. Also, users can log their state of the mind on Mindfulness app. Even experts swear by the usefulness of these two apps.

"I use the Mindfulness app. This feature helps me check-in with myself regularly. This app not only helps me calm my mind using my breath but it also has a 'Reflect' feature which makes me reflect on my thoughts and a few creative ideas by asking me a question to reflect upon," said Shetty.

Apple Watch Series 9.

Tips for those who just started using the Apple Watch

⁠Set Up Activity Goals: Customise your daily Move, Exercise, and Stand goals in the Activity app to keep yourself motivated and accountable.

On Apple Watch:

Step 1: Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch.

Step 2: Swipe up to view your Move progress or continue swiping to view your Exercise and Stand progress.

Step 3: Tap the plus/minus button. in the bottom right to change the selected activity goal.

Step 4: Tap to increase or decrease the number for your daily goal, then tap Set.

Use Notifications Wisely: Enable notifications for activity reminders and mindfulness prompts to help stay on track without feeling overwhelmed.

Monitor Your Progress: Regularly check your stats in the Health app to understand your patterns and adjust your routine as needed.

Open Health app >> check health trends to get insightful graphics on heart health, stress, respiratory health and more

Stay Consistent: Consistency is key in building any new habit. Try to integrate your Apple Watch into your daily routine, whether it’s tracking your workouts or setting aside time for mindfulness. Embrace the journey, and let your Apple Watch be a tool that enhances your overall wellness and mindfulness practices.

Top five Yoga and mental wellness apps to have on your Apple device:

1) Prayoga: It is developed by the Bengaluru-based company Parjanya founded by a couple Raksha Rao and Krishna Prasad. It makes good use of Augmented Reality (AR) tech on iPhones and helps you do yoga poses the right way. With the Apple Watch, they can control meditation music or playlists easily and with less hassle.

2) Glo | Yoga and Meditation App: This is a good app for beginners to get started with Yoga.

3) Daily Yoga: Fitness+Meditation: It offers several beginner-friendly yoga classes. Users can choose to increase flexibility, improve strength, and maintain good posture so that he/she doesn't get hurt by performing extreme bending postures. It also offers meditation classes.

4) Asana Rebel: It offers yoga and fitness tips to help users lose weight or build strength. It can offer a wide range of yoga poses high-intensity workouts and meditation sessions to improve mental health.

5) Wysa: It offers an emotionally intelligent chatbot that uses AI to react to the emotions he/she expresses. Users get to learn techniques that help can cope with challenges.

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