Technology is an ever-present reality in our daily lives. From phones to watches and other wearable tech, using these devices has become a norm across the world. While the harmful effects of overusing technology have been studied, we always have agency over how we engage with it.

That said, wellness apps give us a wonderful opportunity to use the tech to our advantage. Whether we are healing from trauma, needing to release stress or simply building practices of consistent self-care, apps like these go a long way to keeping us engaged, mindful and contributing to our deeper wellbeing overall. 

The apps below are a roundup of some of the options available to support your wellness and gratitude practices. They may include free, trial and paid plans to use them.

Please note, I am not affiliated with any of these apps and receive no commission for any purchases you choose to make.

Apps For Wellness and Gratitude

Shine 

Daily self-care app

Caring for our mental and emotional health should be easy. It should also be representative and more inclusive than it currently is. Shine exists to solve that problem. The premium membership offers over 1000 meditations, personalization features and an inclusive community that includes mental wellness experts. Join Shine to listen to a new daily meditation every week day. Or you can be supported by the daily affirmations too. 

Constant digital media exposure bombards us with turmoil, negative news and compulsive consumerism. Shine gives us a handy way to quickly calm any anxiety or stress. It’s no surprise that the app was voted by Apple as one of the best of 2020.

Happy Mindset

Daily gratitude and self-care app

Happy Mindset makes self-care fun. It’s a digital card deck game that lets you pick a random card with prompts for gratitude, mindfulness and self-care. It’s a web application available on any device with internet (phone, tablet or desktop). The creator, Dr. Ada Barlatt is on a mission to help busy moms find more moments of joy in their day. She believes that self-care can be easily woven into our daily activities without always needing to find that ever elusive “extra time”. By being more mindful and using the tools already in our hands (our phones), the game gives you quick and easy ways to tap into mood-boosting moments.

Happy Mindset offers a monthly subscription as well as an annual plan. You can learn more here.

Down Dog

Yoga and movement app

Down Dog is an app that offers a variety of movement options including yoga, meditation and prenatal yoga. One of the best features is the ability to create very highly customised practices. You can choose from several options within music type, length of time, intensity and style of yoga and even the voice of the instructor. The user experience is smooth and engaging. The app does a great job of creating the feel of being in a live yoga studio. You can also track your progress with the calendar and share the music from your session, too. 

Down Dog is reasonably priced for the quality of the experience, the convenience and the level of personalization that’s possible.

YappReminder

Daily Random reminder app

This app is a fun and useful tool. It’s a free iPhone app available in the AppStore. With Yapp, you can create customized messages that randomly pop up on your phone throughout the day. You can set the number of reminders to display during the day as well as the days of the week you want to be reminded. There are also pre-set quotes you can choose from.

I use it to write myself affirmations and gratitude reminders. I also use it to write messages that remind me of how I want to feel, what I’m attracting and the vision I hold for myself, my family and the world.

Use Tech Mindfully

Prioritizing self-care and gratitude go a long way in supporting our overall health and wellbeing. Balance is always key, though. I would encourage you to be very mindful and intentional about how much time you spend on social media (and digital content in general). Many devices now have features that allow you to monitor your screen time and set limits for app usage.