The Oddest Couple? Wellness and Tech

Wellness has always been about connection—the innate balance between body, mind, and spirit, and how this balance extends to our relationships, environments, and our world.

For most of human history, we lived in rhythm with nature. We woke with the sun and slept with the moon. We used the stars to navigate. We learned which plants could nourish and heal us. We lived in communities, working closely together for survival. There were far fewer people on earth then, and we evolved slowly over millennia, always in sync with the natural world.

Until very, very recently.

With electricity, the Information Age, and now the Intelligence Age, it has been an absolute shock to our systems. We are suddenly living in artificial environments, with lights extending our waking hours, chemicals in our food, and digital “relationships” changing how we connect with others.

So who would have thought that technology—something artificial—could have such an important, positive role in bringing holistic health to the masses?

Health and wellness technology has made holistic practices accessible: meditation, hydration tracking, healing soundscapes, movement guides, nutritional support… I’m thrilled to see these practices becoming mainstream. What was once marginalized as the stuff of crunchy, patchouli-wearing outliers is now highly sought after. And even better is at our fingertips in an instant.

As amazing a gift as technology’s instant access to tools, information and wellness-tracking is, the drawbacks are also intense and real. Our ancestors only needed to process the challenges of their immediate community. Now, we absorb the pain of the entire world through our screens. Our nervous systems weren’t built for this level of input—the expectation to be constantly available, to compete with 8+ billion people for survival, to never truly disconnect.

We have access to everything, but that also means everyone has access to us.

Never before have we had such powerful healing tools in our pockets. But never before have we needed to be so intentional about our relationship with technology. We must prioritize time in nature, nurture in-person connections, and create space away from our devices. Our bodies evolved in the natural world, in community with others—this remains essential to our wellbeing.

Perhaps the most holistic approach in our digital age is making the most of our technological gifts and also knowing when to put the phone away, go outside and look up at the stars.