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August 5, 2024 By Palak Mittal Leave a Comment

8 Incredible Health Benefits Of Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) 

benefits of surya namaskarSurya Namaskar literally means Salutations to the Sun. It is a combination of 12 yoga asanas, where the body, mind, and soul are brought into complete synchrony. They are done in sets, some do 12, some 15, while some 30, depending on their endurance. Scientifically too, there are multiple benefits of Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar). Let’s explore them in detail!

The Benefits of Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar)

  1. Stretching and flexibility: The 12 asanas which are part of the Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) ensure that every part of the body is exercised. The flexibility that comes with it needs to be experienced to be believed. This is extremely beneficial for the bones, joints, and ligaments of the entire body and spine.
  2. Improves internal organ functioning: The various stretches increase blood flow to the organs and improve their functioning. The result is a better functioning digestive system and kidneys, which help in better absorption of nutrients from food and thorough elimination of metabolic waste. Detox happens naturally, with the release of trapped gasses and improved enzyme secretion.
  3. Weight loss: One of the best-proven ways to lose weight is to do Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) on a daily basis. It is a perfect workout involving the complete body and is great for losing weight around the belly. It also is proven to improve the thyroid gland functioning, which plays a significant role in metabolism.
  4. Bone health: Traditionally, it is done during the early morning hours, at sunrise, which ensures the body gets the required amount of Vitamin D. This is essential for good bone health.
  5. Stress buster: Stress release happens in multiple ways. Deep focused breathing is one of them. While performing the asanas, control over breathing is very essential and so, stress control is ensured. Various muscles and bones get tense with stress, and thorough stretching helps relieve the stress buildup. The mind is also calm during the workout, and so stress relief is further enhanced.
  6. Relief from insomnia: People who are not able to sleep should perform Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) on a regular basis. Both stress relief and the perfect workout ensure good sleep.
  7. Helpful in menstrual cycles: Women who have cramps during their menstrual cycles have shown very good improvement with the inclusion of this exercise. It is also shown to benefit people with irregular menstruation thanks to the improved blood circulation. Pregnant women performing Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) are more likely to have a normal delivery.
  8. Glowing Skin: With the release of toxins and stress, glowing skin is a natural affair!

We hope these 8 benefits of Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) urge you to make it a part of your daily routine. For more on how yoga can help you lead a healthy and fulfilling life, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general awareness and educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalised medical guidance or concerns related to your health.

August 23, 2023 By GOQii 71 Comments

Dos and Don’ts of Yoga: Rules to Practicing Yoga Safely

When we asked some of our new players what their interpretation of Yoga is, their response was on the lines of ‘People twisting and turning their bodies like pretzels while chanting and sitting like a statue’. Is that what it really is? We took this question as an opportunity to explain what yoga is and what are its basic dos and don’ts.

What is Yoga?

It is a system- a holistic system of refining the body, the mind and the spirit in unison. Ultimately, it is well-being, peace and bliss. Yogic postures help strengthen the endocrine system and also bring the emotions under control through concentration and relaxation.

The ability to remain in relaxed equilibrium has an important psychological effect. For the basics on yoga and what it is, you can check out this article: Yoga for the beginners: some myths and benefits

Yogis, through their physical training, gradually learn to keep their psychological equilibrium unaltered to preserve a perfect psychological calmness in whatever environment they happen to find themselves in.

Yoga is the only way by which the highest objective in life can be attained. To decipher the great science and the benefits which it claims, it is essential to understand few basic dos and don’ts which we often tend to neglect.

What You Should Do

  • “Early to bed and early to rise makes man healthy, wealthy and wise,” is an universal adage. Yoga practitioners should go to bed early, sleep well and get up early in the morning. Next, attend to their morning routine of freshening up and begin yoga in fasting mode. It can also be practiced 1 hour after a liquid diet, 3 hours after refreshments or 5 hours after full meals.
  • One could practice it before bath but after practice one should wait for some time and then take a bath.
  • It should be practiced on a leveled floor in a room where doors and windows are kept open for air and light.
  • It is helpful in many ways to practice yoga in a place where you can receive the rays of the early morning sun.
  • One should not practice it directly on the ground, on cement or mortar floor. Instead, spread a carpet, a blanket or a clean cloth, sit on it and practice by facing east or north in the morning, west or south in the evening.
  • One should practice yoga calmly without any haste or exhaustion. If one is tired he or she should rest for a while in a comfortable posture.
  • One should try to practice it everyday, preferably at the same time.
  • While practicing yoga, one should concentrate on the practice alone and try to keep away from other thoughts.
  • During the practice of asanas, the dirt in the internal organs of the body is directed towards the urinary bladder. Soon after completion, one should pass out urine.
  • If you feel like attending nature’s call while practicing, go ahead and do it immediately. One should not hold it back forcefully for a long time. One should also not try to suppress sneezing, coughing, etc. If one feels thirsty one can drink a little water as well.
  • If one sweats during practice, he or she should slowly wipe it out either by a cloth or with the palms. It is better if it dries up automatically.
  • Pranayama should follow the asanas and meditation should follow Pranayama.
  • Always lay on your back after finishing postures. 2 to 5 minutes with relaxed breathing.
  • Movements should be slow in every case. Sudden movements should be avoided.

What You Should Avoid

  • Women should refrain from regular practice during their menses or pregnancy. However, for them there are specific set of asanas that can be performed.
  • Don’t have a full tummy while doing yoga, wait until 2 to 3 hours after large meals.
  • Don’t touch (shower) or drink water for 30 minutes after practice.
  • During illness, after operations, when there is a bandage either for sprains or fractures, one should refrain from practice. They can resume after consulting experts.
  • Don’t perform strenuous exercises after yoga.
  • One should avoid practice in unclean/smoky places and in areas with foul smell
  • Yoga should not be practiced in stormy winds either

Just knowing the asanas in its correct form along with the basic knowledge of Dos and Don’ts would add much more value to your yoga practice! If you found this article helpful, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

To practice yoga the right way, join a live, interactive GOQii PRO class, where you’ll be guided in real time by a certified expert. Book a class from the GOQii App now! You can also find more articles on Yoga here.

#BeTheForce

June 22, 2023 By GOQii Leave a Comment

सूर्य नमस्कार के 8 अतुल्य स्वास्थ्य लाभ

Suryanamaskarसूर्य नमस्कार का शाब्दिक अर्थ है सूर्य को नमस्कार। यह 12 योग आसनों का एक संयोजन है, जहां शरीर, मन और आत्मा को पूर्ण तालमेल में लाया जाता है। आपकी सेहनशक्ति पर निर्भर करता है कि आप कौन सा सूर्य नमस्कार कर रहे है ,क्यों कि यह सेट्स में किया जाता है – कुछ 12, कुछ 15, जबकि कुछ 30 सेट्स। वैज्ञानिक रूप से भी सूर्य नमस्कार के कई फायदे हैं। आइए उन्हें विस्तार से समझें!

सूर्य नमस्कार के फायदे

  1. स्ट्रेचिंग और लचीलापन: 12 आसन जो सूर्य नमस्कार का हिस्सा हैं, यह सुनिश्चित करते हैं कि शरीर के हर हिस्से का व्यायाम हो। इसके साथ आने वाले लचीलेपन पर विश्वास करने के लिए अनुभव करने की आवश्यकता है। यह पूरे शरीर और रीढ़ की हड्डियों, जोड़ों और लिगामेंट्स के लिए बेहद फायदेमंद है।
  2. इंटरनल ऑर्गन की कार्यप्रणाली में सुधार करता है: विभिन्न अंगों  के हिस्सों में में रक्त प्रवाह बढ़ता है और उनके कामकाज में सुधार लाता है। परिणामस्वरुप आपका पाचन तंत्र और गुर्दे बेहतर कार्य करने वाले हो जाते हैं, जो भोजन से पोषक तत्वों के बेहतर तरीके से एब्सॉर्ब और मेटाबोलिक वेस्ट को निकलने में मदद करता हैं। पेट में अटकी हुई गैसों और बेहतर एंजाइम के सिक्रेशन से स्वाभाविक रूप से डिटॉक्स होता है।
  3. वजन कम करना: वजन कम करने के सबसे सिद्ध तरीकों में से एक है रोजाना सूर्य नमस्कार करना। यह एक संपूर्ण कसरत है जिसमें पूरा शरीर शामिल होता है और पेट के आसपास वजन कम करने के लिए बहुत ही लाभदायक है। यह भी साबित हो चूका है कि यह थायरॉयड ग्रंथि के कामकाज में सुधार लाता है, जो मेटाबोलिज्म में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाता है।
  4. हड्डीयों का स्वास्थ्य: परंपरागत रूप से, यह सुबह के समय, सूर्योदय के समय किया जाता है, जो यह सुनिश्चित करता है कि शरीर को विटामिन डी की आवश्यक मात्रा मिल सके। यह हड्डियों के अच्छे स्वास्थ्य के लिए आवश्यक है।
  5. स्ट्रेस बस्टर: स्ट्रेस रिलीज कई तरह से होता है। डीप फोकस्ड ब्रीथिंग उनमें से एक है। आसन करते समय श्वास पर नियंत्रण बहुत आवश्यक है और इसलिए तनाव नियंत्रण सुनिश्चित किया जाता है। विभिन्न मांसपेशियां और हड्डियाँ स्ट्रेस से तनावपूर्ण स्तिथि में आ जाती हैं, और स्ट्रेचिंग के द्वारा इन तनावों को दूर करने में मदद मिलती है। वर्कआउट के दौरान दिमाग भी शांत रहता है और इसलिए तनाव से राहत और भी बढ़ जाती है।
  6. अनिद्रा से राहत: जिन लोगों को नींद नहीं आती उन्हें नियमित रूप से सूर्य नमस्कार करना चाहिए। तनाव से राहत और संपूर्ण कसरत दोनों ही अच्छी नींद सुनिश्चित करते हैं।
  7. मासिक धर्म चक्र में सहायक: जिन महिलाओं को मासिक धर्म चक्र के दौरान ऐंठन होती है, उन्होंने इस व्यायाम को शामिल करने से बहुत अच्छा सुधार दिखाया है। यह रक्त परिसंचरण में सुधार के लिए अनियमित मासिक धर्म वाले लोगों को लाभ पहुंचाने के लिए भी दिखाया गया है। सूर्य नमस्कार करने वाली गर्भवती महिलाओं की नॉर्मल डिलीवरी होने की संभावना अधिक होती है।
  8. चमकती त्वचा: टॉक्सिन्स और तनाव से मुक्ति के साथ, चमकती त्वचा इस व्ययाम कि एक महत्वपूर्ण देन है !

हमें आशा है कि सूर्य नमस्कार के ये 8 लाभ आपको इसे अपनी दिनचर्या का हिस्सा बनाने के लिए प्रेरित करेंगे। इस बारे में अधिक जानकारी के लिए कि योग आपको एक स्वस्थ और पूर्ण जीवन जीने में कैसे मदद कर सकता है, स्वस्थ लेख देखें या यहां पर्सनलाइज्ड हेल्थ कोचिंग के लिए सदस्यता लेकर GOQii कोच से पूछें | 

 

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

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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