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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

August 19, 2021 By Kusum Soni Leave a Comment

How Garlic Can Help Boost Your Immunity

At some point you might have observed how some people rarely fall ill and even if they do fall ill, they recover in no time. Whereas, some people belonging to the same gender, age, and sometimes even same family, fall sick frequently and take time to recover. Ever wondered why? The answer is simple – immunity! We’re well aware that the immune system defends our body against infections and a compromised immune system can’t protect us! Hence, we must focus on building good immunity! This can easily be achieved with the food we eat and one of the foods that can help us is Garlic!

Garlic is loaded with nutrients, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, antifungal and antioxidant properties. Studies have shown that it can enhance immune cell function which reduces the severity of an infection.

Benefits of Garlic

It contains allicin, which acts as an immunity booster and an antioxidant that helps stop infections, and the spread of bacteria and air-borne viruses.
It is beneficial to your digestive health. A healthy gut enhances our immune system and reduces the risk of infection.
It supports your liver to effectively carry out detoxification.
It contains vitamin B & C, that fights off cold and cough.
It has proteins, minerals, the sulfur-containing compounds alliin, ajoene, daily sulfide and dithiin, and different enzymes, which makes garlic a “Healing Powerhouse”.

How Do You Use It In Your Diet?

You can enjoy garlic’s nutrients by slicing or crushing a whole clove and eating it raw, immediately, as allicin is unstable and loses its medicinal properties quickly.

You may also try adding raw crushed or chopped garlic, to:

Salad dressings
Soups as a garnish
Vegetable smoothies with other herbs
Peanut butter and apply on roti
Curd or vegetable raita
Coriander/mint chutney

Please note that cooking may cause loss of health benefits due to high temperatures. However, it was noted that crushing it and allowing it to stand for 10 minutes before cooking and by increasing the amount of garlic used in a recipe, one can compensate for the loss of its medicinal properties.

One can also go for garlic supplements like powdered garlic, aged garlic extract and/or garlic oil. However, one needs to be cautious, since there are no regulated standards for its supplements. You can also go for 2-3 raw garlic cloves a day.

A word of caution here is that garlic might reduce your platelet aggregation. People with serious bacterial/viral infections or taking anticoagulant medication/blood thinners need to be cautioned about consuming it. So consult your doctor, nutritionist or dietitian before adding it to your meals.

For more topics on Nutrition, check out Healthy Reads. To get these facts about food, nutrition and more, subscribe to personalized coaching and ask your GOQii Coach directly: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Keep your immunity levels up and #BeTheForce!

August 7, 2021 By GOQii Leave a Comment

Rudresh Basavarajappa Beats Insomnia With Simple Lifestyle Changes From GOQii

Sometimes, our health issues seem overbearing and we’re unable to break free. These illnesses can cripple our ability to function normally. While some issues require medical assistance, there are some that can be fixed with simple lifestyle changes. Our player Rudresh Basavarajappa suffered from insomnia for the longest time till he found GOQii and his life changed completely.

Before GOQii

Rudresh Basvarajappa is an entrepreneur based in Bengaluru. He runs a software company that employs 200 people. He had been battling sleep issues for a long time. He would sleep only for 20 minutes to half an hour. This lack of sleep affected his personal and professional life. Along with insomnia, he was also battling the loss of an untimely death of his brother-in-law and business partner.

His insomnia issue created complications such as shivering of his hands and legs. He had gravitational Oedema. Due to gravitational oedema, he could not walk or even wear his shoes due to the pain. It affected his sleep further. Moreover, he was also smoking around 20 cigarettes a day.

He visited a doctor and after numerous tests, they could not arrive at any conclusion. He was prescribed sleeping pills. As 1 dose did not work, he had to up it to 2. This didn’t work for him either.

Making a Shift With GOQii

After trying everything possible, Rudresh Basvarajappa came across a GOQii ad in the newspaper. He was intrigued that it was a Make in India product – of which he is a fan. Since it was during the pandemic, he found the features to track SpO2, temperature and other vital parameters very useful.

Since he got the tracker, he hadn’t selected a coach for almost 2-3 months as he did not believe in coaches. In due time, he had to forcefully select a coach and opted for Coach Nishreen. Despite his earlier qualms about coaching, he says that the GOQii Coach was the best thing that happened to him. Within a month he witnessed positive results and was able to sleep properly.

He says, “The GOQii Coach is like a god to me. The Coach was very perseverant. Slowly and steadily she introduced activities and food changes. Now, I walk 10km a day and I sleep 7-8 hours a day. My sleep is regular. My wife and son who are fitness freaks also noticed these positive changes in me. Then my wife wanted my son to be on GOQii as well . But I wanted the same coach for him too. Glad that now Nishreen is both mine as well as my son’s coach.”

What Does Coach Nishreen have to say about Rudresh Basvarajappa?

Rudresh was very focused, determined and committed when he came onboard. He just had one thing in mind, that is to lead a healthy lifestyle. He joined GOQii to reduce his stress, improve sleep as he used to take 2 sleeping pills and reduce gravitational oedema – a gravity-related swelling in the lower body. He smoked 20 cigarettes everyday.

He had done all the possible tests as suggested by senior doctors but couldn’t come to a conclusion. This was adding to his stress as he couldn’t wear appropriate footwear and thus, further disturbing his sleep cycle.

After our first call we decided to make simple lifestyle changes like starting Pranayama to relax his mind, reducing the number of cigarettes as he was keen to quit smoking and some leg raise exercise to improve blood circulation. He had a passion for exercises, so he enjoyed his morning walks.

Over the span of 2 months, he could see reduction in swelling and great improvement in sleep. We were able to cross each and every milestone in his health journey up to date. He is able to sleep immediately as pranayama is a medicine for sleep, he has quit smoking and oedema in his legs is almost NIL! He’s very honest and disciplined. So he adheres to any changes and accepts them without complaint. He maintains a two way communication and shares his updates with me every day!

Recently, Rudresh Basvarajappa appeared as a guest on GOQii Health Talks and shared his journey with our Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal. You can watch the entire live session here:

For more inspiring stories, check out Healthy Reads! To get your own GOQii Coach, sign up for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

August 4, 2021 By Dr. Viral Thakkar Leave a Comment

9 Steps For Building and Mainting Immunity

In the wake of the ongoing pandemic, maintaining one’s immunity has become a must. However, even if not for any random virus flying off, one’s immunity is the biggest strength against any onslaught of a virus and bacteria. Taking care of one’s self is a lifestyle. It must be down as a means to protect one’s body. I’m writing this article touching on a few aspects of maintaining one’s immunity. Since these worked for me, I believe it might work for you all as well. Being healthy has to be imbibed in one’s lifestyle just so no virus or bacteria can affect you.

How Do You Build Immunity?

If only maintaining immunity was as easy as popping a pill, life would have been a bed of roses. But it’s not! You have to work for it to earn it. One’s immunity depends on the way one is born, to one’s genes! But, we are talking about factors which are in one’s hands. The thumb rule is to listen to your body, it never lies. And, most of what your grandmother said was right in terms of health… keeping all that aside, here are a few quick tips to build up your immunity.

No Stress & Yes to Happiness: Stress can wreck any organ in your body. Let go and be happy. Remember, if you are stressed over Corona, you are at risk. A happy and positive person is less likely to fall sick usually.
Maintain Personal Hygiene: Wash your hands with soap before and after eating, bathe, wear breathable clothing and follow all the instructions in basic science textbooks of a 2-3 class child. It will help to prevent a lot of infections!
Seasonal Vegetables and Fruits: Every area is known for its own vegetables and fruits as per the season. For instance, the Saag in North India is awesome during winters. It’s a must have. And yet you get it during summers in some regions. That’s a big no! Watermelon is a fruit of the summer. It is best to have it at that time.
Home cooked food is the best because there is no adulteration. It should be cooked by a healthy person who has no infectious disease, be it your maid, or a house member. I strongly believe that basic hygiene like washing hands before touching food, washing the vegetables before cutting, etc. must be followed. In fact, these are taught in our curriculum in primary sections!
Back to Basics: Consume natural food, have good nutrition and avoid unnecessary medication. By natural food I mean raw vegetables and fruits. Refer to your doctor/nutritionist for your diet plan if you are unable to do so.
Daadi maa ke nuskhe (Grandmother’s Secret Recipes) might just work better than medications for basic ailments like cough and cold. See what works best for your body. As a child, I remember my mother giving me ginger juice mixed with honey every day in the morning during winters. I hardly had a runny nose during childhood. When I grew up, teenage took over and the orthodox medicine said that medicine is the best cure, but it didn’t work for me. Even at this age, ginger juice and honey is my prevention from cough and cold and I’ve no idea why it works for me! Try and find what your remedy is!
With respect to air borne infections, we need to protect our body, especially the orifices from where we breathe. So for the nose, take very little cow ghee/castor oil/any kachhi ghanni (cold pressed) oil and rub it inside your nostrils. The thick ghee captures the dirt and germs in the nostrils itself. For your skin, apply virgin pressed coconut oil.
Sun is a Friend: Basking in the morning sun is good. Don’t overdo it but remember that the sun is the best and the strongest natural disinfectant. So if you do not have a medical condition, and if the doctor has not advised otherwise, make the sun your friend. I do not deny the ugliness of buildings since people dry their clothes outside, but remember one’s clothes are best disinfected in the sun.
Exercise: Are you a yoga person, jogger, swimmer or gymmer? See what suits your body and get into shape. Pranayam though must be followed by all.

We hope this helps you build and maintain your immunity against the coronavirus. For more articles on immunity, nutrition and the coronavirus, check out Healthy Reads. To get these tips directly from your GOQii Coach, sign up for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Stay safe, stay healthy and #BeTheForce