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Recently, we've been exploring how innovation can support wellbeing - from AI-powered habit tracking to winter-ready biohacks and brain optimisation. And while I'm fascinated by the ways technology can help us live better, I believe the most profound shifts come from something far older, and far simpler.
Nature. Movement. Real food. Breath.
At Aro Ha, we see these as the foundations - not the add-ons. It's easy to get caught up in wellness as performance: the supplements, the stats, the next trend. But while we are advocates for using tech to track our health, sustained transformation is built much closer to nature.
Here's what I've seen time and again: the act of placing your body in nature - walking, breathing, being - begins to reset the nervous system in ways no app can replicate, only support.
And it's not just poetic. The research backs it up.
A 2020 meta-analysis in Environmental Research found that spending just 120 minutes per week in nature is consistently associated with better health and wellbeing outcomes. It didn't matter how the time was broken up - what mattered was getting outside.
That's less than 20 minutes a day. Not a luxury retreat. Not a cold plunge subscription. Just time with trees, sky, space, and not much else.
So if you take one thing from this post, let it be this: Wellness can begin with stepping outside. Even five minutes. Even barefoot in your backyard.
But you likely already know that.
Here’s what we don’t talk about—the parts of ourselves that keep us from doing what we know we should. I call them The Three Saboteurs, and they're likely trying to care for your wellbeing right now, even if it doesn't feel that way.
1. The Dopamine Trap
There is a part of you that has learned that when life feels uncomfortable, the most immediate relief is preferred. The couch instead of the trail, the phone instead of the yoga mat, the snooze button instead of the sunrise walk. This part isn't choosing laziness - it's choosing what feels better now.
Modern life has taught this part that digital stimulation equals comfort and a workout equals “ouch". Your environment supports this part's protective strategy - notifications that feel like connection, processed foods that offer immediate soothing, streaming services that provide reliable distraction from life's pressures.
One way to work with it:
If you’re wanting more nature, and your screens lure you in, before heading outside, acknowledge the part that wants to postpone with genuine appreciation: "I see that you're trying to keep me comfortable and safe. Thank you for caring about me." Then ask: "Can you trust me to take care of both of us on this walk?”
Then hold a 10-second "funeral" for your phone. Say goodbye to it, acknowledge what you'll miss (notifications, entertainment, that dopamine hit), then place it somewhere you can't see or hear it. This ritual makes your brain accept that digital stimulation is temporarily "dead." Within minutes in nature, your reward system will start noticing things it usually ignores; bird sounds, cloud patterns, the satisfaction of your heartbeat. This "digital death" resets your stimulation threshold so that natural movement and outdoor time become genuinely more interesting than your screen.
2. The Inner Saboteur
This part protects you from judgement, failure, or pain. It’s that voice that whispers “It’s not nice out there" “you don’t have anything to wear" or “it makes no difference" This internal saboteur convinces you that you're too tired or too busy, or that wellness is for "other people". It's the internal critique that makes you feel self-conscious, or just wants to avoid effort, pain, or discomfort. The inner saboteur thrives on all-or-nothing thinking. It has collected evidence over the years - past efforts that didn't stick, moments of miserable nature, and it loves to just say “screw it” and binge. The protective critic believes that if it can convince you not to try, it can protect you from disappointment and judgment.
How to work with it - The “Sweaty Disaster"
Instead of fighting this part's concerns, embrace them completely. Write down your worst-case scenario in vivid detail, then ask this protective part: "What are you most worried will happen? What would you need to feel good about doing this?"
Often, this part needs reassurance that you won't abandon yourself if things get difficult, or that you'll be kind to yourself if you struggle, and that the goal isn't perfection but simply showing up with compassion for wherever you are today.
3. The Mirage Effect
You have a part that wants to avoid wasted effort and meaningless action. It craves clarity and purpose. It gets frustrated with vague goals like "get fit" or "be healthier" because it can't figure out how to succeed. This part has watched you start wellness journeys based on other people's definitions of health - the influencer's routine, your friend's gym obsession, the latest trend - only to abandon them when they didn't fit your actual life.
This part isn't procrastinating - it's trying to protect you from the discouragement of pursuing goals that don’t work. It would rather you do nothing than waste energy on something that won't truly serve you.
How to work with it - The "Anti-Wellness"
Stop setting fitness goals for 30 days. Instead, work with this part to identify what you absolutely don't want to feel in your body and life. If you don't want sluggishness, stress, or disconnection, ask this part: "What specific daily activities pull us toward, and away from these feelings?"
This reverse-engineering honours the direction-seeking part's need for meaningful action while revealing your authentic wellness needs. You'll find yourself naturally drawn to walks in nature because you're moving toward something real - mental clarity, physical ease, embodied presence - rather than chasing a poster, or an ideal.
At Aro Ha, we design every moment to help people return to this truth. We move with purpose, eat with intention, and create space for deep rest - but none of it is revolutionary. It's remembering what our bodies already know, and learning to work compassionately with all the parts of ourselves that want to keep us safe.
So yes - we'll continue to explore the science. We'll keep integrating what works. But more often than not, the answers are already under our feet, waiting for us to approach them with the same kindness we'd offer a dear friend.
The question isn't whether you need to move more or spend time in nature. You already know you do.
The question is: which protective part needs your compassion first?
In health,
