Archives for September 2021

September 18, 2021 By GOQii 1 Comment

Recover and Reclaim Your Health – Yashas Ranganath User Journey

More often than not, we find ourselves moving passively through the world revelling in all it has to offer and more. Wading way beyond moderation in the beauty of excesses till the consequences of our actions pile up. Lifestyle diseases are caused because of indulgence in unhealthy habits, something that one of our players Yashas Ranganath found out first hand. How did he manage? How did he recover? Let’s find out!

Life Before GOQii

Yashas Ranganath, an IT professional from Bangalore led quite a normal life. He used to eat, drink and do whatever he pleased, paying no attention to health and fitness. His physical activity was almost nil and he paid no attention to his lifestyle to even make a change.

In 2016, he was diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes. He was also admitted to the hospital for a severe migraine attack and put under medication for both. His health only got worse with time. In September 2018, he was hit by a stroke due to a cyst in his left brain. This left the right side of his body completely paralyzed.

Enter GOQii

Initially, Yashas Ranganath had joined GOQii in 2015 when he was exploring the market for a good fitness tracker. He chose GOQii as he was intrigued by the personal coaching feature. However, he says he completely wasted that subscription and did not take it seriously at all.

In December 2018, after 50% recovery from the paralysis, he began thinking about making lifestyle changes. He turned to GOQii and renewed his subscription. He says that his life took a complete positive turn after that!

Making a Positive Lifestyle Change

Yashas’ goal was to get all his vitals under control and completely recover from paralysis. His GOQii Coach advised him to completely stop the consumption of oil, sweets, salt, junk food and all types of processed food. He was also asked to stop eating maida and consumed bottled beverages. From a foodie, he had turned into a monk – eating to live and not living to eat. But his sole focus was recovery and he was ready to give up on everything.

His daily routine became structured in terms of eating habits, activity and sleep:

He wakes up at 4 in the morning to leave for work at 6:30 AM. He eats his breakfast and lunch at work – both are customized to his requirement.
His breakfast consists of upma, poha or idli. For Lunch, he eats 2 cups of rice with salads and vegetable curry.
Dinner consists of chapatti with a curry.
His coffee intake is limited to 1 in the evening and he eat fruits as mid meal snacks.
Under the rare occasion when he eats out, he manages to customize his food.
He exercises for 2 hours a day, doing what his physiotherapist suggests along with numerous stretches recommended by his GOQii Coach. He concludes this with 15 minutes of meditation.
He has also started cycling and performs Yog Nidra at night.

After following this routine, Yashas says that he feels no cravings at all and doesn’t even get tempted after seeing other enjoy different delicacies. He enjoys his current lifestyle modifications.

What Changes Did Yashas Ranganath Experience?

When he joined GOQii in 2018, his weight was 75kg, HBA1C was above 8 and blood pressure was 200/170. He now weighs 63kg. His vitals improved drastically too with his HBA1C at 5.4, blood sugar – fasting at 80-90 mg/dl and postprandial at 80-100 mg/dl. Blood Pressure is 130/80. He is on minimal medication, feels more active physically and positive mentally. He has also made a 90% recovery from his stroke.

“You have to get hit before your eyes are opened and then you change in ways you never thought you could,” says Yashas.

His wife and parents are overwhelmed with his recovery. He attributes the change in his lifestyle to his GOQii Coach and says her contribution has been 100%, constantly guiding him on what to eat and what not to eat. Yashas has also explored the features on the app like Play and watches videos as and when he finds time.

Recently, Yashas Ranganath spoke to our Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal about his recovery and journey with GOQii. You can watch the entire episode of GOQii Health Talks here:

What Did His GOQii Coach Have to Say About Him?

“Yashas is one of the most disciplined player I have ever seen. He has been very regular in following
all the habits formulated for him. After the treatment of his stroke and during recovery, he used to suffer from episodes of hypoglycaemia in between. He used to feel dizzy and uncomfortable. Slowly, we started making him have small and frequent meals with portion control. We started millet based meals for better glycaemic index and on the side, he was doing his physiotherapy as well. All of which contributed to his lifestyle change.”

Yashas Ranganath made a positive lifestyle change, what about you? Subscribe to personalized coaching now to get healthier with GOQii: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Do check out more inspiring stories on Healthy Reads and #BeTheForce

September 3, 2021 By Srini Leave a Comment

Breathing #3: Breath Bank

A Tamil adage says that everyone gets a certain number of breaths deposited in their account on birth. You cannot increase or decrease it – but you can efficiently use the remaining balance and get more out of it. Do you know how to get more out of your breath? How to get a higher ROI? Let’s start with the number of breaths per minute.

How Do You Measure The Breaths in Your Breath Bank?

Measure the number of breaths per minute at 4 fixed time slots in a day and do it over one or two weeks and then get the average breath per minute. If the AVERAGE number is more than 12, then you are not very efficient in using your breath balance. If you are more than 18, then you are hyperventilating!

Hyperventilation depletes Co2 from your body. The interesting fact is that Co2 is critical for oxygen absorption in the cells for effective burning of the fuel. If you are hyperventilating, then there is Co2 imbalance and even though you may have a 97% oxygen saturation in your blood, the Oxygen just floats around without being effectively used in burning the fuel.

So, to use Oxygen effectively, you need a good balance of Co2 in your body. Also, as much as you hyperventilate while under stress, the other way is also true. When you hyperventilate, the body assumes you are under stress. You are chronically under stress AND you are not burning the fuel effectively… all due to a simple issue of incorrect breathing!

Slow breathing keeps the right balance between Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen in the body and remember both are needed for the efficient functioning of the body.

“Mind is the King of the senses and Breath is the King of the Mind”, says BKS Iyengar, a renowned Yoga Guru. James Nestor, says that an ideal breathing is 5.5 seconds inhale and 5.5 seconds exhale – so this is 11 seconds and your average number of breaths would also be 5.5 per minute.

Most of the religious prayers/chants/choirs were designed to make you breathe at a rate of around 5.5 to 6 per minute. Such prayer, no wonder, has magical curative powers.

You can practice slow breathing anywhere, any time and privately. Just be conscious of how you breathe! In fact, between every activity, meeting or zoom call, take 5 minutes off and practice conscious slow and deep abdominal breathing, you will do wonders in terms of your productivity.

“If you want to live, follow Eastern Medicine (Yoga, Ayurveda) and if you do not want to die, then follow Western Medicine” – Trainer Brian MacKenzie

This subject is still developing and research is still coming through under the Western Medicine and has been in practice over thousands of years in India by our Yogis.

Western breathing experts like Dr Buteyko, James Nestor and Anders Olsson, etc. have gone on record on the benefits of slow and rhythmic breathing. In fact, Dr Buteyko observes that 80% of the population is chronically hyperventilating!

Breathing is the only tool available to humans to connect to (and influence) their autonomous nervous system and therefore mind. If you develop awareness and therefore, better understanding, you can make breathing more efficient and positively impact your mind. Breathing is the MOST POWERFUL tool humans have. Fascinating isn’t it. But Simple. I average around 8 breaths per minute now and I have personally benefited significantly in terms of overall energy through the day, feeling good and less stressed.

Practices To Help You Achieve Slow Breathing

Being Conscious of breathing
Practicing Pranayama – Kapal Bathi, Ujjayi, Pursed lip breathing, Bhastrika
Breathing using the abdomen than the chest
Tummo ( Tibetan technique) or Wim Hof method

I am placing a customary caveat for the reader that this is not medical advice and you should consult your doctor. And unfortunately, the western medical system holds that less than 10 breaths per minute is a disease and it has to be cured.

If you want more details, medical and scientific evidence, please read more at https://breathe.ersjournals.com/content/13/4/298

Further read books/podcasts of James Nestor, Brian Mackenzie, Rangan Chatterjee, Anders Olsson

We hope this article helps you improve your breath bank balance. For more on breathing, check out Healthy Reads. To get breathing exercises from your GOQii Coach, subscribe to personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Breathe Right & #BeTheForce

September 2, 2021 By Kusum Soni 1 Comment

The Power Of Black Tea For Immunity

A powerful immune system not only prevents the attack of any foreign invaders like bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites but also can protect against degenerative diseases like cancer, heart disease. There are many beverages that can support a healthy immune system and black tea is one of them. The health benefits of black tea have been attributed to it’s decent amount of polyphenols and a wide range of flavonoids—particularly thearubigins, theaflavins, flavonols and flavones. These phytochemicals have shown antimicrobial, anti-viral, antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-mutagenic and anti-inflammatory activities.

Black tea has beneficial physiological effects like the prevention of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease by easing inflammation and supporting the flexibility of blood vessels, which can reduce risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke. Researchers at Harvard University have found 10 times more virus-fighting interferons in the blood of people who drank black tea in comparison to people who drank placebo beverages. The researchers attributed this to an amino-acid, L-theanine found in ordinary black tea.

Various studies over the years have also linked drinking Black Tea to reduced risk of certain types of cancers, and increased number of immune cells, antioxidants that protect cells against free radical damage. The antimutagenic effect is well documented for the black tea polyphenols, namely theaflavins and thearubigins and attributed both to the inhibition of the oxidative DNA damage as well as, considerable literature demonstrates their inhibitory effect on the tumor cell proliferation. Latest research also suggests that these polyphenols even affect the balance of gut bacteria that enhances immune functions, encouraging short-chain fatty acids formation that support liver’s function.

Tea drinkers have shown lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, after an exposure to a stressful situation. Stress can suppress the immune response of the body. Thus, indirectly by managing stress, tea again improves the effectiveness of the immune system.

Tips To Include Black Tea In Your Diet

Infused Tea: Add 3-5g or one black tea bag into a cup. Fill to the top with 85-90c boiling water and steep for 3-5 minutes. Remove the tea bag or strain and serve hot or over ice.
Optional: You can add half a cup of fruit pieces into a one-quart Mason jar with tea and, later cover and let the fruit steep for another ten minutes in hot infused tea, after removing the tea bags.
You can add some lemon juice or crushed ginger or a pinch of cinnamon to infused black tea for additional antioxidant activity and flavour.
Japanese researchers have found that even gargling with black tea extract twice a day was less likely to catch flu by flushing microbes trapped in the throat area.
Inhaling boiling water mixed with Black Tea can facilitate the clearing of the passages towards the lung and facilitate the removal of bacteria/viruses trapped around the nasal area and opens a pathway for the Theaflavins to reach the lungs and protect it from infection.

Word of Caution

Adding milk may diminish the disease-fighting potential of the tea as various studies have not observed the beneficial effect of black tea consumption on the risk of coronary heart disease in subjects consuming tea with milk.
Avoid having tea with meals due to the presence of Tannins, an anti-nutritional compound, which has inhibitory effects on absorption of protein and certain minerals from food like, Iron, copper, sodium and aluminium.
Do not drink tea close to bedtime as another compound in tea called Caffeine could keep you from falling asleep.

Don’t miss on physical activity, adequate sleep and Dietary Diversification, that is, include a variety of food in your diet ranging from whole grain/pulses to coloured fruits/vegetables, nuts and seeds, lean meats, to add a wide spectrum of vitamins and minerals and antioxidants in diet, to enhance body’s disease-fighting capabilities.

Enjoy your cup of tea 1-2 times a day in snack time away from meals. We hope this article helps you. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more immunity-boosting tips, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to our experts on GOQii Play.

To get these tips directly from your GOQii Coach, subscribe to personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Stay safe, boost your immunity and #BeTheForce!