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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.

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What Is The Circadian Rhythm Diet & How Does It Help?

circadian rhythm diet

Have you heard about the Circadian Rhythm Diet or the 7am to 7pm diet and the recommended dietary habits & restrictions it involves? Surprisingly, there are no dos and don’ts on eating. It’s  all about when you should eat. The basic idea of this diet is to reset meal timings to the same one as our ancestors i.e. between sunrise and sunset – basically scheduling meals during daylight hours. 

Circadian Rhythm Diet also known as Body Clock Diet is basically a form of time restricted eating plan where we eat in sync with the body’s internal clock which gets regulated by change within the environment, mainly, light and darkness, and are controlled by a small area in the middle of the brain. This can affect metabolism, hunger, sleep, body temperature and other bodily functions.

The hormone cortisol, also known as the “get up and go” hormone is linked with body metabolism and hence weight. It rises and falls during the course of the day.  If someone eats when metabolism is at peak, calories consumed would be utilized well and not deposited as fat. On the other hand, food eaten at the wrong time may lead to weight gain.

Circadian rhythm is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats every 24 hours and can be divided into 2 phases:

  1. Eating and metabolizing phase: Metabolism is high when cortisol is at its peak and slow when cortisol levels are down. The body releases cortisol naturally twice per day: once in the early morning and later in the evening and at that time, the stomach too is ready with the right amount of hormones and digestive enzymes and even good gut microbes to digest the food. So for health benefits eat with the Sun. In response to daylight, cortisol rises, insulin sensitivity increases and melatonin decreases, making one feel active and energized. Cortisol supports thyroid function and metabolism, and contributes to the energy needed  to complete daily tasks.
  2. Resting  and healing phase: When the sun sets, the body naturally wants to wind up and prepare for sleep. The sleep inducing hormone melatonin rises up, while cortisol and insulin sensitivity reduces. So food consumed later at night when cortisol levels are decreasing is more likely to be stored as fat.

As soon as one finishes dinner, the body slowly gets slow on metabolism, the body clock resets, going into repair and rejuvenation mode so that damaged cells can be repaired and replaced with healthy new cells and allergy causing chemicals or pathogens cannot attack the body. Thus, late night munching leads to weight gain and it disrupts the body’s natural healing mechanism too. 

Highlights Of The Circadian Rhythm Diet 

  1. Eat during daylight.
  2. Have breakfast and lunch as the biggest meals of the day, and dinner, the smallest.
  3. Have about 75% of nutrition before 3 pm
  4. Do not eat anything post dinner.

Benefits Of This Diet 

  1. Helps maximize weight loss efforts
  2. Reduces the risk of obesity
  3. Improves digestive health
  4. Improves metabolism
  5. Improves sleep, mood and energy levels
  6. Reduces inflammation in the body
  7. Lowers the risk of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease
  8. Promotes longevity 

Those who schedule their meals between 12 hours (7 am to 7 pm) might have a much better circadian rhythm and health unlike those who delay dinner and eat within 15-16 hours (7am to 11pm or more). After 12-16 hours of fasting when we have the next meal i.e. breakfast – the body gets enough time to heal/repair as required. Don’t eat anything post dinner as the body enters the healing and rejuvenation mode. Compounds that encourage the inflammatory response rise at night. This is likely because the body is better at fighting infections while it is at rest, and energy can be poured into the effort, rather than into other functions like metabolism.

Even if the food choice & calorie consumed is the same, those who eat during daylight have better health than those who delay. Food at the wrong time can disturb the internal clock and break the metabolic balance in our body, and that can push us towards disease. Biological rhythms are meant to protect us. Disturbing this rhythm can lead to weight gain, hormonal issues, mental health issues, metabolic diseases like type -2 diabetes and heart problems. 

So do give this Circadian Rhythm Diet a go and let us know what you feel in the comments below! We hope this article helps you. For more informative articles such as this, check out Healthy Reads or you can get this information directly from a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here.

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How To Stay Healthy On A Vacation!

how to stay healthy on a vacationA vacation is a good time to enjoy and stay carefree but it can certainly take you a step back in your health and fitness journey, if you are not mindful. There’s no need to panic! We’ve got you covered with few effective yet practical things you can do to stay healthy on a vacation.

Tips To Stay Healthy On A Vacation 

  1. Hydrate: The most neglected part of your vacation routine is your water intake. When you are low on hydration, you can take your body’s thirst urge as a hunger urge. This can make you snack more often and your portion control will vanish. So always keep a water bottle in your handbag or in your backpack and keep sipping every hour. This will avoid your hands on chips, and at the same time, will keep your stomach at its best.
  2. Carry your snacks: Never forget to carry simple homemade snacks. They are half the calories you are going to consume from chips, chocolates, cold drinks, etc. for sure. Pack almonds, walnuts, dates, raisins and at the same time some makhana, roasted peanuts, roasted chana, khakhra, homemade chivda, popcorn, etc. This will help you avoid unhealthy snacking and fueling the fat cells.
  3. Walk everywhere: Yes, your step counts should not fall while on vacation. Explore the place on your feet, take an opportunity to walk around and enjoy the serenity. Swim in the hotel pool, go hiking, walk around the market – indulge in everything which will pump up your metabolism. This way, you will avoid putting on extra weight even while vacationing.
  4. Eat only until 80% full: Understand your hunger cues even while on vacation. Do not overfeed yourself to get the goodness of food. For main meals, take only one main plate (avoid using quarter plates) and portion the food you like in a controlled manner and eat it very slowly. Be practical while choosing your food, do not keep impractical expectations of avoiding desserts/sweets. Eat, but in moderation and eat only until 80% full. Stop when you are uncomfortable. 
  5. Eat your breakfast: Do not skip your first meal of the day! Enjoy a healthy and heavy breakfast so you can keep your hands away from unhealthy snacks till late noon. This will satisfy your hunger hormones in the morning and will help you control your portions for later in the day. 
  6. Only one treat a day: How can you keep your hands off desserts, hot gulab jamuns, ice creams, etc. while vacationing? The truth is you really cannot but you should. Keep a rule of only 1 portion of any treat per day and not more. This will avoid the unnecessary sugar rush in your body, which will in turn spike your hunger hormones, which will lead to overeating even during your main meals. 

We hope these useful and doable tips and tricks will help you stay healthy on a vacation. Do let us know how you manage to stay healthy on a vacation in the comments below! You can find more tips such as this one, here. You can also get these healthy tips directly from a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here. 

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How Chronic Cardio Could be Making You Fat

chronic cardioHow often do you hit the gym and go ballistic on the treadmill? Quite often? We perfectly understand the need to run! Whether you’re running to train for a marathon, to reach a goal, chase a finish line, catch a departing train or bus, we understand how crucial running is… especially to stay fit!

But what happens when you go overboard? Do you actually cause more harm than good? You can literally run for your life and not even see an inch of a difference and sometimes, even the opposite – you’ve gained weight instead of losing it!

This can be a total nightmare for someone trying to lose weight. There’s a perfect explanation for it.

How Chronic Cardio Might be Making You Fat

1. Excessive cardio can increase stress in the body and increase your heart rate to increase blood flow to your muscles. When you do too much cardio, your stress hormones stay elevated. Some amount of stress can be good for the body, but when cortisol i.e. our stress hormone stays consistently high, it can create a lot of issues.

  • Stress can cause insulin resistance to circulate more glucose in the blood to supply energy for stress management. Insulin resistance not only means that you have more sugar in your blood than required, it also means that you store fat more easily as insulin promotes fat storage.
  • In stress, your body shuts down or slows down to fight stress effectively. Your thyroid function slows down, the levels of TSH is reduced in the body, which again promotes weight gain.
  • In women, stress can also disturb the menstruation cycle. Thus creating hormone imbalances in the body, thus promoting weight gain.
  • Chronic stress also promotes the storage of fat in the linings of our organs i.e. visceral fat, as a protection to our organs from stress. This again starts a vicious cycle of excess belly fat, insulin resistance, and more fat storage.

2. Chronic cardio can take a toll on our muscles. Chronic cardio not only burns fat, it burns muscle as well. Your muscle mass determines your metabolism and Basal Metabolic Rate. If you have more muscle, you burn more fat. So when you lose muscle, your metabolism drops and you do not burn as much fat anymore.

So, how do we get the most of our workout? Do a combination of cardio and weight training to promote muscle growth and fat burn. Also indulge in yoga and meditation on a regular basis for better stress management, better sleep and preventing the issues listed above.

We hope this article helps you and keeps you from going overboard. Remember that anything in excess is bad! Stay moderate and stay healthy!

If this information helped, let us know in the comments below. You can find more articles on fitness here. To level up your workouts and get the right guidance and motivation, you can join live, interactive sessions conducted by experts on GOQii PRO. Book a class via the GOQii App now.

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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 […]