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Search Results for: pranayama

June 16, 2023 By Trupti Vyas (Pandya) 17 Comments

Healing Hands: 5 Hand Yoga Mudras To The Rescue

hand yogaEveryone knows about yoga and the benefits it can bring to your life. This ancient form of exercise started in India and has reached far and wide across the world. Since the pandemic, we’re always looking for new ways to be fit and active, given that health has now become a priority. I have a few ways on how we can be more active during the day and that’s Hand Yoga!

The importance of specific hand position is common in spiritual and healing arts tradition. India is home to perhaps the largest collection of such hand gestures. The Sanskrit word Mudra means gesture. These Hand gestures (Mudras) stimulates the flow of vital energy in unique ways, affecting organs, glands and nervous system of the body. Such gestures are mainly used while doing yoga postures (Asanas), Pranayama (breathing practices) and Meditation.

5 Hand Yoga Mudras & Their Benefits

The importance of specific hand position is common in spiritual and healing arts tradition. India is home to perhaps the largest collection of such hand gestures. The Sanskrit word Mudra means gesture. These Hand gestures (Mudras) stimulates the flow of vital energy in unique ways, affecting organs, glands and nervous system of the body. Such gestures are mainly used while doing yoga postures (Asanas), Pranayama (breathing practices) and Meditation.

1. Jnana/Gyan Mudra

hand yoga mudrasIn this Mudra, the thumb and index finger are touching and form a circle. The other three fingers are stretched casually. The palms are facing upwards. This Hand Yoga Mudra is known as the gesture of knowledge and wisdom. The Index Finger symbolizes the ego that is beaten by the universal wisdom, which is represented by thumb.

Benefits: 

  • Stimulates brain functions, the sense of touch and harmonizes the nervous system.
  • Calms the soul gives inner peace, promotes concentration as well as memory and helps in insomnia and depression.

2. Aakash Mudra

To perform this, the thumb and middle finger are brought together. The other fingers are casually stretching. Aakash stands for the element of room or ether.

Benefit:

  • It helps overcome obstacles and blockades related to stress in personal or professional life.
  • It also helps with heart diseases, toothache, a stiff jaw, ear ache and weight regulation, strengthening bones, intuition and awareness are strengthened and feeling and thoughts are cleansed.

3. Shunya Mudra

In this Hand Yoga Mudra, you bend your middle finger until it touches the ball below the thumb. The thumb performs light pressure on the middle finger. The other fingers are stretched. Put your hands, palms facing up, on your thighs. Sunya Means “sky” or “zero”.

Benefits

  • It has a healing effect on the ear area and helps with different issues such as ear aches, ringing in ears.
  • It can help with imbalance, dizziness, travel sickness, sea sickness and nausea brought by movement.
  • It helps in healing throat and nose infections.   

4. Surya Mudra

It is formed by folding the ring finger so that it touches the lower end of the thumb. The thumb pushes the ring finger slightly down and other fingers are casually stretched upwards. Surya Mudra activates the fire  element of the body.

Benefits

  • It activates metabolism, therefore, suited for people who want to lose body fat/weight and improve their cholesterol levels.
  • It helps heal cold by creating warmth inside the body.
  • It helps in strengthening the eyes and improves eyesight.

5. Jalodar Nashak Mudra

To perform this, the small finger is bent towards the thumb. The thumb pushes the small finger slightly down. The name of this hand gesture (Mudra) is made up of from three words Jal for “water”, Udar for “ stomach”and Nashak for “finish”. The small finger represent the water element.

Benefits: It reduces excess water in the body. Swelling, excessive salivation, watering eyes, runny nose and heavy periods are all reduced.

Apart From these 5 main Hand Yoga Mudras, the other important ones are Dhanyi Mudra – which is a classical mediation gesture where hands lay causally in your lap which gives feeling of contentment and Atmanjali or Namaskar which symbolizes gratefulness or respect which leads to inner balance.

You can try these Hand Yoga Mudras anywhere, at any time. Just relax and be gentle. Activating the energy in your hands will in turn activate the corresponding energy in the rest of your body and evoke a sense of overall vitality. If you are new to yogic practices, then these Hand Yoga Mudras will be a great way to start practicing.

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.

#BeTheForce

February 18, 2023 By GOQii 4 Comments

How Digvijay Singh Reversed Chronic BP Issues & Lost Weight With GOQii

Digvijay Singh

Do you feel that no matter what you do, you’re unable to lose weight? You go for walks, meditate and even eat right but that scale doesn’t budge while lifestyle diseases plague you. Our Player Digvijay Singh was stuck in a similar predicament. 

Life Before GOQii 

Digvijay Singh, a 63 year old retired public sector professional from Nagpur, was always conscious about his health and lifestyle. He took regular walks and even practiced Pranayama but no matter what he did, he could not lose weight. He weighed around 90kg and suffered from chronic blood pressure issues. 

Introduction to GOQii & Making Lifestyle Changes 

During his anniversary in 2016, his daughters gifted him a GOQii device with 3 months of subscription. When he joined, his goal was to reduce weight and control his BP issues. While initially he faced difficulty, there was progress. 

Between 2016-2019, he says that his progress was quite slow. His BP was still high at 140/90 and cholesterol levels were out of range. To help him achieve his goal, his GOQii Coach introduced a few lifestyle changes which included: 

  • Normal walks, interval walks and strength training 
  • Consuming apple cider vinegar and salads to his meals 
  • Early dinner 
  • No processed foods 

Eventually, Digvijay Singh’s cholesterol levels and BP both came down to a normal range. His weight has reduced and has remained constant since then. He has been able to lose 12kg and go from 84 to 72 kg within 8 months. 

Digvijay Singh is happy with the fact that his GOQii journey that started 5 years back, is still continuing. He says that with his GOQii Coach’s advice, his lifestyle has completely changed. He further stated, “Basically what GOQii did was that it disciplined me”. 

His daughters say that he is an inspiration. He is disciplined and follows what his GOQii Coach says. His eating habits have also changed. They said that they are glad about how his health has improved, he has been able to control his BP and looks fitter than before! They said, “Now the entire family (extended) knows about GOQii because of Dada and it is his best gift to anyone he thinks needs it”. 

To understand Digvijay Singh’s journey, check out this session of GOQii Health Talks, where he and his family spoke to our Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal.

What Does Coach Monika Raj Have To Say About Digvijay Singh? 

Digvijay has been a great learner! He always follows the habits I set for him. When we first started, his blood pressure was high at 140/90 and cholesterol levels were out of range. Then slowly, we started with minor lifestyle modifications. In a span of time, his fat percentage ranging from 35% to 40%, came down to 25%. 

We started with walks that ranged from normal walking to interval walks and then strength training. He was so consistent in walking that I had to stop him and make his regime for just 5 days a week so that  he could rest and recover well. Since then  he has been able to maintain it well.

We added salads to his meals and made sure his dinner was light. I also asked him to consume Apple Cider Vinegar before lunch and dinner, less salt in meals and completely avoid processed foods among a few other changes. 

For the past 5 years, he has never missed salads in his meals and has never missed crossing 10k steps. I am really overwhelmed and motivated to see his efforts and consistency.  

Does this story inspire you? Did it sound relatable? Want to make a lifestyle change? If yes, then speak to your GOQii Coach today by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

To read more inspiring stories, check out Healthy Reads. 

#BeTheForce 

November 14, 2022 By Priyanka Mangla 3 Comments

The Early Signs & Symptoms of Diabetes

symptoms of diabetesDiabetes has become one of the most common lifestyle disorders affecting both, urban and rural areas alike. You can attribute this to overeating, obesity, stressful, busy and sedentary lifestyles which lead to the early symptoms of diabetes. This also includes lack of proper nutrition which leads to disturbed glucose metabolism. Heredity is also a major factor in the development of the disease. It is usually misunderstood that eating only refined sugar in excess will lead to diabetes but that’s not the case. Excess intake of proteins and fats also leads to development of diabetes because ultimately they are also metabolized and converted to glucose.

Diabetes is characterized by the elevated levels of glucose in the blood and urine. It is of 2 types:

  • Type 1: is present since birth due to complete absence of insulin 
  • Type 2: Develops later in life due to the deficiency of insulin

There are other variants too like gestational diabetes which occur during  pregnancy. Read more about it here: https://goqii.com/blog/what-gestational-diabetes-can-do-to-you-your-unborn-child/ 

Since untreated or uncontrolled diabetes gradually starts affecting the functioning of major organs of the body, like the heart, kidneys, brain, nervous system, eyes, etc. it is important to diagnose and manage diabetes as early as possible.  

How Can You Diagnose It? 

It is diagnosed by a blood test, in which the blood glucose in the fasting state (normal values range between 80-120 mg/100 ml of blood) and 2 hours after having the meal (normal values, 140 mg/100 ml of blood) are measured. Now, even before getting your blood glucose tested, there are certain signs and symptoms which our body shows which indicate the development of diabetes. 

Early Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes

  1. 3P’s: Polyphagia (increased hunger), polydipsia (increased thirst), polyuria (increased urination). Remember these 3 P’s and look out if you are experiencing these. 
  2. Loss of weight: In spite of increased hunger, there will be a very sharp loss of weight, which again is a warning symptom. This is happening because the glucose is getting lost in the urine, also due to insufficient insulin, the available glucose is not getting utilized to provide energy and to function, the body has started utilizing the glucose which is stored in the muscles and organs. 
  3. Getting tired: Loss of weight due to this condition leads to early tiredness. The person gets tired easily both mentally and physically. 
  4. Dry mouth: Despite drinking more water, there will be dryness in the mouth. 
  5. Paleness: appears because of anemia.
  6. Frequent infections and delayed healing of wounds: happens due to excess of glucose in the blood. 
  7. Loss of libido. 

In its early stages, we can easily prevent it from progressing further to a full blown Diabetes Mellitus with: 

  • Regular exercise: for a minimum of 30 minutes to maintain optimum weight. Engage yourself in light games. 
  • Proper diet: Which includes salads with meals (this slows down digestion and prevents an immediate spike in blood sugar levels) and excluding refined sugar, alcohol, smoking and high fat foods. 
  • Yoga & meditation: take care of the stress levels and curb the disease from getting any worse. Pranayama and certain yoga asanas like bhujangasana, sarvangasana and various others help in stimulating the pancreas to produce insulin . 

There are certain home remedies which can be used as a supportive measure. I want to discuss here the two most important ones. 

  1. Bitter gourd (Karela): is highly beneficial in the treatment of diabetes. It contains an insulin-like principle, known as plant-insulin which has been found effective in lowering the blood and urine sugar levels.
  2. Jambul fruit (Jamun): The seeds contain a glycoside ‘jamboline’ which has the power to check the pathological conversion of starch into sugar in cases of increased production of glucose. In the Homoeopathic system of medicine, we have a very effective medicine prepared from this fruit to treat diabetes. 

We hope this article helps you manage Diabetes and helps you spot the early signs and symptoms. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on managing Diabetes, check out Healthy Reads. 

For further guidance and motivation by certified experts, join the GOQii Diabetes Care program. It’s India’s only diabetes program that is driven by Smart Science and Personal Coaching to improve Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Postprandial Blood Sugar (PP), and reduce HbA1c levels. You can subscribe here: https://store.goqii.com/diabetescare.

#BeTheForce Against Diabetes! 

November 10, 2022 By Mubasheera Chaiwala 1 Comment

5 Yoga Poses To Detoxify Your Liver

detoxify your liverThe liver is the only organ in the human body that can regenerate itself! The liver’s primary function is detoxification. The other organs like intestines, kidneys and lungs work together with the liver to ensure that toxins are transformed into less harmful substances and excreted from the body via urine, stools, sweat or breath. A regular cleansing of these organs is essential to make sure they function smoothly. So, how do you detoxify your liver? It’s simple! You can detoxify your liver by correcting your lifestyle! That’s where yoga comes into the picture. 

How Can Yoga Help Detoxify Your Liver? 

There are a few asanas that stimulate the digestive system and massage the internal organs such as the liver. They make the abdominal muscles stronger and elastic. They are also effective in the proper removal of waste materials. It’s always good to incorporate some form of a twist into your yoga practice. Twists detoxify  and rehydrate your spinal column while releasing any tension from bad posture. With proper alignment, twist variations can also reduce back pain and improve digestion. Include these twist variations in your yoga routine to stimulate your liver, which in turn will help it function better along with other digestive organs and muscles.

1. Paschimottanasanadetoxify your liver

  • Sit up with the legs stretched out straight in front of you on the floor.
  • Keep the spine erect and toes flexed towards you.
  • Slowly raise both the arms straight above your head and stretch up.
  • Slowly breathe out and bend forward from the hip joint, chin moving toward the toes keeping the spine erect.
  • Place your hands on your legs, wherever they reach, without putting much effort.

 2. Ardha Chakrasana
Ardha Chakrasana can be done in different variations. Both the bending asanas have varied benefits.

  • First take the tadasana position, raising your hands while you’re inhaling.
  • Now, place your both hands on the backside of your hips.
  • Breathe in and try to slowly backbend your upper body 

 3. Bhujangasana

  • Lie down on a  mat in a prone position. Keep your feet together.
  • Now, place your hands on the floor at the level of your chest,
  • Next, raise your upper body, Extend through and deepen your stretch to create a graceful arc in your back.

4. Shashankasana
Shashankasana is one of the postures which is very easy to perform. There are some variations of shashankasana.  One can do as per their comfort.

  • Sit comfortably in Vajrasana and keep your palms on your thighs.
  • Inhale and raise your hand straight upwards and stretch.
  • Now exhale and bend forward.
  • Touch your nose or chin to the ground.
  • Keep your arms stretched and palms on the ground.

 5. Anulom Vilom
I know this is not an asana , but a Pranayama practice. I am including this because of the benefits this breathing practice has on our body internally and externally. Oxygen is pure and required by the body for every single process to take place and therefore it is vital for us to breath right and lom vilom serves the purpose, also it is my favourite !

  • Close the right nostril with the right thumb. Inhale slowly through the left nostril.
  • Remove your thumb from your right nostril, as you remove your thumb from your right nostril just exhale.
  • When you exhale use your middle finger to close your left nostril then inhale with your right nostril and remove the thumb from the right nostril then exhale. Repeat this process .

There are many other poses which have varied benefits. These are a few which are simple and can be performed at home. It is advisable to perform the practice as per one’s body’s capacity and avoid going beyond or forcing the body. Do consult your doctor before you begin any yoga practice. 

We hope these yoga poses to detoxify your liver help you! Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more on yoga, check out Healthy Reads or join an expert on a live, interactive session on GOQii PRO within the GOQii App. 

#BeTheForce  

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