GOQii

Blog

Search Results for: stress

By 2 Comments

Dandiya workouts- mix dance and fun with fitness


An Indian Festival without traditional food is like a Morning without sun. Since the festive season is back in India there are the greater chances of binging on sweets and savouries, which may result in gaining a few extra kilos! But, not to worry as Navratri is just around the corner and is one of the fun ways of keeping one fit, active, fresh and perhaps shed a few kilos.

Navaratri is one of the glitzy and noisiest festivals and commits huge participation of people every year across the nation. People swirl to the tunes of Garba and Dandiya in colourful attires; they strike wooden sticks to the rhythmic beats of Dandiya music in clockwise and anticlockwise movements. Though the devotional aspect of the dance is well documented, not many are aware that Dandiya is not only fun but also is an ideal way to keep in shape and banish stress.

According to fitness experts, it is an excellent form of exercise that is emotionally, mentally and physically satisfying. Apart from that, it burns as many calories as jogging or swimming. The dance forms in the Garba and Dandiya includes exercises like Shuffles, Squats, Jumping Jacks, Shoulder press and waist rotation

Some of the health benefits of Garba and Dandiya workouts include:

  • Flat Belly: Most of the people out there are looking for any kind of exercise to maintain their body mass index. Navratri is one of the best occasions to shed extra kilos. Garba and Dandiya workouts are a great way to lose fat especially around the belly. The continuous dance movements help performers lose an estimated 300 to 500 calories an hour depending on the intensity of the dance.
  • Improved Blood Circulation: Dandiya performance utilizes the muscles from head to toe which increases the blood circulation throughout the body and in turn nourishes the muscles. This provides immense health benefits similar to that of aerobic exercises. Moreover, Dandiya is recommended as a good cardio exercise as it requires a very fast pace which increases heart rate. The dance steps involved in Dandiya stimulate the central nervous system as it requires both hand and foot movements. Moreover, this dance form is very effective for reducing bad cholesterol LDL and blood sugar and increasing the good cholesterol HDL.
  • Relaxant: Dandiya acts as a greatest stress buster and helps in relaxation of mind. It releases endorphins or brain chemicals, which melts away tension and relaxes the mind, body and soul. This in turn makes people happy and is one of the major physiological benefits to overall well-being. In short, Dandiya Raas lifts one’s spirits and reduces stress.
  • Other benefits: Dandiya not just improves cardiovascular strength and physical agility, but it also helps improve gait and posture and develops a grace and elegance. It makes you more coordinated and teaches you to move more gracefully.  Also, Long hours at work, inadequate rest and a high level of stress take a toll on the quality of life. Garba and Dandiya are a social activity which enables the performer to develop co-ordination, concentration and team spirit as performers have to strike their sticks in a coordinated manner to the beat of the music. So to do this correctly and in rhythm, they have to be completely focused.

In conclusion, Dandiya is a novel alternative to aerobics and cardiovascular exercise. So what are you waiting for? Buy yourself the perfect Dandiya sticks and dance away towards better health and embrace yourself to the tunes of Garba music this Navratri!!

By 1 Comment

One-Stop Shop Workout – Swimming

swimming
Swimming is a sport or activity of propelling oneself through water using the limbs. Swimming is an activity that burns lots of calories, is easy on the joints, supports your weight, builds muscular strength and endurance, improves cardiovascular fitness, cools you off and refreshes you in summer, and one that you can do safely into old age.

Some people who enjoy swimming want to take it to a competitive level. This can provide the health benefits of a vigorous workout as well as the fun and thrill of competition. The main strokes used in competitive swimming are breaststroke, freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. The distances swum in competition swimming can vary from 50 meters in a pool to much further distances in open water such as the sea.

Swimming can offer people of all ages a huge range of health benefits. You might just feel and look younger, have stronger muscles, and (according to a long time swimmer) better hair. Although you might not have awesome, shiny and chlorine enriched hair, you can find at least ten other reasons to swim.

Swimming gives your body the workout minus the harsh impacts. Another benefit is the living longer factor. You prolong your life and have higher brain activity with a regular swimming program. Control your weight and have a healthier heart plus lower your risk of diabetes, stop asthma symptoms and have a higher quality of life.

Swimming is a great workout because you need to move your whole body against the resistance of the water. There are plenty of reasons to swim! Swimming is a good all-round activity because it:

  • Keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off your body
  • Builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness
  • Helps maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart and lungs
  • Tones muscles and builds strength
  • Provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming.

Swimming has many other benefits including:

  • Being a relaxing and peaceful form of exercise
  • Alleviating stress
  • Improving coordination, balance and posture
  • Improving flexibility
  • Providing good low-impact therapy for some injuries and conditions
  • Providing a pleasant way to cool down on a hot day
  • Being available in many places – you can swim in swimming pools, beaches, lakes, dams and rivers. Make sure that the environment you choose to swim in is safe.

Before you dive in, Make sure you know how to swim, choose a safe environment, warm up and stretch your muscles and joints before entering the water and don’t overdo it if you’re just starting out.

There you have it. Swimming is an activity that builds strength, endurance, and tones muscles. It’s an activity that you can do all year long, inside or outside, it burns lots of calories, you can share it with your family, it’s low-impact (just in case your bones are creaky), and you can do it until you’re 100! It’s not too late to start if you never learned how (learning new stuff is cool even when you’re adult!). All in all, swimming is a winner, and if you have the inclination, I suggest that you go for it!

By Leave a Comment

Nutrition – Exercise – Rest – Attitude

back-pain
Lower back pain?

Degeneration of the spine?

Lumbar disc problems?

Joint pain?

Body aches?

The common solution is popping a calcium or D3 supplement. It’s true though, a deficiency of these vitamins can cause all of the above, but there are many ways of looking at this.

You can be popping the best brand of supplements, but remember, it just does not work that way.

For calcium to get absorbed into the bones, your D3 levels have to be adequate. If it’s not, your calcium supplement is being wasted, so are the foods rich in calcium that you are consuming.

Furthermore, Vitamin K is such an ignored vitamin, but you should know, Vitamin K is needed for the bones to absorb Calcium. Vitamin K is found in dairy products and green leafy veggies.

So here’s how it works. For strong and healthy bones, joints and a super strong spine, you need sufficient calcium, D3 and Vitamin K for it to work effectively.

I should add in B12 as B12 is necessary for healthy bone marrow, and for the body and spine to grow sting and healthy.

Calcium, Vitamin K, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D3

A balanced diet should give you all of that.

Apart from nutrition, have a look at the points below.

Regular and smart exercise

Stretching , warm up and cool downs

Knowing your tiger muscles and working on flexibility

DO NOT SIT IN ONE PLACE FOR MORE THAN 30-45 MINUTES.

This is too much strain and stress on your lower back/sacrum and it leads to lower back, sciatica and lower body aches and pains.

Look for nutrition in fresh and real foods. Supplement only if you have to and if you have a deficiency.

The choice of preventing or healing yourself from pains as such, is all up to you. Nutrition – Exercise – Rest – Attitude

By Leave a Comment

Snacking- is it good or bad!

snacking
In today’s fast paced life, people have no time and hence compromise on their health by skipping major meals- breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes they tend to skip these meals leading to long gaps which gives rise to acidity, bloating and drops your metabolic rate. And as we all know that lower the metabolism, higher is the chance of gaining weight.

So it is always said to have small frequent meals to keep your metabolism at par. Most people complaint that they don’t have time to eat frequently as they are tied up with work. According to me, there are quite a few healthy things which are handy and can be kept at your desk like almonds/walnuts/raisins/roasted chanas/roasted soya beans/fruits for munching.  Snacking can be good at times. It turns a bad habit when people start binging in the name of snacking. There are many who unconsciously also binge on unhealthy items even if they are not hungry. This could be due to liking towards certain kinds of snack food.

Binging happens while watching television or surfing the computer. People don’t realise the quantity they are binging on. Some people have the bad habit of binging when they are stressed thus having an adverse effect on their weight.  Foods which are irresistible and commonly munched are popcorns, chips, wafers, chocolates and the likes which are not healthy options and eventually affect one’s weight.

On the other hand, munching between meals can actually reduce your overall calorie intake by curbing overeating in your next meal provided the quality and quantity is taken into consideration.

To avoid binging later, snacking healthy foods in small quantities can help you stay on track. You can actually use this to your advantage. If you know you are going out to a big dinner with friends or going to attend a party, try to eat something healthy at home like salads/soups/buttermilk before you leave home or office so that you tend to binge less in the party maintaining the portion size.

Even if you are snacking on healthy options, make sure you are controlling your portion size not exceeding the overall caloric intake. These days there are ample variety of wafers seeking children and adults attention! Eating such junk becomes a habit eventually not realizing the consequences later. So parents have to be well guided on ‘healthy snacking’.

 

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 […]