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Heal yourself with the magic of “MUSIC THERAPY”

musik

There is nothing more soothing than music. If you’re stressed, tired or unable to sleep, listening to music can make you feel better almost immediately. This effect is a type of Music Therapy.

The concept of music therapy is not new, especially in India. Music has long been an integral part of Ayurveda, the holistic science promoting a happy and healthy lifestyle. The Vedas, particularly the Samveda, are rich in music mantras and ragas.

Great composers of Indian classical music have practiced music therapy for centuries. It is even said that the classical music maestro Thyagaraja brought a dead person back to life with his composition.

How does it work?

Music stimulates the pituitary gland, which in turn affects the nervous system and the blood flow. Healing with music is believed to work by vibrating the cells of the body, which can effectively change a person’s consciousness and promote health.

Personally, I love music and have always considered it my medicine. Whether I am stressed or confused, music always gives me the right direction. Having experienced a lot of positivity through Music, I wanted to share how music can be a positive healer.

The Power of Music Therapy

Music therapy uses music and sounds to:

  • Help express emotions
  • Cope with symptoms of a disease and its treatment
  • Improve emotional and physical well being
  • Develop self-confidence and self-esteem
  • Re-kindle a sense of creativity
  • Help relax and feel comfortable

You don’t need to have musical expertise to benefit from music therapy. The technique consists of various interventions and planned programs that vary depending on the situation. The type of music is important—soothing music, ragas, relaxing music, and motivational music all have different effects.

Types of Interventions:

A typical music therapy session may include different interventions, which can be grouped into four types:

  1. Performing/Playing: This can include singing or playing an instrument
  2. Composing: This includes any group or individual songwriting process, which can be simple or complex as needed
  3. Improvising: Creating music on the spot or in the moment
  4. Receiving/Listening: This can include a music and relaxation experience, a lyric analysis intervention, or a “moving to music” experience, such as gait training

A “typical” music therapy session may incorporate multiple interventions or just one long, in-depth one. The key is that each intervention is designed to target a specific therapeutic goal and objective.

Benefits of Music Therapy :

The right kind of music helps one relax and refresh. Even while working, light music can improve efficiency. It helps control negative aspects of our personalities like worry, bias, and anger, and can help cure headaches, abdominal pain, and tension. Music therapy is one of the most effective ways of controlling emotions, blood pressure, and restoring liver function. It can also reduce insomnia, schizophrenia, and epilepsy.

Here are some additional benefits:

  1. Coping with work-related stress
  2. Enhancing social skills in children with autism
  3. Symptom management in cancer care
  4. Treatment of tension headaches
  5. Promoting health and wellness
  6. Helping people undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy
  7. Providing physical and psychological support for people with cancer
  8. Assisting people at the end of life
  9. Alleviating cancer pain
  10. Supporting children and young people
  11. Reducing stress
  12. Improving parent-child interactions
  13. Encouraging conversation among people with middle to late-stage Alzheimer’s disease

Music therapy is a powerful tool for healing and improving well-being. Whether you are dealing with stress, health issues, or just need a way to relax, music can be a wonderful companion and healer.

I would like to end this blog with a quote:

“If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC”

― Kurt Vonnegut

We hope this article has enlightened you on the incredible healing power of music therapy. If you have any personal experiences with music therapy or have questions, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Best yoga poses with Attitudes!

IYD

Yoga is a Way of life. It aims at overcoming all our dis-qualities like attachments, aversions, hatred, jealousy, and likes and dislikes.

I am here today to share my best yoga poses which have helped me to shape my attitude from negative to a positive and had a great impact on my personality. I don’t do yoga postures just for strength and flexibility. I do yoga postures with a feeling of emotions which have, in turn, helped me imbibe some good qualities within me.

When a dancer dances with the feeling and emotion, that experience is translated down to the audience watching the performance.

“Where goes the hand, there goes the eye,

Where goes the eyes, there goes the mind

From my mind, I create (bhava) feeling

When I create bhava, the observer creates the essence (Rasa)

Rasa is experienced.”

When you do yoga asana, you cannot isolate the body from the mind. You have to apply your mind and feel the asana. This is better done with the below four attitudes.

Let me share what these are.

  1. Dharma is Right to conduct (DUTY)

This is recognized as a duty, faith, and acceptance. Self-direction is our duty. It is a state of preparedness. It’s an initiative towards being quiet and peaceful and enjoying one’s own company. The asana which can be practiced with this Dharma attitude is Sukhasana, Padmanasa, and Vajrasana.

image 1 first yoga pose

When you sit in the Sukhasana position, your mind starts to wander the moment you close your eyes. Now it’s your duty towards yourself to develop the silence, develop awareness, become introvert, self-direct, and observe peace.

Apart from asana, it can also be acquired using the following techniques:

  • Looking at nature – sea, sky, greenery, flowing river water.
  • Listen to nature – soft music, stream flowing, birds chirping, breeze
  • Reading stories like Panchatantra, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, or any other books with a positive message
  • Prayers
  1. Jnana (Knowledge)

Image 2- second pose

Jnana is knowledge and is recognized as concentration, coordination, body awareness, self-knowledge and clarity.

Do you desire to have a good concentration? How much? How often are you able to balance your work and home life? If you find this challenging, follow these techniques:

The asanas which helps to achieve the same are Utkatasana, Ekpadasana, Stithprarthasana, Pranayama, and Tadasana.

Other techniques include focusing on one point, playing brain games, and self-analysis.

  1. Vairagya (Humble)

Vairagya is objectivity. This is recognized as humbleness, relaxation, Letting go attitude, and surrender. It is an ability to view things from a distance. It helps to rise above the situation and view things in a detached way.

Few asanas which helps are Trikonasana, Yog-Mudra, Vakrasana, Konasana-3, and Shavasana.

3rd pose

Other techniques include

  • Scream loudly
  • Share jokes
  • Play physically aggressive games
  1. Aishwariya (Self-reliance)

Aishwariya is freedom and power. This is recognized as one’s willpower, determination, free from ignorance, fight for justice and higher motives.

It helps to build qualities like strength, effort, willpower, confidence, self-esteem and a sense of achievement.

Asanas include — Bhujangasana, Veerbhadrasana, back-bending postures, and nasal cleaning process.

The attitude of Aishwariya creates a feeling of enthusiasm.

image 4

Next time when you do asanas, generate these feelings in you. It works as a reminder all the time and that helps in faster and better growth.

Wish you All A very Happy International Yoga Day!

If this article helped you, let us know in the comments below! You can find more articles on yoga here. You can also join our live, interactive sessions on GOQii PRO where you will be guided in real time by an expert. Book a class now from the GOQii App.

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Cashew Nuts & it’s benefits

cashew-nuts

Cashew nuts are a favourite among all. These nuts are easily available and versatile, fitting perfectly into various occasions. They can be carried in your pocket and enjoyed on the go, as their fat content keeps you full for a longer time and helps you avoid snacking on unhealthy refined foods.

Originally native to Brazil, cashew nuts were brought to India by Portuguese explorers and now are widely grown in the coastal areas.

Despite being a healthy food, cashews are often avoided because they are perceived as high in fats and thus deemed unsuitable for frequent consumption, especially by those with heart conditions. However, these concerns are based on myths. Cashew are safe and healthy to consume. They contain monounsaturated fatty acid, Oleic acid which helps  lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase good cholesterol (HDL).

Cashew nuts also contain several B-complex vitamins like Pyridoxine, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin & Niacin. These vitamins play a major role in the metabolism of Carbohydrates, Proteins & Fats. Each has specific health benefits: Pyridoxine helps protect the heart by inhibiting cholesterol deposits, Niacin combats Dermatitis (a skin infection), Pantothenic acid relieves stress and promotes good skin & hair, and Riboflavin prevents acne and supports healthy eyes.

Given the numerous benefits of cashew nuts, there’s no reason to avoid them. While they are high in calories, moderation and proper timing can allow you to reap their benefits, including a healthy heart, good skin, healthy eyes, and anti-stress properties.

Cashews are best enjoyed as a snack. Roast them and have about a fistful between meals, pre- or post-workout, during or after a trek or game.

If you found this article on the benefits of cashew nuts helpful and would like to share your thoughts or have more questions, please feel free to leave a comment below. For further insights and tips on maintaining a nutritious diet, checkout Healthy Reads or speak to a certified expert by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

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Bite these Snacks if you are diabetic

Planning three times meals for a diabetic is not a difficult task but, snacking options is what they lack information in. I personally realised this when I was planning a menu for my Mom who is a diabetic. I prepare meals for her and I tried every possible new dish, a recipe that I knew. However, after a point, it was a task for me. Finding snack option was like most of them were packed with carbs and this raises the insulin levels.

Then I researched on the same and got these healthy snacking options. These can help other diabetics too. The key is to choose snacks that are high in protein, high in fibre and healthy fats so that it keeps you a full until your next meal. The choice of food should be nutrient dense.

hard boiled eggs

  1. Hard-boiled Eggs: Why this? Because its protein content really shines and perfect to slow down the spike in blood sugar levels.

yogurt with berries

  1. Yoghurt with Berries: It’s an excellent diabetic friendly snack. Its rich in antioxidant prevents damage to cells of the pancreas. Their high flavonoid content helps with regular blood sugar. Limit to one serving per day.

nuts and seeds

  1. Nuts and Seeds: Nuts like almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios are perfect on the go snack. They are high in good fats, good carbs and a lot of fibre for appetite control. You can opt for seeds like pumpkin, flaxseed, sunflower. Grab around 15 (a small handful) and make sure not to go overboard, because they are high in calories.

hummus-raw-vegetables

  1. Hummus with Raw Veggies: This is another delicious snack that diabetics can enjoy without any guilt. Hummus is high in fibre and healthy fats and low in carbs. Take around 1/3 of a cup of hummus and dip with bell peppers, carrots, cucumber, celery, or broccoli.

avocado

  1. Avacado: Perfect snack option! The high fibre content and mono-saturated fatty acids in avocado make it diabetic friendly, preventing blood sugar to spike high! Since its high in calories, restrict to half or one-fourth avocado at one time.

apples with peanut butter

  1. Sliced Apples with Peanut Butter: Yummy! You can eat any fruit simply or have it with peanut butter. Apple is rich in Vitamin C, B and Potassium while peanut butter is rich Vitamin E, Magnesium and Manganese. All of which is known to help manage Diabetes. Both are rich in fibre. The polyphenol antioxidants they contain are thought to protect pancreatic cells from damage that often worsens diabetes.

beet and carrort

  1. Beet and Carrot sticks: Simple, easy, and basic is sometimes the best. Perfect office carrying snack. The beta-carotene, fibre, and antioxidants will help to level blood sugar and keep you feeling full. 8-12 carrot is a good amount to go.

boiled beans

  1. Boiled Beans: Super healthy and filler to curb your hunger pangs. Beans are an excellent source of antioxidants, Fibre, Protein, B Vitamins, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper and Zinc. Consuming them prevent blood sugar spikes and help lower insulin levels after meals.

edamame

  1. Edamame: They are unripe, green soybeans that are still in their pods. They are a very nutritious and convenient snack. It improves insulin resistance. It is typically served steamed, and you can enhance its flavour by mixing it with seasonings of your choice.

chicken and veg soup

  1. Chicken and Veggie soup: It’s like chicken noodle soup, but skip the noodles!  Use chicken and any and all low carbohydrate vegetables you can think of. Seriously, it would be hard to go wrong. The high protein intake, water, and fibre from the veggies make it one of the most satiating and diabetic friendly snacks around.

protein bars

  1. Protein bars / Protein powder: They are a great snack option for diabetics due to the amount of protein they provide. They are quite filling too. You can make protein bars homemade by using peanut butter, whey protein and oats flour. To add sweetness you can use a small amount of raw organic honey or add dates/figs.

cchia seed pudding

  1. Chia seed pudding: Chia seed pudding is made by soaking chia seeds in milk until the mixture achieves a pudding-like consistency. It’s a healthy snack for people with diabetes because chia seeds are rich in many nutrients that help stabilize blood sugar, including protein, fibre and omega-3 fatty acids  The fibre in chia seeds can absorb a significant amount of water, which may help control diabetes by slowing down the digestion process and release of sugar into the blood

popcorn

  1. Popcorn: Air-popped popcorn made with coconut oil is one of the best healthy snacks for diabetics. It’s high in fibre and can easily be made in about 5 minutes on the stove. Sprinkle a bit of rock salt and enjoy!

Tuna roll 1

  1. For NON VEG lovers – Tuna and Turkey roll up is a great handy snack. They are essentially a breadless sandwich wrap consisting of turkey breast slices wrapped around low-carb contents of your choice, such as cheese and veggies. Because of its high protein content. It prevents your blood sugar levels from rising too high

Snack your way and keep blood sugar under control. Stay healthy and happy!

We hope these snack ideas help you manage your diabetes more effectively while keeping your taste buds satisfied. Remember, the key to maintaining stable blood sugar levels is choosing snacks that are high in protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Stay healthy and happy by incorporating these nutritious options into your diet. For more tips on managing diabetes and healthy snacking, check out Healthy Reads or consult a GOQii Coach by subscribing to Personalised Health Coaching here.

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