Founder of Chopra Global and The Chopra Foundation Deepak Chopra joined the Yahoo Live panel to discuss the latest outlook for the mindfulness industry, along with his multiple business ventures.

Video Transcript

ADAM SHAPIRO: Let's welcome into the stream Deepak Chopra, author and wellness guru, also founder of the Chopra Foundation and Chopra Global. It's always good to have you here. And got to ask you on, I mean, with COVID and the pandemic and all that comes with it, what is the wellbeing of the country, in your opinion? You know, one year that we've essentially been locked down, and we're seeing rates of depression rise.

DEEPAK CHOPRA: So the well-being is not good. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say it's about two or three, which means we are suffering. We're suffering in the United States. We're also suffering in the world. Right now, every 12 seconds, somebody in the world commits suicide. It's the second most common cause of death in teens. Last year, more people died from suicide than from COVID-19, so we have a crisis. And it is getting slightly better with the new administration, with the vaccines coming, with some encouragement on the economy, but we're not there yet.

SEANA SMITH: And Deepak, when you say that and you take a look at the numbers that we've seen over the last 12 months, it's so disheartening. It's so concerning. What are some tips that you have just for people who are struggling to manage stress or struggling to manage some depression that has been induced here from the lockdown and from what we've seen play out over the last 12 months?

DEEPAK CHOPRA: One of the most important things is connectivity, and we've been under lockdown. But people are now finding ways to connect with each other online. We've created-- the Chopra Foundation has created a non-profit site called Neveralone.love. www.neveralone.love. We have an AI chat bot can talk to people, find out if they're mentally challenged, help them. Interestingly enough, by the way, more people are comfortable talking to a machine than to a human. Tells you something about our humanity right now.

But our AI bot has intervened in approximately 500, 600 possible suicide attempts. And there's a conversation going on, which involves a few million people. So I think it's time to democratize mental wellbeing globally through the internet and through blockchain and many other ways where we give each other attention, affection, appreciation, and acceptance. That's how we begin. We need emotional bonding. We need spiritual bonding. We need a shared vision. We need to complement each other's strengths. And we need to hold each other's back.

ADAM SHAPIRO: Well, and you can do that in some part through it's called Digital Deepak, the app for the phone. But how does this play into-- does that work in conjunction? Because I know you have the partnership now with Fitbit. This is a global partnership to bring what's called the mindful method. Does it work together? And what is the mindful method?

DEEPAK CHOPRA: So the mindful method is interventions in real-time on Fitbit. So if you have a Fitbit, any time you can check your heart rate variability, your oxygen saturation, your stress levels, all kinds of things that measure what's happening in your body as a result of stress. And then you can immediately intervene through about 33 techniques that are on the mindful method on Fitbit.

Digital Deepak, on the other hand, is an AI mind twin of mine that becomes your personal life coach for life, if you want it to be. So it trains you in restful sleep, meditation, stress management, yoga, breathing, emotional resilience and intelligence, nutrition, biological rhythms, and spiritual intelligence. Two separate endeavors, but complementing each other.

SEANA SMITH: Deepak, I want to ask you a little bit more about that Fitbit partnership. Why was Fitbit the right partner for you? And I guess, you talked to us about some things that we could expect, but going forward, I guess, how do you see-- what do you expect to see from the usage?

DEEPAK CHOPRA: What I expect to see is real-time data on what's happening real-time in terms of your mental, your emotional resiliency. And any time you're upset, it shows up. Your heart rate variability decreases. Your breathing increases. Stress levels get aggravated. And knowing that on your Fitbit, the mindfulness method, you can instantly intervene.

What is the point of joining Fitbit? We are going to create data now that has never been collected before on what it means to be mentally, physically resilient. How do you have a joyful, energetic body, loving, compassionate heart, clear mind, and lightness of being? That's a promise. Why Fitbit? I looked at all the gadgets out there, all the devices. I thought Fitbit was the most advanced.

ADAM SHAPIRO: All right, Deepak Chopra, we appreciate your being here. We should point out that you're the founder of the Chopra Foundation and Chopra Global, as well as an author and wellness guru that millions of people follow every day. All the best to you.