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

Healing Hands: 5 Hand Yoga Mudras To The Rescue

Everyone 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

1. Jnana/Gyan Mudra

In 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

June 15, 2023 By GOQii 1 Comment

वजन कम करने के लिए 11 आसान आदतें

एक लाइफस्टाइल कोच और वेट मैनेजमेंट विशेषज्ञ के रूप में, मैं अक्सर लोगों को वजन कम करने के लिए संघर्ष करते हुए देखता हूं। अपने पिछले लेख में, मैंने 11 अन्हेल्थी आदतें जो आपके स्वास्थ्य को नष्ट कर रही हैं, पर अपने विचार साझा किये थे। मुझे उम्मीद है की आपने उन्हें पढ़ लिया होगा, आज मैं कुछ ऐसी आसान आदतें आपके साथ साझा करने जा रहा हूँ जिन्हें अपना कर आप अपना वजन आसानी से कम कर सकते हैं! छोटी-छोटी कोशिशों और अपनी आदतों में छोटे-छोटे बदलाव करके आप अपने वजन घटाने के लक्ष्य को आसानी से हासिल कर सकते हैं।

स्वस्थ रहने के लिए 11 आदतें

फूड लेबल पढ़ें: खाने के लेबल पढ़ने से आपको भोजन के सही विकल्प चुनने में मदद मिलती है! यह कुछ मेडिकल कंडीशंस जैसे मधुमेह (डायबिटीज), उच्च रक्तचाप (हाई ब्लड प्रेशर) और उच्च कोलेस्ट्रॉल (हाई कोलेस्ट्रॉल) आदि में मदद करता है, जिससे आपको ऐसे प्रोडक्ट्स से बचने में मदद मिलती है, जो इन स्थितियों को बढ़ा सकते हैं। लेबल पर सबसे बड़ी मात्रा सबसे पहले आती है। एक उत्पाद जिसमें चीनी या कॉर्न सिरप को उसकी पहली सामग्री (फर्स्ट इंग्रेडिएंट्स) के रूप में सूचीबद्ध किया गया हो, वह हमेशा कैलोरी में उच्च होगा।
एक फूड जर्नल बनाए: एक फ़ूड जर्नल बनाना शुरू करें। यदि उपरोक्त आदत के बावजूद भी, यदि आपका वजन कम नहीं हुआ है, तो अपना एक फूड जर्नल बनाना शुरू करें। यह आपके भोजन और पेय पदार्थों के सेवन को ट्रैक करने में आपकी सहायता करेगा। तब आप आसानी से यह तय कर सकते हैं कि आपको अतिरिक्त कैलोरी में कटौती करने की आवश्यकता कहां है, जिसने आपके वजन घटाने के लक्ष्यों को प्रभावित किया है।
अपने दिन की शुरुआत प्रोटीन से करें: हम नाश्ते कि महत्वता को समझ ठीक से समझ नहीं पाते! इसे कभी न छोड़ें। उच्च प्रोटीन वाला नाश्ता खाने से हमें क्रेविंग पर अंकुश लगाने और वजन घटाने में मदद मिलती है। अपने नाश्ते में मेवे, बीज, जई, पनीर, दही, छाछ और अंडे शामिल करके अपने दिन की शुरुआत करें।
धीरे-धीरे खाएं और अधिक चबाएं: पूरी पाचन प्रक्रिया मुंह में चबाने से शुरू होती है। आप जितनी तेजी से खायेंगे, आप उतना ही ज्यादा खाना खायेंगे। भोजन को धीमी गति से चबाकर खाने से आपको समग्र भोजन का सेवन कम करने में मदद मिल सकती है। यह आपके द्वारा खाए जाने वाले भोजन से अधिक पोषक तत्व प्राप्त करने में भी आपकी मदद करता है।
डिनर आपका अंतिम भोजन होना चाहिए: बोरियत या तनाव के कारण अक्सर हमारी अन्हेल्थी स्नैकिंग हो जाती है! लोग अक्सर भूख न लगने पर भी बोरियत या तनाव के कारण बाहर कुछ भी खा लेते हैं। अगर आपको रात के खाने के बाद भी भूख लगती है, तो हल्के, स्वस्थ विकल्पों के लिए जाएं जो फाइबर और प्रोटीन से भरपूर होते हैं जैसे कि नट्स, साबुत अनाज, फलियां, ह्यूमस, दही, एयर-पॉप्ड पॉपकॉर्न आदि।
खाना न छोड़ें: खाना स्किप करने से आपका मेटाबॉलिज्म धीमा हो सकता है, जिससे वजन कम करना मुश्किल हो जाता है। यदि आप अपने खाने को स्किप करते हैं तो यह आदत आपको अन्हेल्थी भोजन विकल्पों, अधिक खाने और मोटापे की ओर आकर्षित करने लगता है। जब आप पर्याप्त भोजन नहीं करते हैं, तो आपकी मांसपेशियों की वृद्धि, हड्डियों के स्वास्थ्य और इम्यून सिस्टम के लिए आवश्यक पोषक तत्व नहीं मिलते हैं, जिससे थकान, बालों का झड़ना और लौ इम्युनिटी जैसी समस्याएं होती हैं।
भोजन करते समय टीवी और गैजेट्स से दूर रहें: काम करते समय या टीवी देखते समय भोजन करना आपके स्वास्थ्य पर हानिकारक प्रभाव डालता है। यदि आपका सम्पूर्ण ध्यान आप जो खा रहे हैं उसपर होगा तो आप सही ओर हेअल्थी भोजन का विकल्प चुन पाएंगे। खाने कि ओर ध्यान रकने से आप अपने भोजन के महक, स्वाद ओर टेक्सचर का पूरा आनंद ले पायंगे।
छोटी प्लेटों का प्रयोग करें: छोटी प्लेटों का उपयोग करने से खाने की मात्रा को नियंत्रित करने में मदद मिलती है। यह आपको पोरशन कंट्रोल बनाए रखने में मदद करता है। बड़ी प्लेटों का उपयोग करने से अक्सर ज़्यादा खाना पड़ता है। अगर आप बाहर खाना खा रहे हैं, तो आप हमेशा आधा हिस्सा मांग सकते हैं। इससे काफी कैलोरी बचेगी और आप ओवरईटिंग से बच जायेंगे।
8 घंटे की नींद का लक्ष्य रखें: नींद की कमी होना आपके अधिक कैलोरी सेवन से पूरी तरह जुड़ा है। जल्दी सोने और 8 घंटे की नींद लेने से वजन कम करने में मदद मिलती है। पर्याप्त नींद के बिना भोजन और व्यायाम के बारे में सोचना उपयुक्त नहीं है। यदि आप देर तक जागते हैं, तो आप निश्चित रूप से अधिक खायेंगे।
खूब पानी पिएं: पानी का सेवन बढ़ाने से आपकी भूख कम होती है और वजन कम करने में मदद मिलती है। रोजाना 2-3 लीटर पानी पीने से आपके शरीर से टॉक्सिन्स को बाहर निकालने में मदद मिलती है और आपको तृप्ति का भी एहसास होता है! अपने आप को हमेशा अच्छी तरह से हाइड्रेटेड रखें!
अधिक मूव करें: वजन और अच्छे स्वास्थ्य को बनाए रखने के लिए नियमित शारीरिक गतिविधि आवश्यक है। नियमित शारीरिक गतिविधि मांसपेशियों की ताकत में सुधार कर सकती है और मेटाबोलिज्म को बढ़ावा दे सकती है। आपके वर्कआउट के आधार पर, यह या तो वजन बढ़ने से रोक सकता है या आपको अपना वजन बनाए रखने में मदद कर सकता है।

हमें उम्मीद है कि इस लेख ने आपकी मदद की है! नीचे टिप्पणी में अपने विचार छोड़ दें! वजन कम करने के लिए और टिप्स और ट्रिक्स जानने के लिए, हेल्दी रीड्स देखें या यहां पेर्सनलिज़्ड हेल्थ कोचिंग के लिए सब्सक्राइब करके GOQii कोच से पूछें: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

June 10, 2023 By GOQii Leave a Comment

How Nitya Kishore Upadhyay Lost 12kg In 6 Months With GOQii

Are morning walks by themselves a miracle cure for health issues? Can they help manage and lower cholesterol levels or help you lose weight? Managing lifestyle diseases requires a combination of lifestyle changes, and there’s no room for guesswork. This is what our player, Nitya Kishore Upadhyay, figured out when he joined GOQii. Let’s take a look at how his health story unfolded.

Managing Weight & Cholesterol Issues With Morning Walks

As an employee for a pharmaceutical company, Nitya Kishore Upadhyay was always surrounded by doctors and healthcare professionals. He used to do a blood test every six months. Being in sales and marketing, he was on-field most of the time and used to eat out. As a result, he was overweight and also had a history of high cholesterol and vitamin B12 deficiency.

To manage these conditions, he used to take morning walks, but they barely helped. He was using another company’s fitness tracker but didn’t find much use for it because, apart from the data on the device, there was no one there to guide him.

He wanted a device that did more than just track steps. So he began searching for a solution online and came across GOQii. After some research, he purchased a tracker and subscribed to GOQii’s personalized health coaching plan.

Interacting With A Coach & Making Lifestyle Changes

After activating his coaching subscription and speaking with Coach Anukriti, he had no doubt that GOQii was the right choice for him. He says that he was impressed with the in depth guidance he received from his coach. His initial goal was to lose 8-10kg, manage his cholesterol and vitamin B12 deficiency.

Keeping that in mind, GOQii Coach Anukriti suggested that he increase the intensity of his morning walks. He asked him to clock in at least 10,000 steps a day. Along with walks, he was also asked to jog at intervals. Before, we would go for morning walks on an empty stomach, but Coach Anukriti suggested that he eat sabja seeds and begin his morning with lemon water.

She set up a morning breakfast routine, midmorning fruits, and also guided him on what to eat and avoid. Along his health journey, they used to make frequent calls and change his routine as per his schedule. Slowly, he was asked to add more salads to his meals. Later, the sabja seeds were replaced with jeera water – which helped him greatly, he says.

He was also introduced to intermittent fasting, which he says benefited him a lot. Apart from this, based on his schedule, he was also suggested exercises he could perform and was asked to meditate as well.

Right from the beginning of his journey with GOQii, Nitya Kishore says that everyone in the GOQii ecosystem was helpful. Even the classes he attended on GOQii PRO were detailed, and the coaches guided him well. He said that the coach was very understanding and introduced changes slowly as per his schedule and lifestyle, so it wasn’t too overwhelming for him to make changes suddenly.

How did these changes help Nitya Kishore Upadhyay?

Due to all these changes, Nitya Kishore managed to lose 12kg in 6 months. His cholesterol levels and Vitamin B12 levels are also normal. “Nityaji is a very good player and follows all my suggestions and habits regularly,” says Coach Anukriti. She further added that, “He is feeling more healthy and energetic than before.”

His friends and family say that he looks younger and more dynamic than before. He has also been actively advocating GOQii to his friends and family members. He says, “I want to thank Mr. Vishal Gondal for keeping such good people who guide and motivate others”.

He is impressed with GOQii and always appreciates how GOQii is working for people. Like Mr. Nitya Kishore Upadhyay, would you like GOQii to work for you as well? Know someone who needs help managing lifestyle conditions?

Well, visit the GOQii Store and subscribe to Personalised Health Coaching here to make a positive lifestyle change today!

You can also read more inspiring Health Stories here.

Stay healthy and #BeTheForce

June 9, 2023 By Mamta Joshi 4 Comments

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

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:

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.
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

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

Benefits Of This Diet

Helps maximize weight loss efforts
Reduces the risk of obesity
Improves digestive health
Improves metabolism
Improves sleep, mood and energy levels
Reduces inflammation in the body
Lowers the risk of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease
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.