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A state level Athletic and Pole Vault champion, Parwange Alam encourages and motivates people to be healthy. While pursuing his graduation at the Punjabi University of Patiala, he also doubled up as a coach training students in running. His mission is to help people improve their lifestyle and lead them towards a healthier future with his acquired knowledge in fitness and experience. Apart from a sporting career he is also an artist and likes to express his feelings through painting. Parwage believes that every individual has a sportsman spirit within them and if coached well it can unveil that sportsman in the individual.

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8 Reasons Why You Need a Health Coach!

health coachHave you ever taken a year-long subscription to a gym but barely gone twice before you decided to quit? What about one of those fancy weight-loss diets that never helped you cut out junk food? Is binge-watching episode after episode of a thrilling web series while sacrificing sleep a daily routine? The real question is, how many times have you lost motivation while trying to be your own health coach?

On this Teacher’s Day, we celebrate the invaluable role of teachers in shaping our lives. Just like a teacher guides us through our academic journey, a health coach plays a crucial role in guiding us towards a healthier lifestyle. Whether it’s understanding the right food choices, maintaining an exercise routine, or staying motivated, a health coach acts as your personal wellness mentor.

Let’s face it! Most people find it difficult to stick to a routine. Even if you do find the time to squeeze in a workout, are you doing it right? Are you eating the right food for your body type? Is your dietary intake in line with your health goals? There are many questions, and more often than not, being your own health coach can backfire in more ways than one.

This is where you need a health coach. A health coach is like a teacher who guides you in the right direction by helping you make decisions about the right food and exercise. Having a health coach not only keeps you accountable but also keeps you motivated!

8 Reasons Why You Need A Health Coach

  1. Discover Natural Remedies: Having a health coach who knows what they are talking about can help you understand symptoms of a sickness and guide you with natural healing options. Imagine if the contents available in your kitchen and normal food can heal you, wouldn’t you want to know?
  2. A Health Coach Is Your Friend: Life is increasingly fast-paced and monotonous. It is difficult to find someone who is willing to listen to you and your problems. This kind of isolation and lack of communication can eventually lead to increased stress levels. If you have a health coach, they are always there to listen to your issues and is well trained to counsel you in that particular situation. The coach, in this sense, is your buddy – ready to listen to your woes, ask the appropriate questions, help you identify the root cause for your concerns, and assist  you in resolving them.
  3. Responsible and Accountability: Research shows that 80% of the people who make health resolution on New Year’s, break them within 2-3 months. With a bit of self-motivation, you can stick to your plans 1-2 or 3 months at best, but after that, you tend to go off track. Now, if you have a health coach, you will be answerable to that person, which in turn, will help you stick to your resolutions for a long time and eventually achieve your goals.
  4. Help You Understand Your Body: Leading an unhealthy lifestyle can be costly! Weight gain, loss of stamina, and a weak immune system are just some of the consequences. Imagine getting active and following a great diet plan, but it doesn’t work for you! This is where a coach comes in and helps you identify the reason. It might be your body type requiring a different approach.
  5. Increase Your Knowledge: All the nutritional tips, exercise routines, and even techniques to sleep better can enable you to manage a healthy life on your own for years to come. Getting the right knowledge to manage your lifestyle is a gift that you can share as well. Knowledge is power, and a health coach gives you the power to live an active, healthy, and happy life!
  6. Setting Realistic Goals: We always set goals without knowing whether we will be able to achieve them or not. For instance, setting a target of losing 30 kg in 2 months is not realistic. Can you achieve this goal with your current lifestyle? A coach can counsel you on setting more realistic and achievable targets based on your daily routine. Setting small targets to achieve a long-term goal is what a coach can bring to the table.
  7. Problem Solver: Can’t stop that sugar or pizza craving? Got a headache? A hangover maybe? Don’t know what mid-meal you should eat? Is whole wheat bread good for you? You just ate a cupcake! What should you do? Your coach will always be by your side to answer these questions, assist and guide you through all your problems!
  8. Authentic Source of Knowledge: There is a rising trend of fake health news on the internet which can be extremely dangerous! These fake health tips coax people into trying ridiculous things like eating banana peels or following something like beer yoga! Your expert coach can guide you with proper factual information and keep you from making mistakes that can harm you!

Most importantly, a health coach can motivate and push you to achieve your goals!

As we honor the teachers who’ve made a difference in our lives, let’s also recognize the importance of having a guide for our health journey. A health coach not only educates and motivates but also empowers you to lead a healthier, happier life. This Teacher’s Day, take the first step towards positive change by subscribing to Personalised Health Coaching with GOQii.

We hope this article helps you understand the value of a health coach! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. For more insights into health and wellness, check out our other articles in Healthy Reads.

To get personalized advice and tips from your GOQii Coach, subscribe to Personalised Health Coaching here

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Avoid Stress: Lead a healthy and happy life!

Stress

Do you forever feel your shoulders are burdened with too many responsibilities? Do you feel endless demands towing at you from all directions? Do you feel your life is spinning out of control? It’s easy to feel stressed. But, regardless of your circumstances, only you can bring about a balance from within you and not form your surroundings?     

Given the fast-paced lifestyle that all of us lead, we get hassled and irritated by the most inconsequential incidents that automatically lead the stress levels to go up. Come to think of it, there is no dearth for reasons for our stress levels to go up. But, does anyone really know how harmful stress is to our health?

Before understanding how harmful it is let’s first understand what is stress?

Stress is a normal part of life. It’s related to many events that happen to you and around you — and many things that you do yourself — put stress on your body. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. It is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses.

The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive, keeping us alert and overwhelmed. And, stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges. As a result, the person becomes overworked and stress-related tension builds.

High levels of stress can cause biological imbalances in our body. Cortisol Hormone is the hormone that puts the body under stress. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands when an individual is under stress and affects one’s health in a negative manner. The most crucial effect is of one’s immune system and weight.

Stress also leads to excessive mood swings which can be categorized as Worry, Tension, Tiredness, Fright, Happiness, Depression, Anxiety and Anger all of which takes a toll on one’s health.

When stress overpowers, the body is flooded with chemicals that prepare to “fight or flight.” The Stress responses could be lifesaving at the time of emergency situation where our body needs to act quickly; it wears your body down when constantly activated by the stress of everyday life. Relaxation or meditation puts a break on this heightened state of readiness and brings your body and mind back into a calmer state.

Stress management can be a powerful tool for wellness and healthy living. Here are a few tips to de-stress yourself

1. Meditation

2. Deep Breathing

3. Be Alert

4. Relaxation

5. Laugh Out Loud

6. Listening to soft music

7. Strolling in the park

8. Chasing your hobbies

Apart from above options, try keeping a diary over a few weeks and list the time, places, and people that aggravate your stress levels. Once you are aware of your typical or regular stressors, you can always work on avoiding those.

Follow these options and life will automatically turn beautiful!

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Time Management Can Change Your Life

How Time Management Can Help You

Time is a precious commodity. We all chase it but never have enough, given our busy schedules. Ever stopped to ask yourself why you keep running out of time? Ever wondered if you’re working in a systematic manner?

My father always said that there are two kinds of people:

  • Those who work hard
  • Those who work smart

Those who work hard, do their work without giving it a thought and work monotonously. The smart workers are those who do their work in a systematic and planned manner, adhere to time management and also enjoy what they are doing.

What Constitutes Time Management?

Time management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.

To be successful is to manage your time well. It helps utilize the available time in an optimum manner to achieve one’s personal and professional goals. Without time management, you will not steer your life and you’ll eventually end up doing exactly what other people want you to do. Time management helps you take control of your life in the right manner. You decide what you want to do and where you want to go. Practicing time management has lots of benefits. Once you get a hang of it, you can work more, learn faster and play more.

How Does It Affect Your Health?

Today, work pressure has everyone stressed to the bone. More than often, people stay awake till morning trying to complete their work. During the day, they are seated with eyes glued to a machine. All these negatively impact the body and the mind. No physical activity means lack of movement in your joints, muscles and hence, one is prone to joint pains and other lifestyle diseases.

If you practice time management, you can complete your work and still have time to take care of your health. Believe me, you will start feeling positive. This in turn will help you be more stress-free. For most adults, sleep is the main factor that is compromised due to busy schedules. For students and professionals, moving about without sleep is a regular affair under the garb of wanting to achieve their targets. They may complete all their tasks, but do not realize that their mental and physical health is getting affected. Proper time management may prevent this.

Benefits of Time Management

  1. Increase in Productivity: Practicing time management can increase your productivity by helping you finish your work in the shortest possible time.
  2. Chances of Moving up the Ladder: In corporate sectors, the better you perform, the higher your chances of growth are. By managing your time, you could end up becoming a star performer in your organization
  3. Reduced Stress: If you manage your time well, you do not have to panic or push yourself to finish your work. You will get your work done at the said time, thus relieving you of stress and unnecessary work pressure.
  4. Higher Income: It is a well-known fact that in today’s world, time reciprocates money. Managing your time helps you accommodate more time to take up new assignments, opening up many more doors of opportunities.
  5. Boost in Self-Confidence: If you are completing your work within a given time frame and delivering quality as well, it will certainly boost your self-confidence and be fruitful for your career advancements.
  6. Stronger Family Bonds: Time management will help you spend quality time with your family and friends, which seems next to impossible these days. Time management helps you maintain a fine balance between your professional and personal life. Your family bonding will be much better.
  7. Better for Health: For better health, you need at least 7 to 8 hours of sound sleep. If you spend the whole night finishing your pending tasks, then you are certainly evoking great health hazards. There are many health related irregularities which are caused by lack of sleep.

All of the above explanations prove that the benefits of managing your time are irrefutable. Life is all about accomplishments and enjoyments. Efficient time management is the only instrument which helps you find both. You can’t allow yourself to sink under the files of pending tasks and persistently overlook your family responsibilities or personal necessities. Adopt a proficient time management technique to lead a balanced and prosperous life.

Have you been unable to manage your time or excel in managing it? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

For more articles like this, check out Healthy Reads. If you want to set a schedule to help you manage your time and health better, speak to an expert by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

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How to Turn Household Chores Into a Workout

Household chores into workout

Taking care of the house is a never-ending job! I still remember my mother being so caught up with household chores that she never got the time to workout. One day when I got home after working out, I saw my mother doing the regular housework and an idea struck me! What if we can turn daily household chores into a workout routine?

Benefits of Turning Household Chores Into a Workout

Most people struggle with the fact that due to the lack of time, they skip working out. If you turn household chores into a workout routine, you’re killing two birds with one stone. You find your chores as well as get a good, light workout.

Like any other physical activity, housework can tone muscles if done correctly and in the right posture. It’s already proved that short bouts of relatively mild exercise can help improve your fitness levels, especially for those who do little or no physical activity or are just getting started. To top it off, this can help you break the monotony of routine and add a little bit of fun to completing chores.

Here’s How You Get Started

  1. Lunges (Vacuum Cleaning): While using the vacuum cleaner, you can walk in a lunges posture. Remember to keep your knees directly above your ankles, your back straight and your abs engaged. You will know this is working by feeling the pressure in your thighs and glutes. Lunges are a good exercise for strengthening, sculpting and building several muscles/muscle groups, including the quadriceps (or thighs), the gluteus maximus (or buttocks) and the hamstrings as well.
  2. Squats: Pick up items on the floor or tables by squatting. Keep your back straight, squat deeply by bending your knees. Hold for 15 seconds before rising up again. A Squat is an exercise that primarily trains the muscles of the thighs, hips and buttocks. It also works the quadriceps (vastus lateral, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius and rectus femoris), hamstrings, and strengthens the bones, ligaments as well as the insertion of the tendons throughout the lower body
  3. Make Sweeping Movements: Instead of cleaning haphazardly when scrubbing glass doors or cleaning windows, make long, sweeping movements. For instance, when you are cleaning the doors or windows, take long swipes from top to bottom, squatting (not bending) to reach the lower spots. This will give you a fantastic shoulder workout and engage your entire lower body. If you want you can also hold a small bucket of water in your other hand to increase the strength of your arms.
  4. Sweeping: While sweeping, tuck your stomach and oblique muscles in, keep your back straight and bring the bristles of the broom as far as possible and pull in.
  5. Dance on the Beat: Turn on the music system while doing household chores and dance to the music the way you want. Try to use some fast music so you’ll be encouraged to pick up your speed and break a sweat. If you’re wondering how dancing helps your health, click here.
  6. Step it up: Use a stepladder, stairs or step stool when you need to reach high areas. Try to repeat the same steps 8-10 times. Trust me, this is a really great exercise for your hamstrings, provided you keep your back straight. You can simulate your own step aerobics session this way!
  7. Loading the Washing machine: When you are loading or unloading your washing machine, just twist and move more. This movement will help to strengthen your core.
  8. Sculpt and Fold: Lifting laundry can be the toughest part of your routine. Tone your arms by holding them raised at 90° angle as you carry the laundry basket. Use the squats and lunges posture with your legs as your fold.
  9. Take a Swing. Instead of cleaning your rugs, carpets, sheet using a vacuum cleaner, take them outside, hang them up, pick up your broom and show your muscular talent! Swing away to beat out the dust and dirt. Performing this activity will help you involve more muscles than vacuuming alone and help you get some fresh air as well.
  10. Always Prefer Stairs: Instead of making one trip up and down, try to convert it into multiple trips with the clean or dirty clothes. Remember, we have a target to do more work as a workout, not less work with the help of machines!

What are you waiting for! Make your household chores something to look forward to by turning them into a workout. Try this for a week and let us know if you see any changes. Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Find more tips on exercising and workouts here. If you need help with your workouts, learn from the best by signing up for an interactive GOQii PRO class where you’ll be guided in real-time by a certified expert. Book a class now from the GOQii App.

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From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

As we observe World Cancer Day under the powerful theme ‘United by Unique’ (2025-2027)**, we are reminded that every individual’s journey with cancer is distinct, yet united by shared resilience, hope, and the collective fight against this disease. This theme places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the […]