Virtual Wellness: Time Well Spent or Virtual Insanity?
“Whilst some people might dismiss the benefits of ancient mindfulness and wellness rituals, especially when practised online, I can safely say that they have been a lifesaver …”
Words: Rachel Warrilow
“Are you well?”
Do you ever find yourself answering, as if on cue - very well thank you, and you? - an automated force of habit rather than a reflection of your true feelings? Yes? You are not alone. Sure, many of us may be “well-er” than we were last year, but let’s face it, we have weathered an apocalyptic storm; we are more than a little battered and bruised. On the brighter side, we are beginning to understand and accept that it is OK if we do not always feel “well”. It is OK to want to feel better. Is this why so many of us are desperately seeking wellness?
‘Wellness’ has been the buzzword on everyone’s lips (not hips) for several years now - between slurps of overpriced green juice, naturally. Do you contort your body into yogic postures or find yourself clutching your crystals in a cross-legged meditative trance? Have you explained mindfulness to your neighbour while necking a kombucha? Then you may well have jumped on the wellness bandwagon. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Incidentally: health and wellness are not quite the same things. Health is the absence of illness and disease, whereas “wellness” involves attaining the best version of yourself. In dictionary terms, wellness is “the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal”. In other words, wellness takes work.
“Sceptics and scientists may jump to their feet in mocking protest. And when crystals are added to the equation, watch those haters (bad vibes, peeps) get up in arms. ”
And clearly, we need to put in those wellness hours, because sadly, all is not well, as Hamlet - the poster boy for anxiety - once said. And while we are not battling ghosts and an Oedipus complex (one hopes), we are a troubled nation wracked by worry, in search of that elusive inner peace. According to statistics published in The Guardian earlier this year, “more than 6 million people in England received antidepressants in the three months to September [2020], part of a wider trend and the highest figure on record.” Starved of physical contact and social interaction, our brains have been thirsty for happy chemicals like oxytocin, also known as the “hugging drug”. Combined with myriad factors - like the small detail that it was (almost) the end of the world - many of us couldn’t help but spiral into despair amidst turbulent uncertainty. Soul searching is stronger than ever. In the absence of face-to-face interaction during the pandemic, we moved our lives online, along with our wellness. Endless offers of virtual yoga classes, meditation sessions, and even distance reiki healing flooded our social media and our inboxes. On-screen spiritual gurus promised to nourish us, to revitalise our physical lethargy and cure our shattered minds. But the real question is: can we really benefit from virtual wellness, which delivers ancient practices via 5G internet? Can we really achieve spiritual enlightenment in cyberspace, or is it just virtual insanity (i.e. a con)?
Take the gazillion applications on your smartphone. Not only can we download motivational apps that track our progress when we stop drinking and smoking - I have saved how much money/ how many hours of my life by forgoing wine and fags? - but we can also plug into the spiritual world with a simple tap of a button. Petit Bambou is a meditation app that allows you to select your meditation time and the accompanying soundtrack, and gongs. We can track our daily meditation sessions and become competitive - with ourselves - by observing our winning streaks. This is an excellent example of how the demonic mobile phone can help rather than hinder our mental health and our quest for the elusive Holy Grail of mindfulness and inner peace. Provided we don’t post about it - is there anything more cringe than a selfie before/ during or after “meditation"?
In her recent book of essays ‘How Do We Know If We are Doing it Right?’ journalist and broadcaster Pandora Sykes observes that there “There are “280 mindfulness apps in the iTunes store”. Moreover, she states that Headspace and Calm are “worth 255 million and 787 million respectively”, before wryly and astutely noting that “it feels ironic that the cure for our tech-addled anxiety could lie in an app”.The fortune being raked in by these apps is perhaps at odds with Buddhist beliefs and it is disconcerting that the worldwide health and wellness industry has seemingly reached its commercial nirvana. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness industry is now worth a staggering $4.2 trillion, and popularity has surged since COVID-19. Nevertheless, if we stay mindful and optimistic, we should feel reassured that more people than ever are meditating and seeking wellness.
Originating from the Latin term meditatum, the word ‘meditate’ means ‘to ponder’. Almost as old as time, meditation has been practised for thousands of years by Chinese Taoists and Indian Buddhists, possibly as early as the 6th to 4th centuries BCE. Training the mind to focus and redirect racing thoughts is scientifically proven to promote physical and mental relaxation and, in some cases, improve physical health. Harvard-affiliated researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital discovered that 27 minutes of daily meditation and mindfulness exercises promote “increased gray-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion, and introspection”. In addition, there are multiple physical benefits: it lowers blood pressure and heart rate, has an anti-inflammatory effect, and strengthens the immune system, for example. Psychologically, regular meditation improves sleep, self-esteem and self-awareness while reducing anger, anxiety and stress. In cognitive terms, if you want a better memory, improved focus and a better ability to make stressful decisions, meditation is one of the best ways you can spend your time. And, best of all, you can do it anytime, anywhere. All you need is a quiet room and your headphones - to avoid your cat, the doorbell and potential distractions.
So, our mobile phones are the cure to our wellness woes, I hear you scoff? That diabolical tool that manipulates our every move? Anyone who has seen The Social Dilemma, the 2020 Netflix Original documentary that constructs a convincing case against social media, will have avoided their phone like the digital plague for a few days/ minutes/ seconds after viewing. The documentary-drama hybrid examines the dangerous impact of social networking, including some of Silicon Valley’s biggest players as talking heads, who sound the alarm on their own Frankensteinian creations. But for a tool so demonised, we can’t deny that the World Wide Web is - and has been - our lifeline this past year especially. In her book, ‘How Social Media is ruining our Lives’, Katherine Ormerod, journalist slash influencer, argues that as long as we are mindful of digital media’s flaws, we can benefit from what our interconnected world has to offer and use it for the greater good. And that is where digital wellness comes in.
“Accessible to everyone with wifi and a device, virtual wellness allows us to better connect with others and ourselves, an anchor in a tempestuous world.”
In May, New York’s Pace Gallery fused the ancient ritual of meditation with art and the modern world with their Monday Meditation, streamed from the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. Held over Zoom, free of charge, a Tibetan teacher led a 30-minute session in honor of Rothko Chapel’s 50th anniversary. The man on the small screen had his feet expertly wrapped in the lotus position, the soles of his feet facing upwards, his face filled with contentment. On the wall behind him hung Rothko’s inky abstract artworks. Partaking in a meditation session with a Tibetan teacher in real-time halfway across the world, and reaping the mental and physical benefits, is akin to time travel. A modern marvel. In the absence of travel, this cultural and spiritual experience is what we yearn for. And it’s the most refreshing way to spend 30 minutes online.
In addition to virtual meditation sessions, you can join digital gong baths, mindfulness courses, online therapists and group therapy sessions, like Ruby Wax’s Frazzled Cafe, a safe space for those at their wits end to chat, be seen and heard. A community. Brilliantly, it is free. And there are also IRL meetings when we are not in the thick of a pandemic. Yoga is also massive on YouTube and Instagram Live. It might seem ironic that this ancient practice that combines breathwork with postures is such a hit on the most modern of inventions, the interweb. ‘Yoga with Adriene’ is a channel of free yoga classes presented by Texan Adriene Mishler, who became an internet sensation during the pandemic. Her video viewing figures tripled, shooting from 500,000 views per video to 1.5 million. Sure, her classes are not as spiritual as chaturanga-ing in India, but they are therapeutic and relaxing - the perfect tonic for anxiety and panic attacks. On Youtube, Russell Brand interviews Mishler in a video entitled ‘Yoga in the Material World’, in which Adriene champions the “at-home yoga experience” where we can “just be”. She is prouder of building her “community” than the staggering number of followers she now has, she says. Likewise, Brit Cat Meffan, a self-proclaimed ‘Wellness Wanderer’, is a charismatic, acrobatic yoga instructor with 251,000 YouTube subscribers. She also has her own online community, the Soul Sanctuary, a paid membership providing longer yoga classes and meditation. Her mission? “To enjoy a very happy and healthy life doing the things I love, whilst trying to help others make positive changes to their lives… I want to be able to share those learnings with you right here”, states her website.
Online learning is a key to increased feelings of contentment and fulfilment. Ever the forward-thinkers, Dazed Media has been holding free online cultural events that are engaging and enriching since early last year. Other nourishing and wholesome web activities are (free) book clubs and (free) writing groups like the London Writer’s Salon, which holds multiple daily writing sessions in a safe and supportive online space. This creates a sense of connection that soothes feelings of loneliness and isolation. For those with social anxiety, screens can ease the nerves of chatting with strangers. This creates a positive, healing effect, which is wellness, right? Speaking of healing, what about reiki and crystals? Is this whole ‘good vibes’ phenomenon just plain nonsense?
Originating in Japan in the late 1800s, reiki is a form of alternative therapy that involves the transfer of universal energy from the practitioner's hands to the patient. Strongly believed to treat emotional states and physical pain, reiki is becoming increasingly popular across the world. Although hands-on healing, as it is known, is difficult to prove scientifically, reiki is often described as deeply relaxing. Some reiki practitioners use crystals and stones to promote emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing and although sessions are traditionally carried out in person, the pandemic, and the subsequent isolation, has led to an increased interest in distance reiki: healing from a distance.
To some, the notion of reiki, not to mention distance reiki, may seem ridiculous. How can someone be healed by a person who is not in the same room or even in the same country? Sceptics and scientists may jump to their feet in mocking protest. And when crystals are added to the equation, watch those haters (bad vibes, peeps) get up in arms. Crystal Reiki Master Zoë Disco defends the combined practice of reiki using crystals, “I’ve always been a massive believer in the use of crystals. They are intrinsic to the powering and working of our watches, radios and so much else. Combining that with universal energy can only be epic!” Disco’s enthusiasm for distance reiki is as compelling as her case for crystals. She continues: “I have so much personal experience that this universal energy connection works, it’s ridiculous. I feel that it is even more powerful if you aren’t in the same room.”
This is how virtual reiki a.k.a. distance reiki works: the session is carried out remotely after a phone conversation, so that Disco can check in with her client and ascertain any problem areas - emotional or physical. Then the session begins, Disco in her home and her client in their home, lying down on a bed, in a state of relaxation. “Distance reiki involves sending reiki [Japanese for ‘universal life energy’] to any time or place. As Level 2 reiki-attuned masters, we learn a symbol to channel the universal energy, then send it to connect to our client. I use a teddy bear as a stand-in for the person, but a pillow or simply imagining the person also works. For me, a teddy bear is effective as it has the body parts of a human and I can body scan and find areas that need work and focus. I feel a connection to the person, it’s strange but incredible.” Disco is optimistic about virtual reiki, “I feel that distance reiki is more personal. I have a deeper connection to the person as I can relax and get into the zone, which would be more difficult if they were in front of me. When I am performing distance reiki, I focus on the connection more; I need to feel them”.
Disco’s clients attest to the power of reiki healing with crystals. One recounts, “2020 was a tough year. Aside from medication and therapy, reiki was suggested as an alternative mode of healing. Open to anything, I signed up for three distance sessions. I was surprised when I discovered that all I had to do was lie down in a quiet room, relax and Zoë would practise reiki for 30 minutes. Then she would call me back. During the session, I could feel pressure on my chest and I felt extremely emotional. In our chat afterwards, I learned that the crystals had been placed on my heart chakra which explained the strong physical sensation. After two more sessions, which were emotionally difficult and draining, I felt much lighter and brighter. I would recommend it to anyone."
In 2021, the digital wellness possibilities are endless and infinite. Accessible to everyone with wifi and a device, virtual wellness allows us to better connect with others and ourselves, an anchor in a tempestuous world. Practising meditation, yoga and reiki may not be for everyone, but if we can alleviate some of the symptoms of anxiety and depression without the chemicals, why not have a go? You can learn how to meditate here. Even better, we can practise wellness from the comfort of our own homes, via our phones and computer - for free! So, is virtual wellness time well spent or virtual insanity? The conclusion? You’d be mad not to try it.
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To see more from Rachel you can find her on Instagram at @rachelwarrior1 or via her website rachelwarrilow.wordpress.com. Alternatively, you can read her previous post on TIGC: Promising New Times? Female-Driven Films Tackling the Normalising of Crimes Against Women.