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“I started a new life at 50 and I am thoroughly enjoying it” – Anitha Rao

100 Km accomplished.-Anitha with her team at Oxfam trailwalker

100 Km accomplished. – Anitha with her team at Oxfam trailwalker

She is fun loving, friendly, extremely energetic and young at 52. Anitha Rao has been able to prove that small steps can have a big impact. She took to running at the age of 50 and says she is thoroughly enjoying it. In the last one year, she has been participating in a few runs in the city on a regular basis. She also completed her first Oxfam Trail Walk last November in 39 hours and shows no signs of slowing down. “Stay fit, Stay healthy”, is what she says. Now, she is championing the GOQii Active Sunday mission in Bengaluru. Let’s read about Anitha Rao and her journey to fitness in her own words.

I did my first half marathon (21 km) last year at the age of 50 when a friend suggested I should run. Just loved it! The atmosphere, people cheering for you, and crossing the finish line after 2 hrs and 52 minutes felt so great. I was tired after that run the next day, but loved the way I felt.

It all began when I turned 50, I decided I was ready for a new challenge. Since I have always been an outdoor person, I made it my goal to be fit and complete as many runs as possible. I have run so many runs such as the Standard Chartered Mumbai Half Marathon since Jan 2015. Thereafter, I have done a couple of runs such as the DNA I CAN, Pinkathon, ICT, Foot Steps 4 Good, Chembur Monsoon run and more recently Radio Mirchi Neon Run.

I was working in the Travel Industry but due to my husband’s transferable job, and after the birth of my sons, I decided to enjoy motherhood. I became a homemaker and travel consultant working from home. My sons are now 24 and 18. I also realized I wanted to get back to doing some activities and get fit as I have always been sporty. Yoga and Swimming are a part of my regular activities even today.

But, I wanted to be more healthy and fit. Last year, I took up running seriously thanks to my friend Vijay Pillai, in my apartment building. I was not tracking my fitness and did not know what I was doing right or wrong.

How Did She Find GOQii?

I met Bela Gupta through my dear friend Geeta Singh. She gave me the GOQii band and explained its benefits to me. She asked me to try it for three months. I got completely hooked on it. The one to one coaching aspect appealed to me. I would put my problems across to my coach and she would have a solution to work towards overcoming the issue.

Through GOQii, I also got to know a lot about diet and nutrition. There were many things I was not aware of. At my age, I certainly do not want to compromise on my diet. Being a South Indian who cannot keep away from sugary Filter Coffee, I have now given up sugar in my coffee. In November, I participated in the Oxfam 100 km Trail Walk, and my team Go Spirited, completed the challenge in 39 hours.We were 4 ladies – Bela, Lubaina, Suranjana and me. But, Bela, unfortunately had to drop out due to personal issues.

It’s amazing how just walking and running can keep one so fit. There are wonderful health benefits of putting one foot in front of the other. My family thinks that am going to the top (over doing it and asks me to slow down at times). But, I am comfortable doing as much as I am doing. I am happy with the change I have seen in myself. I have become healthier, fitter and my stamina has improved drastically. Today, I am confident to achieve what I set my goal on.

A regular at Active Sundays

Daily, I clock 10,000 or more steps and weekends it easily goes up to 20,000 steps. I have been able to achieve all this because of the one to one coaching from GOQii. I have also benefited from the two webinars that GOQii’s master coach Luke Coutinho conducted. One of the webinars was on ‘How to Make The Most of Your Coach’. This gave me clarity on how I can interact with my coach to get the maximum benefit out of coaching.

Coaching has benefited me on the nutrition front too. Now my concepts on diet are clear and I am conscious about what I am eating. I am basically a foodie and I exercise to eat. Though I have always been a light sleeper, I sleep better now. You can say I have understood the importance of sleep. I get enough rest. Also, my concept of water is very clear. On an average I now drink 2 liters of water. I have no medical conditions, no cholesterol and no sugar.

I am a regular at GOQii Active Sunday and this has given me an opportunity to meet so many people and make so many new friends. My journey to fitness has also inspired a whole lot of my women friends. My friends in yoga are also keen on joining me for runs.  I always feel that there are 100 reasons why you shouldn’t go for a walk or run but a 1,000 reasons why you should. If you let go of the excuses, you will get it done. I would say, have a goal and work towards it!

Without having something to work towards, you can’t plan or dream of what you’re going to accomplish. The goal doesn’t have to be huge. It can be to walk 10 km a week but you need one to stay focused.

For my next outdoor activity, I have just begun trekking. I got interested in trekking after I did two practice treks for Oxfam Trailwalk. Now I want to trek regularly as well!

Also, the concept of Karma has appealed to me a great deal. Everyday I try to donate about 30-40 points. By the end of the month, I have donated roughly 1000 points or so. I just want to continue to be healthy and fit to be able to continue with my runs, walks and other activities. 

Crushing Finish lines Anitha with her Medals

Crushing Finish lines! Anitha’s medals

What does Anitha Rao’s Coach Have to Say About Her?

Anitha Rao is a true representation of an active and upbeat individual. An outdoor person who loves to workout every day. Her drive for fitness is her adrenaline. She has a set routine of walking, swimming and yoga.  Always ready to participate in marathons that come across.

In her GOQii journey with me, she wanted to shed some extra kilos, increase water intake and replace her snacking with some healthy options. So we enacted goals accordingly. The first was to maintain a daily water intake of 2 liters and above. Secondly, I gave her some healthy snacking options. The GOQii concept of logging your water and food intake supported her in achieving these goals. It gave her a confrontation and magnitude daily of her efforts.

She was regular in doing that and took my suggestion and inputs very positively while putting them in to action. She would often contribute KARMA points for various causes. I am proud to have such an aware and dedicated individual as my player.

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Catalysing Social Change through Karma

Catalyzing-Social-Change-through-Karma

How often do we all do Charity?

Whether it is monetary or just about helping somebody out. How often have we helped someone with their studies? When was the last time we spent time playing with underprivileged kids? We seldom do it. Unless some friend actually points to a particular cause that he or she is related to. Let’s accept the fact that Philanthropy does not come to us easily. While globalization is increasingly making us aware of all the problems faced by humanity today, we aren’t doing much to bring about social change.

Everywhere around us, there is hunger, unemployment, lack of medical facilities and education. Not much has been done to eradicate poverty from every corner of this country, extend health care, provide basic education to one and all and protect our environment. Anyone who’s studied emerging markets talks about the opportunities the BoP offers. Especially in South Asia and more importantly in India. It’s a well-known fact how 70% of the population lives in rural areas and 75.6% live on less than $2 a day.

People below the poverty line all around the world are not asking for the moon or any aspiration goods and services. They are asking for basics such as infrastructure, water, energy, education, and employment to be able to live a decent and sustainable life.

Be The Change!

There may not be one resolution to all the problems. Non-profits for decades have been working for the betterment of the lives of the people at the bottom of the pyramid. But, there is only so much they can do. There is a new breed of young social entrepreneurs (Socents) who have sprung up in the last decade or so and are doing their best to bring about a social change. For instance, GreenSole, a social venture by Shreyans Bhandari and Ramesh Dhami, collects discarded shoes, refurbishes them and makes comfortable footwear for the underprivileged. You can know more about them by visiting their website: www.greensole.in.

Step Towards a Brighter Future

Apart from NGOs and the Social entrepreneurs, the opportunity to do Karma or good to others awaits all of us. There is an opportunity for us, as individuals, to be bold and use our unique role as philanthropists to spark, and drive large-scale social change. Whether as a social entrepreneur or by supporting a social cause, each one us has the opportunity to participate and do ‘Karma’(Doing good to others). GOQii, provides the opportunity to do Karma and this can be done by being healthy, fit and earning Karma Points.

At GOQii, our philosophy has been to achieve harmony between mind, body & soul. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s journey of 390 KM, which he started today, for every 390 steps tracked through your activity tracker, you earn 1 Karma Point. These points then get converted into monetary donations by our donor partners.

With the India Steps Challenge, you’re not only walking and earning big rewards but you’re also collecting Karma Points which you can donate to a charity/cause of your choice in the GOQii app! Currently, there are two causes in the GOQii app:

1. Upcycling to Slippers for Children in Need

This cause enables the collection of old shoes and Rs. 199/pair to upcycle them to slippers and donate to children in need. Greensole’s vision is to contribute to social good, by creating a self-sustaining infrastructure that facilitates the provision of the basic necessity of footwear to everyone. Environmental good by refurbishing discarded shoes with zero carbon footprint and economic good by giving employment to refurbish shoes.

2. Trees for Rural Communities, Chintamani, Karnataka

Grow-Trees.com wants to  allow users to satisfy a private purpose of greeting someone through an eTreeCertificate, while doing social good by planting trees. With Grow-Trees you can plant trees with just a few clicks and gift them to celebrate festivals, birthdays, anniversaries or other special occasions using their personalized e-certificate. The cost of each tree is INR 85.

Believe me, I can say this from my own experience, doing Karma will only help bring a positive change in your life – a change for the better.

Who knows? One day, you may look back and say, “I was there at the beginning and I made a difference!”

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From Scalp Issues to No Issue – Incredible Change with GOQii

From Scalp Issues to No Issue - Incredible Change with GOQiiSince GOQii’s inception, our core motive has always been to help people help themselves. With a majority of healthcare services focusing on sickcare instead of getting you healthy, GOQii chose to be different. GOQii chose to be an enabler.

We understand how frustrating it must be for someone with a health issue to keep looking for a solution in traditional healthcare and not find it. Like most people out there, Manisanthosh Bondugula suffered from a condition that Allopathy could not solve. After a lot of searching, Manisanthosh found GOQii.

For well over 3 years, Manisanthosh Bondugula, a 26 year old, working professional from Hyderabad, suffered from a condition known as Scalp Psoriasis – which is a skin disorder that makes raised, reddish and often single or several scaly patches that affect the entire scalp. When Allopathy couldn’t help, Mani began reading books for a solution and one of the books he read was ‘The Great Indian Diet’ by Luke Coutinho and Shilpa Shetty. Impressed and intrigued by the content, he reached out to GOQii’s Master Coach Luke Coutinho, who then introduced him to GOQii and Mani’s life began changing for the better.

In 2017, Mani became a GOQii Player. After much conversation, Mani’s coach diagnosed that his scalp psoriasis was caused by multiple issues which involved stress and sleep. His coach explained why he had these issues and how he can overcome them. The long-term goals assigned to him were to Manage Stress and Good Gut Health to Manage Psoriasis.

Mani’s coach asked him to consume chamomile tea to improve his sleep and asked him to add nuts and salads to his diet. He was asked to consume veg proteins for breakfast and dinner to improve his stamina. He was to avoid tamarind, curd, fish and non-veg entirely. To compensate, he began eating a lot of veggies and fruits. Additionally, his coach also advised him to participate in activities that gave him pleasure.

Currently, Mani is regular with meditation and walks 5km every day. When he finds the time, he performs yoga as well. He drinks 1 glass of lemon/honey water to detox his system and boost metabolism. He drinks milk with a pinch of turmeric before he sleeps to boost his immunity and healing. Initially he consumed Quinoa but replaced it with Millets as suggested by his coach. He also adds salads and sprouts to his meals.

After 2-3 months, Mani began noticing changes. His sleep improved and he lost 4-5kg. As of 2019, his Scalp Psoriasis has been cured by 90%. He is closely working with his coach to resolve the rest of it. Since 2017, Mani has had 4 GOQii coaches and has had a good experience with all of them.

With all that he has learned, Mani can now manage his lifestyle on his own. He told us, “For over 3 years no Allopathy doctor could help me. They kept telling me that the issue cannot be solved but when I got GOQii, it felt as though someone gave me a helping hand and pulled me out. It changed everything and it is awesome!”

Since being a part of our ever-growing family, Mani has recommended GOQii to 20 of his friends and acquaintances. He has subscribed to GOQii Play and follows dance workouts, yoga and breathing exercises. He had also attended the first GOQii Active Sunday in Hyderabad.

In closing, Mani had to say, “GOQii is an enabler. It doesn’t provide you with half knowledge. There’s only so much you can learn from a book and a book can’t tell you everything. Having a coach by your side does wonders as you can interact and get precise solutions for your problems, what you should and should not do and even your diet.”

We hope Mani completely recovers from his issue and is able to lead a happy and healthier lifestyle!

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GOQii Play Can Change Your Life – Here’s Proof!

Mayur JaluEarly in 2018, we had begun experimenting with live coaching. We had started with 5 coaches who would conduct sessions and share their expertise Live via Facebook. As interests in these sessions grew, so did we. Today, with over 30 coaches who hold interactive classes on topics ranging from health, nutrition and fitness to yoga and emotional wellness, our experiment has successfully blossomed into a colossal mammoth known as GOQii Play. In the course of a year, GOQii Play has helped numerous individuals make a positive lifestyle change via live classes through the GOQii app. We are about to introduce you to one such individual who made the most out of this platform.

Based in Baroda, Mayur Jalu is a 34-year-old working professional employed by Bajaj Allianz. In Oct 2018, he was introduced to GOQii, receiving it as a Diwali gift. With a 3-month subscription in his hand, Mayur wasted little time and began engaging with the GOQii app and tracker immediately. His health goals included weight loss, to stay fit and have an active mind. Since the beginning, Mayur was attracted to the GOQii Play feature and began following it religiously. He regularly watched the 8:30 PM show and sometimes, also tuned in to the 6:30 PM show. His favourite coaches being Apurva and Aliya. Mayur told us that he learned a lot from his coaches on GOQii Play about what he should and should not do in terms of exercise and nutrition. With all the information that he received, Mayur went on to change his lifestyle for the better.

Within 2 months, Mayur reduced from 76kg to 74.1kg.  He now exercises frequently and clocks 7-8k steps on a daily basis. He stopped drinking tea in the morning in order to reduce his sugar intake. Before, he used to consume a lot of oily, fried food which he has now replaced with fruits and salads. He eats a light dinner accompanied by buttermilk and increased his overall water intake. Mayur claims that GOQii Play helped him a lot and thanks to that, he can now spend more time with his son and still manage to sleep as early as 10 PM.

Mayur proved that if you’re determined, you can achieve your goal one way or another. Mayur’s message to everyone out there is, “If I can change, so can you!” and quite rightly so.

To follow Mayur’s amazing journey, join him live on GOQii Play as he shares his story on the 17th of February at 12 PM. Be there! #BeTheForce

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