rashmivenjamuri

7 Practical Tips to Keep Your Lungs Healthy

The lungs play an essential role in keeping us healthy and strong. Like any other organ, your lungs need daily care and attention. Lungs help you breathe and feed oxygen to every cell of your body. When your lungs health gets affected, you may experience breathing problems, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other health problems.

In your daily life, at rest, or during everyday activities, your lungs use only 50% of their capacity. This means regular day to day activities are not enough for the lungs to use their full power. Also, smoking, dust, and environmental pollutants lead to toxin build-up harming your lungs’ health.

Let us shed some light on ways you can improve your lungs’ health and keep them more vital throughout your life.

7 Tips to Improve Your Lungs Health

According to research studies, staying active, breathing fresh air, and exercise can prevent or delay the occurrence of lung diseases. Experts advise that engaging in 30 minutes of a moderate-intensity workout session in addition to your daily routine can significantly benefit your lungs.

Follow these tips to keep your lungs healthy:

1. Avoid Smoking

We all know that smoking is detrimental to our lungs. Smoking destroys your lung tissue, increases mucus, and clogs the airway. This reduces the oxygen supply to all the parts of your body.

According to the CDC, smokers are 12 to 13 times more likely to develop the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and carry an increased risk of lung cancer.

Irrespective of your age or period of smoking, quitting can help. According to the American Lung Association, within 12 to 24 hours of quitting, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. Within a year, you experience significant improvement in your health with reduced risk of heart and lung diseases.

It’s not easy to quit smoking, but you can get rid of this habit with the right medication and counseling.

2. Increase Your Lung Capacity With Exercise

Exercise increases the need for oxygen in your body, and to fulfill this requirement, lungs work harder. Your lungs become more efficient, healthy, and strong. During exercise, you breathe faster to supply more oxygen to your muscles. Aerobic exercise increases your lung’s activity leading to removing excess carbon dioxide from your body.

Exercise helps to build strong and healthy lungs. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily, like a brisk walk or run.

3. Avoid Getting Exposed to Pollutants

Exposure to air pollution and air-born irritants cause oxidative stress in the lungs. These pollutants can damage your lungs, and with aging, they become more prone to infections. Avoid passive smoking and take precautions when you are exposed to any contaminants at work or in traffic.

Avoid indoor pollutants by regularly cleaning your house. Allow sunlight and adequate ventilation in your home by opening windows and doors. Using synthetic aromas or air fresheners can expose you to unwanted chemicals. Natural products and adequate ventilation can help you keep your lungs healthy.

4. Protect Yourself Against Infections

Aging and underlying lung diseases increase the risk of infections. Practicing good hygiene habits, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, and drinking lots of water can boost your immune system.

Foods like green veggies, nuts, turmeric, and cherries can help to fight infections. According to studies, as mentioned in The Journal of Nutrition,  drinking green tea can reduce lung inflammation as it contains antioxidants.

5. Practice Breathing Techniques

The daily practice of deep breathing can significantly improve your vital capacity. Conscious breathing also benefits your mental relaxation by reducing stress.

Deep breathing also helps you reach your lung’s maximum capacity. Conscious breathing expands your ribs and chest. Complete exhalation also activates muscles around your ribs and chest. Gradually try to increase the length of your inhalation and exhalation.

6. Diet for Healthy Lungs

Dietary antioxidants are required to protect against the damaging effect of oxidative stress caused by irritants and respiratory diseases. According to a study published in 2015, antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E, flavonoids, and carotenoids, are abundantly present in fruits and vegetables and nuts, vegetable oils, and cocoa red wine, and green tea, which can significantly benefit your lung health.

Have healthy food for lung health:

  • Water- is essential for healthy lungs.
  • Fatty fish- is filled with omega3 fatty acids that are associated with lung health. Fish oil and seafood containing omega-3 fatty acids help strengthen your immunity and ward off inflammatory mechanisms involved in COPD, asthma, and other lung diseases.
  • Beans- such as kidney beans or black beans may reduce the lung damage caused by free radicals.
  • Broccoli- best green vegetable for lung health with high antioxidant property.
  • Apricots- contain vitamin A that supports respiratory linings, and lowers the risk of lung infections.
  • Apples and citrus fruits- contain vitamin E, vitamin A, and beta carotene that contribute to healthy lungs.

According to studies, vitamin C restores damaged lung tissue and decreases oxidative stress caused by smoke-induced emphysema. Vitamin C-rich whole foods, such as fruit and vegetables, can effectively improve your lung health. It has been linked to helping to treat asthma and also in its prevention.

Certain fruits and vegetables have a protective action on the lungs. Foods that exhibit antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and phytochemicals can significantly benefit respiratory health.

7. Good Posture

Your body posture significantly influences your respiratory function. Slumped, poor posture can reduce your lung capacity and expiratory flow when compared to an upright posture.

In recent years extensive use of smartphones has led to the demonstration of poor posture among many. Studies say that smartphone usage has also resulted in musculoskeletal disorders.

Slumped sitting posture has resulted in increased intra-abdominal pressure, leading to inadequate respiration. A simple technique of sitting in an upright position and breathing deeply can give more room for your lungs.

Bottom Line

Try to incorporate these seven habits into your daily life to support your lung health. By giving little attention to your lungs every day, you can attain optimal lung health.

If you are suffering from any lung disorders, consult your doctor, and get yourself evaluated. Follow these healthy habits to have strong and optimal lungs throughout your life.

Dental Practice

Top 15 Tips for Running a Successful Dental Practice

For a successful dental practice, you need to create a long-lasting impression on your patients. Dentistry is a highly-respected profession, and your patients depend on you for better oral care. It is not easy to run your own dental clinic; you need exceptional experience working with patients.

With increasing awareness, patients are willing to go for expensive and complicated procedures. Dentistry is growing rapidly in the health industry.

Some of the plans and strategies discussed here can help you to start a rewarding dental career.

1. Have a Vision, Develop a Plan

As a new dentist, when you start your journey, it is important to take a moment and think about what you want to achieve. You should create a unique plan that makes you stand out in the crowd. Do not try to learn hundreds of courses and implement everything; instead, stay focused and use your knowledge in the right direction. Do not try to be perfect in everything; rather, become an expert in what you enjoy doing.

Write down the plan and course of action, review it every month to stay on track. This plan should include the number of working days, new patients per month, and the budget.

Respect and love for this noble profession is the 1st step towards success. While still learning, polish your skill with commitment and dedication so that when you are in the field, you can be strong with diagnosis and treatment.

2. Build Your Business Plan

Business plans are not included in your dental school curriculum; you need to learn them. Be aware of all the latest techniques and treatment options. The dental industry is constantly growing; get yourself updated with the latest knowledge and skills.

Consider these points while starting your own hospital;

  • Choose the right location that is easily accessible. Do thorough research and avoid places that are saturated with similar practitioners
  • Appoint competent, well-trained staff who can help you with the proper functioning of the hospital
  • Register on Google my business and update it regularly
  • Use local newspapers and TV channels for advertising
  • Get registered for local bio-waste management organizations for your hospital waste management
  • Check for availability of emergency medical help nearby

3. Dental Equipment

Buying all the required types of equipment can be a lengthy and expensive task. Research well and go for the best available price. Buy from a local dealer who has a good service history.

  • All the types of equipment like the dental chair, autoclave, X-ray machine, scaler, and handpiece should be purchased from a good company that also provide after-sale services
  • Store the dental cement and other materials as per the manufacturer’s instructions
  • Maintain an emergency kit with the required drugs. It should be checked regularly

4. Form a Network and Look for a Mentor

As a beginner, you get to meet many people with many bits of advice. It is important to build a network of trusted advisers who can help to make practice-related decisions. You can get more referrals by joining a business group and being active. Attend some conferences and interact with other dentists; it will enhance your dental career.

In today’s world, building a dental business from scratch is not easy; you need a mentor who can help with his own experiences. Speak to the present practitioners and discuss their challenges while settling their business. Ask what they learned from their own experience and what changes they made to build a successful practice. Do not hesitate to reach out to other doctors; you will be amazed to see how willingly they share their experiences and knowledge.

5. Plan Your Finance

You should have some short-term and long-term goals where you can measure your success. The goals can be getting some number of new patients per month, the number of appointments or the amount of money earned; these goals can keep you on track and help you to review your plans for betterment.

In the early years of your dental career, the financial journey can get difficult. Understand your budget and estimate the initial setup cost. To achieve financial freedom, you should plan your finances well.

  • Review your savings by making a list of monthly expenditures. A financial planner can help better to plan things
  • Try to reduce student loan, which is not tax-deductible. Maintain financial flexibility by not making any big expenses in the beginning
  • Instead of thinking you have enough time, start saving early and fund your retirement plan
  • Build a solid financial foundation and enjoy life

You will grow well in this dental career with the right financial planning and can attain financial independence early.

6. Be Ethical in Your Dental Practice

Once the practice is set up, you should always follow the ethics. Provide the best possible treatment and earn the patient’s trust. Patients are the prior most important part of your dental business. The patient should be treated with due respect. Explain all the clinical findings, treatment procedure, cost, and chances of failure to the patient. If required, refer the patient to another dentist.

Do not always look for money; treat better, help and support the other dentists around you and grow together.

7. Engage Well With Patients

To build a long-lasting relationship with your patient, engage well with them, and earn their trust. Word-of-mouth referral is the best way to grow in any business. It is a busy life; hence you need to take a little effort to encourage your patients for referrals. Provide your patients with a flexible payment option. Along with insurance coverage, give other options like a check and credit card payments. Ensure patients’ financial problems do not interfere with dental care treatments.

You need to be active in seeking a patient’s referral. Creating a referral card or giving some bonus offer, and even providing a quick link for review can be a unique way to grow. Choose some referral method and follow up regularly. Figure out what works well and stick to it.

There are countless options to reach your target patients and engage with them regularly in this digital era.

8. Digital Marketing for Dentists

Online visibility is another crucial factor to be considered that can enhance your dental practice;

  • Get visible on google with your Google business page
  • Have a website that is packed with all the required information
  • Through blogs, let your patients know about the services you offer. To know why every business needs a blog, check out: Why your Business Needs a Blog
  • For more visibility, share your blogs on social media
  • Share photos and videos of your work
  • Keep in touch with patients through email marketing, remind appointments, ask for referrals, and tell them about the latest technologies used in your practice
  • Provide an option for online appointments

You can show gratitude by keeping in touch with your patients through automated Emails or WhatsApp marketing for availing your service and getting feedback from them. You can also personally distribute branded merchandise like free toothbrushes, sunglasses, pens or stationary, toys or candies to children, stress balls, etc., to establish a connection with them. 

This may need a lot of effort, but it can keep you ahead of your competitors. If you need help with digital marketing, check out – Digital marketing for dentists. 

9. Use Software for Scheduling Appointments

You can get good scheduling software for your clinic to increase process efficiency. Patients can schedule their appointments by filtering the available time slots. They can also cancel or reschedule the appointment without any physical staff involvement. Once booked, they will automatically receive a confirmation message with your office information and location details.

Moreover, you get a comprehensive schedule of your day and plan your work accordingly. To manage no-shows and loss of productivity, you can set a 24-hour cancellation policy. You can also ask your receptionist to confirm the appointment 1-hour before the scheduled time and vacate the slot if need be. This hassle-free scheduling system will go a long way in improving productivity and managing your time.

10. Focus on Unique Selling Points

Your business should have a unique trait that differentiates you from just other dental services. You should carefully create these USPs and focus on building them. You can update your equipment and introduce new specialty procedures, and let your prospective patients know about them through your marketing channel. 

Some areas you can specialize in could be emergency services at odd hours, comfort or anxiety-free dentistry, adopting cutting-edge technology, family care plan, etc. You can also focus on a specific customer age group to create a unique brand identity. A perfect balance between technology and service quality is important to earn goodwill. Through these, you can win loyal customers who will bring profits to your business in the long run. 

11. Keep Stock of Inventory

Inventory Management is an essential aspect of your business. You can install software to manage the stock of commonly used items and understand the ordering pattern required. You should also avoid overstocking unnecessary things, and it will prevent blocking your money which you can spend on other requirements for your business.

You could also hire an inventory manager to manage the storage issues better. It will reduce problems related to wrong orders and the hassle of to and fro inventory movement. The person can also create a rapport with your vendors and get bulk discounts on recurring purchase items.

12. Payment Processing  

The availability of multiple payment options at your billing desk will ensure quick payments and save anguished patients from standing in long queues. Along with offering payments through debit and credit cards, you could also facilitate them with e-wallets. You can also install the necessary software for smooth payment processing.

You could also offer different financing plans to your patients so that they do not shy away from costly treatments. You could also train your support staff to help your patients with the insurance claim procedures.

13. Aim for Expansion of Your Dental Practice

Providing the same service for years together would not give you any competitive advantage. You could contemplate expansion in your services. Some areas you can explore can be orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry, dentures, whitening, implants, treating sleep disorders, and specialized surgical procedures. 

You can expand your offerings by shifting to a large area or hiring more staff. You can set a formula for hiring staff after achieving a certain amount of revenue. You can also increase the efficiency of your existing team by adding software solutions or providing them with the right tools. Watch out for inefficient employee onboarding and lack of training issues that reduce your business capabilities. With proper training, you could take help from them for performing certain advanced procedures like conducting coronal polishing or applying sealants.

14. Do not Forget the Regulations

To start your practice, you need to know the local laws. These legal formalities are time taking, hence start working on them soon.

  • Get registered as a health practitioner.
  • Health facilities should be licensed, and health care services should be accredited.
  • Follow professional conduct.

A well-maintained clinical record with all the findings, treatment, and follow-ups is very important. During any dispute, these will be needed.

15. Pay Your Tax

Being self-employed does not mean that you can work tax-free. You must register and declare your earnings to pay tax.

Some expenses like legal fees, dental equipment expenditures, office rent, and phone data are tax-deductible. Keep all the documents of your expenditure and income to pay your tax right.

Final words

It needs some effort and maturity to grow your dental business. You don’t need to be perfect with all the skills; let your experience teach you a bit. Consult other practitioners when needed, communicate well with your patients, and enjoy every small success of yours.

And finally, there are no secret plans for success; it just needs hard work and smart efforts. Understand these tips, match them with your personality, and adapt them to your practice.

As told by Conard Hilton,

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”

Any more tips you want to add? What is your success strategy? Let me know in the comments below.

Exercises that keep your brain active and help Reducing the risk of Alzheimer

6 Exercises that keep your brain active and help Reducing the risk of Alzheimer

Exercises that keep your brain active and help Reducing the risk of Alzheimer

Just like your body, your brain too needs exercise. With brain-stimulating activities, you can improve your attention, and memory and can also help us for reducing the risk of alzheimer’s disease It is believed that mental exercises can increase the connection between brain cells and supports the growth of a new network between cells. People who engage in brain-stimulating activities may have a lesser risk of dementia. According to research studies, frequent participation in brain-stimulating activities, such as playing games and puzzles, is beneficial to brain health and cognition. Cognitively stimulating activities are recommended to prevent the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Following some brain exercises and incorporating them in your daily life can ensure your long-term brain health. They can play significant roles in the prevention of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Brain Activities For Reducing The Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

1. Play Brain Games

With aging, alteration occurs in various regions of the brain, like the prefrontal cortex, medial temporal lobe, hippocampus, and cerebellum. These changes are linked to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia. It leads to impairment in cognitive functions like speed and executive functions and also short-term and long-term memory loss. A study published in 2018 has revealed that playing brain games prevents such age-related changes and improves cognitive functions.

Another study says that people who frequently participate in cognitive brain activities display greater gray matter (GM) volumes in the brain and also exhibit higher cognitive scores. Cognitive activities involving games and puzzles are related to better mental abilities, promoting healthy aging, and preventing or delaying the occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease.

2. Read and Write

According to research studies, reading affects the rate of age-related decline in episodic recall and verbal fluency. It is a neurologically demanding process that involves language, visualization, and learning. Reading can improve your memory and prevent age-related cognitive decline.

Whether it is a magazine or novel, make reading a daily habit. Writing a journal every day can also be a great way to maintain your mental health. Writing letters or making cards with some added art can bring out the creativity within you.

3. Learn a New Skill

Learning something new can keep you active and healthy. Sign up for any new class of interest. Take lessons and learn something new, or you can also opt for online classes from the comfort of your home.

Research studies say, acquiring new and complex skills stimulates brain functions. It is a safe and effective tool to bring functional independence to older adults. So, stay curious, learn new words, or try new recipes every day to enhance your memory.

4. Listen to Music

Music triggers emotions, captures attention, and motivates you with synchronizing movements. Music enhances the release of endorphins, which is a feel-good hormone. Music is soothing and can be relaxing for your mind. You can practice some musical instruments or just listen to relaxing music to keep your mind stress-free.

Studies claim that music brings positive effects on behavior, anxiety, mood, and cognition in dementia. It is believed that short-term music therapy reduces mood swings, depression, and anxiety.

Music is a unique and powerful tool for reaffirming personal identity and socialization in people with dementia. It can help to achieve optimal well-being, despite severe memory impairment as in Alzheimer’s Disease.

5. Quality Sleep

Sleep disturbances, as well as sleep-wake rhythm disturbances, are typical symptoms of dementia, which may precede the other clinical signs of this neurodegenerative disease. Evidence suggests that the primary issue in AD is the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain. These amyloid plaque depositions disrupt the sleep-wakeup cycle. Also, poor sleep quality leads to deficits in synaptic plasticity and memory processes, which adversely affect cognition and memory. Improving your sleep quality can benefit your memory.

6. Mindful Meditation

Meditation is meant to reduce negative emotions and bring inner peace, love, happiness, and positivity. It aims to achieve greater well-being, serenity, and concentration through the spiritual path.

Studies imply that meditation has a positive effect on attention, memory, verbal fluency, and cognitive flexibility. Meditation is considered as a non-pharmacological therapy aimed to prevent cognitive decline in older adults.

Along with keeping your mind active, practicing physical exercises like running exert effects on enhancing neuroplasticity and cognitive and behavioral function. It can be a great non-pharmacological strategy to delay Alzheimer’s Disease from becoming a significant health issue in old age.

Bottom Line

Engage yourself in brain-enhancing activities for reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s. With continued curiosity and learning, you can keep your mind active. With these healthy practices, keep your mind and body, young and healthy.

Conquer Your Procrastination

How to Conquer Your Procrastination

Do you keep postponing your work, saying, “I will do it tomorrow?”. We often feel less motivated to work on specific chores. We face procrastination many times in life.

Instead of working on a task right now, are you waiting for the right mood? If this sounds like you, then stop finding new excuses, try to understand your procrastination.

Sometimes we struggle with delaying or avoiding a few tasks that are important to us. Don\’t confuse this with laziness. Procrastination is much more than just laziness or negligence. Let us understand more about this procrastination and what steps you can take to overcome this.

What is Procrastination?

Procrastination is nothing but difficulty in convincing yourself to do things you are supposed to do. During procrastination, instead of working on relevant, essential tasks, you spend time performing trivial activities. Procrastination limits you from accomplishing your goals.

Procrastination might result in various adverse effects. According to peer-review articles published in 2013, procrastination is the failure of not exerting the self-control necessary for any task engagement. By procrastinating, you focus on temporary mood repair, but it brings adverse effects on your future purposes.

Why Conquer Procrastination?

\’Waiting is a trap. There will always be reasons to wait… The truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons, and results, and reasons simply don\’t count.\’
Robert Anthony

Procrastination acts like a barrier that blocks you from making the right decision and achieving your dream. When you procrastinate, you waste time that could have been invested in working on the task. If you can win this fierce enemy, you will be able to achieve more and, in doing so, fully utilize the potential that life has to offer.

Sometimes many possibilities are under your reach, but you fail to grasp them. You know exactly what you need to do, but procrastination is taking over your mind. Feelings of disappointment and guilt emerging from missed opportunities might result in grief. Some research studies have also linked procrastination to poor emotional and physical well-being.

Procrastination brings self-blaming thoughts, anxiety, and stress. For all these reasons, overcoming procrastination is one of the fundamental skills you need to learn to lead a fruitful life.

Why do we Procrastinate?

What is the reason that makes your mind procrastinate? According to psychologists, time inconsistency is one of the main reasons for procrastination.

When you are planning to achieve something like writing a novel or losing weight, you are setting goals for the future. You focus on those long-term results, but you need to plan and work now for achieving that. There are no immediate rewards for the present self to get motivated to take action. If you don\’t put a time frame and plan of action, you may end up procrastinating it. Don\’t try to hide your procrastination in the name of laziness. Try and find the real reason for not choosing to work on a particular task.

How to Overcome Procrastination?

Your brain can function like an astonishing machine. If you master the skill of training your brain, then you can get the most out of it.

Learning just self-discipline or time management will not work.

To defeat procrastination, you need to take charge of your mind and your life. To achieve success, you are longing for; you need to push yourself to take action. Most importantly, to succeed in anything you wish for, you need to start.

7 Tips to Overcome Procrastination

The fundamental step to overcome your procrastination is to recognize it and accept it. Stop blaming yourself or others for this weakness, and take responsibility and also, take action. Understanding the root of your problem can only take you to the solution.

1. Understand the Root Cause

To enforce a practical solution, you first need to find out the root cause of your procrastination. There can be many reasons; we all have different reasons for the procrastination of various tasks.

For example, you want to exercise every morning, but in the morning, you lack motivation. Set up your morning exercise place the previous day, hang your workout clothes visibly, get up, see them, and get motivated. Write a motivational note to yourself and stick it to your mirror; it can help you feel motivated. These steps sound simple, but they make a big difference, try them.

2. Organizing Complex Tasks

When you have a complex, big task to complete, you may find it hard. Thoughts like from where to start and how to achieve might make you procrastinate. If you are feeling overwhelmed with it, divide your task into small chunks.

For instance, you need to complete reading a book, but the thought of completing a big book is making you procrastinate. To overcome this, you can start reading five pages every day. Spending a few minutes a day to read five pages will make it look more manageable. This will give you a start, and soon you will realize you just needed that, a start. You will pick up speed and finish reading the book well before your planned schedule.

3. Do One Thing at a Time

Multitasking or trying to accomplish many things together can make you less productive. When you have several things running in your head, it becomes hard to focus, and you end up procrastinating your work. Pen down all your tasks and arrange them priority wise. Writing them down makes you feel lighter, and you will be able to focus better on your present work. Also, listing down your tasks makes you aware of the thoughts, which are making you procrastinate certain chores.

Creating a distraction-free environment can help you concentrate better. Out of sight is out of mind, applies here. The internet opens the door for so many distractions. The social media platforms that we are active in becoming the biggest distraction in our day-to-day lives.

According to psychological research studies, your mind takes an average of 23 minutes to get back to the task post-distraction. So, every minute break you took for social media is putting you back with 20 minutes from completing your task.

Assign a certain amount of time for work and your social media usage. This will keep you focussed, helping you to make the most of the time available.

4. Accountability- a Key to Success

Accountability means keeping a check, and being accountable means telling others about what you are doing or planning to do. That way, you will have a slight compulsion towards that task. Most of the time, we don\’t want others to think wrong about ourselves or let them down by not doing something we have committed to.

It may sound uncomfortable, but sometimes, you need to announce to overcome your procrastination. When you go public with your plans and goals, you tend to work hard to achieve that. You can also choose someone in your family or friends to tell your ideas, which makes you accountable.

For example, if you are thinking of developing a habit of going for a morning jog, tell your friends and family about your plan. Also, tell them when you are starting this new routine. This makes you get up and take that run to prove how you can stick to your plans. Making yourself accountable gives you the most needed push to complete a task.

Structure your plan of action and declare your intentions to overcome your procrastination.

5. Celebrate Your Accomplishments

Celebrate every small task you complete, reward yourself for your achievements. Rewards are tempting and can be a great motivational tool to conquer your procrastination. Rewards can be anything like watching your favorite Netflix series or ordering a favorite meal. These rewards help you to push yourself through any painful task.

5. Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress helps you to discover how you are overcoming the hurdles; you feel inspired to do better. It gives you an opportunity to analyze which tasks are harder and where you need to improve. Try to master those difficulties and take some steps to make it easier. Keeping a record can hugely benefit you to overcome procrastination.

By achieving everything you need to do, you find yourself progressing fast. It will be a well-planned route to achieve success, be it in personal life or professional.

7. Develop a Habit

By applying the strategies mentioned above, you can live a procrastination-free life. It takes time to build any habit; some say it takes 21 days, and some say it takes longer. The more days you consistently do the new behavior, the closer you are to making it your habit.

There are many habit-building apps available that can help you track your progress. An app can only help, and you\’ll still need to use some willpower to achieve your goals.

When you overcome your procrastination by building some habits, it reduces your stress and enhances the quality of life. You get things done on time and successfully fulfill your own expectations.

Final Words

You need to put some effort into experiencing the benefits of procrastination-free life or getting things done on time. No strategies or methods can help you if you don\’t believe in them and work on them.

Conquering procrastination allows you to take charge of your life, builds self-confidence, and brings happiness. You will be able to tap into your most productive potential and achieve more than you have planned. When you have a procrastination-free life, you will have positive expectations towards the future, which creates joy and peace in your mind.

I hope my words have motivated you to overcome your procrastination. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Mindful Meditation

Mindful Meditation Techniques For Health And Happiness

Today’s work life and personal life is so stressful that it can take a toll on your health. Mindful meditation is a precious gift you can give to yourself. It can help you to live in this world with sanity and peace. 

Meditation is not about becoming a different person or a better person. It is about training your mind to develop a healthy perspective. It is not about turning off your thoughts but is about letting them go and understanding them better. 

Mindfulness is fully being present in the moment. With mindful meditation, you train your mind to achieve complete awareness, relaxation, and focus. It is a skill that needs a consistent practice to learn. 

Though our history does not reveal the exact origin of meditation, the knowledge is passed from generation to generation from ancient days. Historic icon Buddha is known to spread the practice of meditation that we all know today. Mindful meditation gives you the needed space with more kindness and patience in life. It teaches you to stay in the present moment, understand better, and make better choices.

How To Practice Meditation

Meditation is bringing attention to your breath, when your attention wanders, noticing it and bringing it back. When you try to focus on your inhaling and exhaling, you will understand how your mind keeps wandering in thoughts even without your conscious effort. By practicing mindful meditation, you can learn to pause your mind for a while and focus on one thing at a time. It helps you to build a healthy relationship with yourself and with the world around you. 

A scientific study has revealed that meditation expands your consciousness, reduces stress, and brings increased creativity and efficiency of the functioning of your inner self.  

The five most important reasons why you need to meditate are :

  • Lower your stress
  • Understand your pain
  • Improve your focus
  • Connect with self
  • Reduce brain chatter

Steps to practice meditation :

  1. Find a calm and quiet place, sit comfortably. 
  2. Set a timer if you want, in the beginning, you can choose five to ten minutes.
  3. Close your eyes and follow your breath. Notice the coolness of your breath as it enters and warmth as it leaves. Do not try to control your breath; just try to follow the natural flow.
  4. Notice when your attention moves away from your breath and bring it back. Sometimes counting your breathing can help you stay focused. 
  5. When you feel ready, slowly open your eyes. Take a moment to notice how your body feels and bring back your consciousness to the things around you. 
  6. Practicing this daily for at least ten minutes can significantly benefit your wellbeing.

This mindfulness practice needs consistency; its effects can be better experienced over time. Being aware of your thoughts without being judgemental is the key to this meditation. 

Benefits of Mindful Meditation

Mindful meditation helps you to appreciate the precious life and minimizes your stress. It is beneficial for both physical and emotional health. In this world full of technologies, mindful meditation is helping people to improve their leadership skills. This health practice can also reduce your healthcare costs.   

  • Meditation improves your brain function. Meditation increases your memory, focus, self-awareness, and self-control. By increasing the blood flow to your brain, it improves its functionality. In fact, a scientific study has revealed that mindfulness increases the gray matter of the brain, which leads to a better learning process. 
  • Meditation reduces stress. Mindful meditation lowers cortisol levels in your blood that helps to reduce stress and stress-related symptoms. 
  • Meditation enhances your learning ability. By increasing the neuroplasticity of your brain meditation helps you to organize things better and adapt well to the demands. 
  • Meditation brings positivity. When you have reduced stress, you feel connected with self, feeling calm and content. It brings happiness and positivity. 
  • With meditation, you achieve emotional stability. When you meditate regularly, it helps you bring hormonal balance; you feel less reactive and peaceful. 
  • Meditation helps you to find purpose and meaning. Meditation gives you mental clarity helping you to make better choices. With fewer distractions, you become aware of the important things in your life and learn to focus on them. With a sense of purpose and satisfaction, you find a higher meaning to your life. 
  • With meditation, you sleep better. With regular practice, meditation greatly improves your quality of sleep. 
  • Meditation enhances your happiness and overall wellbeing. With greater peace of mind, mindfulness increases your awareness, self-regulation, and in turn, satisfaction.

Why is Mindful Meditation Important?

Mindfulness helps you to focus on and achieve your goal. By implementing meditation in your daily life, you can concentrate better on your work. You will experience significant changes in your work life with increased productivity. 

It is practicing meditation in the long term results in an increased number of active genes that help to fight serious diseases in life. It is an effective medicinal therapy with no side effects. By reducing the production of free radicals, it slows down the aging process. 

Conclusion

A simple practice of meditation brings abundant health benefits with a balanced personal and professional life. Meditation will make you wiser, helping you to make better choices. With mindful meditation, you will see more opportunities and fewer problems. 

Enhance your quality of life with mindful meditation. 

Positivity In Your Life

8 Powerful Ways To Implement Positivity In Your Life

In life, everyone feels negative at times and it is easy to get trapped with negativity. Whenever we face challenges or setbacks in life, the common advice we receive is ‘stay positive’. Having a positive attitude means, being optimistic about the situation. Understanding more about how your mind responds to positivity can help you to find your motivation to be positive. 

The Real Science Behind Positive Thinking

If you are thinking, about why do we even need to be positive? Then it\’s better you understand how negative emotions can affect your life. Being negative in any situation sets your mind off to new ideas and opportunities, narrowing your focus. 

Negative emotions like fear and anxiety are not meant for your daily life’s hustle. These emotions are there to help us survive in extreme conditions that put us in life and death situations. In the ancient days, these emotions helped in the survival of humankind. 

But now it’s time to leave the negativity behind, for a healthier and happier life. 

Your subconscious mind cannot process negative words

Psychologists and researchers say that our subconscious mind is not wired to understand the word “Don’t”. When you hear something like ‘don’t drink’, the subconscious mind will skip ‘don’t’ and will focus on ‘drink’. 

Let me give you an example close your eyes try to meditate for 2 minutes, but don’t think about the monkey, try it. What was your experience? Your mind kept going back to the monkey…

This means to train your mind you need to change your thought pattern. Focus more on positive emotions, instead of saying “Don’t fall” say “Hang on”. 

Positivity brings you a Healthy and Happy Life

A positive attitude makes you less stressed and lets you visualize the opportunities. It also helps you create more actionable goals that result in a healthy and happy life. 

In fact, a study conducted by psychologists has revealed that a positive attitude is linked to good health and longevity. 

Positivity doesn\’t mean neglecting all the unpleasant situations, it just means approaching every situation in a productive way and always hoping that the best is going to happen. Following some simple positivity techniques can bring more positivity and happiness to your life. 

8 Techniques To Implement Positivity In Your Life

Let’s understand positivity more clearly and how we can implement positivity during the highs and lows of our life. 

  1. Start Your Day With Gratitude

There is so much to be grateful for, remember at least one thing every morning and start your day with a smile. There are many good things happening around and reminding yourself every day about being grateful is the first step towards positivity. 

Train your mind to think positively and widen its arena. As told by Melody Beattie “Gratitude makes sense of your past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

    2. Focus on Opportunities, Not Obstacles

When there is a problem, if you keep thinking about obstacles over and over again you will get stuck there. Instead, focus on what you have and what you want to achieve. Your mind needs clarity, describe your goals and take action to achieve them. However bad the situation is now, it will change. 

 \”Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will\”  Zig Ziglar

    3. Don’t Fear the Failure

Each failure is a lesson leading to new opportunities and success. Every failure is an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and work on your strategies. When you fail in something, do not play the blame game, accept it and move on. 

In fact, a study conducted has revealed that people with a positive attitude are more confident, and with an optimistic outlook, they tend to achieve success. Remember, success doesn\’t make you happy, happiness leads you to success.  

    4. Be Aware of Your Feelings

It is perfectly normal to have unhappy and sad thoughts throughout the day. Make yourself aware of these negative emotions and replace them with positive ones. Make some conscious effort to think positive throughout the day. Practice being happy and positive and make it a habit.

\"\"

In the beginning, it needs some conscious effort, but after some time, you will naturally start focusing on positive feelings which bring good results. Every positive feeling is an opportunity to create a happy life. 

   5. Increase Your Positive Frequency

Quantum physics says our thoughts have energy, which vibrates and produce frequencies. Negative thinking attracts negative energy and positive thinking attracts positive energy. Your thoughts are an integral part of your daily life and have the power of affecting your goal. 

Think and feel how it would be to be successful and align yourself with that future life. This will help you to attract new ideas and strategies to become successful.   

6. Create an Empowering Vision Board

Vision boards are the most powerful tools as our mind responds strongly to visual stimulation. Create a board using pictures, quotes whatever inspires you to reach your goal. Visualize this board every day and plan the short-term action steps you need to take today towards your goal. Positive thinking combined with positive actions can bring you the results you need. 

Instead of dwelling on negative thoughts, positively focus on your life using these vision boards. Let your vision boards be the source of your inspiration. 

7. Positivity With Yoga

Practicing yoga every day is the best way to train your mind. Along with good health, yoga brings balance between your mind and body. 

How yoga can train your brain:

  • Yoga poses improve your blood circulation making you feel refreshed. Yoga triggers your positive hormones and strengthens your body. 
  • Pranayama or yogic breathing creates awareness in the mind, helping create more positive thoughts.
  • Yoga helps to achieve a stress-free completely relaxed mind and body.
  • Meditation improves your thinking process. 

Yoga helps to remove negative thoughts, allowing you to enjoy fresh positive energy.  Learn to be positive by following some simple yoga asanas. 

Bottom Line 

Positive people perform better and are more successful. Positivity brings good health and happiness. Do not waste your precious time in negative thoughts, instead invest your time in positive thinking. Believe in yourself and in positivity, accordingly train your mind to live well. 

By following some of the above-mentioned steps, start your journey towards a happier fuller life. 

Read How to Conquer Your Procrastination – to know some amazing practical tips.

Young attractive woman practicing pranayama techniques, sitting in Half Lotus pose, making Alternate Nostril Breathing, working out, wearing sportswear, blue tank top, pants, indoor full length, evening practice

Pranayama Techniques and Their Health Benefits

It is the breath, life, and energy together called – Prana. Your body will experience full energy when pranic levels are high. Pranayama is the control of breath and this breathing technique increases vitality, mental focus, and consciousness. 

Have you ever wondered how kids seem to play with unending energy? Do you feel that you should be more active? We usually think that food is the only energy provider and forget about the other important sources. Unlike us, children naturally have a free flow of breath where the chest opens well which makes them more active and energetic.

The science behind Pranayama

Our breathing happens automatically, we do not have to think to breathe. During Pranayama this involuntary part of brain shift towards being more voluntary which then activates the cerebral cortex and other parts of the brain. This voluntary element brings physiological, psychological and spiritual benefits.

Deep conscious breathing expands your lungs, which have a profound impact on your health reaching every cell of your body. Your breathing is related to mind, every action of yours affects breathing. Think about how you breathe during fear or anger and compare it to breathing when you are relaxed. The slow and deep breathing during relaxation shows that when the breath becomes calm your mind will too.

Breath is connected to the nervous system as, enhanced breathing improves mental focus, promotes clear thinking and deepens the awareness. This breathing awareness leads to conscious living with conscious actions. Hence we can say Pranayama is a wonderful tool for self-management.       

Practicing Pranayama Techniques

Pranayama or conscious breathing is not as easy as it sounds, it is certainly a mental challenge. Ideally, it should be practiced daily at least for a few minutes. Sit comfortably in an erect position with head, neck and back in a straight line. Release all the pressure and breathe steadily and deeply.  

Types of Pranayama Techniques and Their Health Benefits

Different types of Pranayama, when practiced with ease bring great relaxation to the body and mind. All you need to do in Pranayama is a comfortable pose, a few minutes and a space free from all distractions.

1. Nadhi Shodhana 

If you are suffering from mental stress and foggy mind, then try Nadhi Shodhana. It is believed that this breathing technique helps to calm mind, purifies the blood and also increases mental alertness.

How to perform:

  • Sit comfortably in a cross-legged position
  • Use the right thumb to close your right nostril, inhale deeply through the left nostril
  • Now block the left nostril and exhale fully through right one.
  • Keep the left nostril closed, inhale through the right nostril and exhale through the left.
  • Continue this cyclic breathing for 10 minutes.

Benefits:

  • Boosts your energy
  • Improves mental clarity
  • Has a soothing effect on your nervous system

Nadhi Shodhana can be done at any time of the day. In particular, it is helpful when you are stressed or having trouble falling asleep.

2. Kapalabhati Pranayama

Kapalbhati pranayama means skull shining breathing technique. This technique is very helpful in detoxifying the body and clearing the energy channels.

How to perform:

  • Sit in a comfortable position with crossed-leg. Inhale and exhale deeply for two to three times
  • Now inhale deeply and exhale forcefully through your nose
  • Count 10 to 15 sharp and quick exhalations, gradually increase the number.

Benefits:

  • Generate body heat and dissolve the toxins
  • Reduces dark circles by reducing stress
  • Enhances kidney and liver function
  • Strengthens your lungs
  • Helps remove acidity and gas related problems

Kapalabhati is normally practiced in the mornings. Do not practice kapalabhati pranayama with a full stomach and also avoid during pregnancy or if you have any heart-related health issues.

3. Ujjayi Pranayama

Ujjayi refers to the ocean, it also means victorious breath. Ujjayi pranayama gives control over the airflow through the lungs resulting in studier, longer and deeper breath. Your body receives more oxygen, which further enhances purification and nourishment of the cells of your body.

How to perform:

  • Sit in a comfortable position with crossed-leg. Breath in and out through the nose.
  • After a few cycles, exhale with your mouth open trying to make a sound “HAAH”  as if you are trying to fog a mirror.
  • Once you are comfortable with that sound, close your mouth and attempt to make a similar sound while exhaling through your nose. You will feel the muscles constricting at the back of your throat.
  • Continue for 10 to 20 breaths.

To check if you got Ujjayi pranayama right, close your ears and listen to your internal sound. It will sound like waves of the ocean.

Benefits

  • Increased oxygen levels in the blood
  • Relieves tension
  • Improves blood circulation
  • Helps detoxify mind and body

4. Bhramari 

Bhramari pranayama is also known as Humming bee breath is particularly effective in instantly calming down the mind. During this pranayama, throat produces a sound similar to the humming sound of a bee.

How to perform:

  • Sit in a comfortable position on the floor. You can use a cushion or blanket to elevate your hips.
  • Keep your head, neck, and back erect by lengthening the spine.
  • Close your mouth, relax your jaws with teeth slightly apart. Press your tongue with the roof of your mouth and maintain this position.
  • Close both the ears with the thumbs and let other fingers cover the eyes.
  • Inhale fully and exhale, get absorbed in the humming sound that fills your skull.

Benefits

  • Helps relieve tension and anxiety instantly
  • Reduces headache and migraine
  • Increased concentration and memory
  • Reduces blood pressure
  • Prepares your mind for meditation

This simple technique can be practiced anywhere and anytime. Bhramari Pranayama can be a great way to de-stress yourself during your busy work routine.

Final words

Pranayama practice is beneficial for your health in many ways. In this fast-paced life, pranayama helps in overall wellbeing by bringing harmony between mind, body and soul.

Let’s practice pranayama regularly to hear our own inner voice and find our own breath. Pranayama is for self-appreciation and better health. Let\’s inhale and exhale for peace.

health coach business

How to get clients for your health coach business

Are you struggling to find clients for your health coach business? The key to get clients easily is to create an irresistible value-based offer. There are many people who need help and they don’t know you exist, get visible to them.

There are no perfect plans or strategies, you need to work out and create your own strategies. Have a specific goal and work towards it, see what is bringing you results. It is easy to give up, but staying in there and taking action can only bring you the results.

What works and what not

Many health coaches feel picking up a niche may restrict their business, but that is not true. Coaches are meant to transform lives, your clients are desperately looking for someone who can help them.

When you know who is your potential client, by writing specifically about their problems you get their attention. It is not possible to build your business helping ten different clients. Instead, focus on one person and create your strategy to solve their biggest problems. When you do that, you directly reach your ideal clients with your value-based offer.

Finding your niche as a health coach

Your coaching and you are unique, there is no other person with the same skills, same experience, and talent. So it is important for you to decide who is your ideal client.

Try answering these questions;

  • With whom you would enjoy working?
  • What kind of transformation you can bring?
  • Which topic do you enjoy talking about?
  • Your personal experience that makes you unique.

Make a decision now, you can make changes and adjustments later. Once you start working with one specific niche, eventually you become skilled and expert in that. 

Smart online marketing

Online marketing is an essential part of your business. This include,

  • Writing posts on social media
  • Creating your website
  • Building an email list

Be visible on social media by writing posts and answering questions. Join Facebook groups and engage with your audience. Create your Facebook page for business where your audience can follow you. The most basic way to get clients is to build a relationship, provide value then offer your services.

Developing your website is another important thing to build your brand. It is a place where your clients can know about your services, offers, and health coach programmes. By offering some freebies you can build your email list.

No matter how many followers you have, how many people like your post, it is the email list that is more important. Your subscribers are the people who belong to your tribe, who are interested in your coaching and who can invest in your services. You need to produce valuable content to grow your email list.

Content that can build your  health coach business

Creating great content is a must, to attract your ideal clients. Your content can be a blog or video that reflects your services. Your content can motivate your audience to share, subscribe, and become your tribe. You can get better results by sharing more content that focuses on your services.

Work on your mindset

Some times it can be hard working on your business, spending days and months planning things. The fact is you will never feel done or perfect, there will be pending stuff always. Stop worrying and take action.

Do not get stuck in your present situation, keep your mindset in your future business. Think what kind of business you want to have, what kind of clients you want to work with when you keep working that way your subconscious mind get connected with it. When you feel connected with your future self you will find results in your business and attract your ideal clients.

Are you ready to level up your business? You need to take action and implement these strategies to get results. Every entrepreneur has their own strategies, the same thing may not work for you. You need to understand and work on those strategies, create your own ways that work for you. You deserve to be successful, and it is only you stopping yourself from your success. Free up yourself from your mental blocks and get ready to embrace your dream business.

If you wish to join my health and wellness tribe SUBSCRIBE here and get a free copy of 3 Expensive mistakes every health coach makes in their website copy.

Business Needs A Blog

5 Reasons why your business needs a blog

Maybe you think running a blog will be an added task for your business. But it is better you understand the importance of a blog for your business. Trust me starting a blog is worth the effort, without which you are missing an important part of your business.

What is a blog? It is the place where you show your skills, your expertise. It is a place where you can show what you can do to help your audience. A blog shows which industry you belong to and what is your business about.

Why your business needs a blog? What makes a great business blog? Let’s dive in for a more detailed explanation of what it can do to your business.

Reason Why Every Business Needs A Blog

1. A blog can drive traffic to your website

It is this traffic that can convert into your paying clients.

Whatever service you offer you need a platform to showcase that. A static web page will become boring, there is nothing new to drive your audience. For small businesses, it is important to have an active website to get a better google ranking. When you have great content to share people will visit your website and check your services and products.

Blogging is the best way to connect with your audience, engage with them without making a sales pitch. With regular posts, you can reach your audience regularly to get new leads.

   2. A blog showcases your personality ( build’s authority)

How to write a blog that can promote your business? By writing relevant content you can build trust with your audience. By writing blogs about your industry you can educate your readers and promote your services. Build authority in your field so that you attract more and more clients.

Through blog posts give your voice to your brand. Let your readers know, who you are, what services you offer, and how you can help them. Share more on social media, create your brand voice. A blog can be shared on multiple social media platforms, reaching more and more people.

   3. You own your blog

When you write about your products and services on social media, do you know how many people it actually reaches?  It is not under your control, it may even disappear from social media.

But you own your blog, your content is safe there, no algorithms can change that. You can post whatever you want without anybody moderating it, you can directly reach your readers.

   4. Helps you stay ahead in business

A blog can help you establish authority in your expertise. It shows your passion for your work and your knowledge.

For example, imagine you are looking for a web designer and find two websites. One is only with lists of the services and other is full of blog posts explaining about web designing and its benefits. Which one will you choose? The second one right? because you feel that person knows better. That is exactly how a blog can work for you.

A blog is to show that you are an expert in your industry and you can help them.

   5. Provide value to your present clients

Nurturing your present clients is also an important aspect of your business. Along with attracting new clients, your content can be the best tool providing value to your paying clients. Your blog can be the answer to all the queries of your customers, it can be the place to share your customer\’s experience.

Let your content speak for you, be it your voice.

Having questions about starting a blog for your business? Let me know in the comments below.

If you need help in creating content that can be your brand voice then get in touch with me, Book a call here and let’s talk.

run a successful health coach business

7 Tips to run a successful Health coach business

Having a desire and a Health coach certification can not make you a successful health coach business owner. The key to success is having clarity about your service and focussing towards it with right actions.

Be clear about what you are offering and be passionate to explain to your clients how amazingly you can help them.

Follow these Points to Run Health Coach Business

Believe in yourself and be confident about your health coach program. Come out of all the fear that is holding you back, bring the motivation to market your business with the whole heart. It is you and only you can help yourself for a successful business.

1. Come up with a clear plan

No one is interested in knowing how much time you are going to spend, or how many sessions and all, they are only interested in the benefits. Tell them how you can help them, how you can bring change in their lives. Focus on a specific health condition and build trust through your words.

If you want your health coach business to be a successful business, then you need to bring your skill and experience together to draw a clear plan. Be excited about what you are offering and believe in your health coach program.

A clear health coach program should include-

  • A well-determined outcome or result for your potential clients
  • Stepwise procedure to achieve the results
  • Show complete support to your target clients.

Knowing your competitors through proper market research can help you to define your business plan.

Read More: How to Get Clients For Your Health Coach Business

2. Bring your story

People connect easily through stories. When you talk about yourself, your expertise then you can build trust with your audience.

Every person has her own story, so bring it into your business. Your unique life experience can help you to connect with your target clients.  With your personality and strength, you can be their coach, mentor, and advisor.

A story is a great way to connect and fast track your business.

3. Be specific

You can be specific when you know your niche. Create your services and offers for your target audience.

  • Be specific about with whom you can work and the results you can bring
  • Learn to explain your coaching in a simple language
  • Crate packages that meet your potential client needs
  • Connect with people from the same industry and seek help from them.

4. Develop a marketing strategy

Getting leads and converting them into clients in your health coach business, needs an effective marketing strategy. To develop this marketing strategy you need to figure out what makes you unique. Your experience or your own health ride can make you stand out to your potential clients.

Make a list of things your potential clients struggling with and tell how you can solve those problems. A well-focused marketing strategy can bring you more clients. Be visible on social media and share your thoughts.

Niche down your services and see who is passionate about your coaching. Your goal is not to reach everybody, but to find those ideal clients who will resonate with you and invest in your services.

5. Online presence

Growing your online presence is another marketing strategy. The best way to do this is by having a blog, or YouTube channel and with posts on social media. Develop your website, a place where you can express all your thoughts, offer your services and grow your tribe. Grow your email list by giving some free resources, these are the people who are interested in your services.

Having many social media platforms can be overwhelming, choose a few to focus on in the beginning. Most importantly, stop worrying about the likes, engagement, and followers, do it anyway. These worries will only hold you back and delay your success. Reach your audience, you only need to find your soul mate clients.

6. Outsource some tasks

Running the business alone can be a tough task. Few aspects of your business, you may not enjoy doing which will drain all your time and energy. Identify those tasks that are most appropriate for outsourcing. This will free up your time and you can concentrate more on the tasks that need only you. Knowing that you don’t have to do it all alone can boost you, bring more creativity in you.

7. Invest in a mentor

Having a mentor to guide you with all the steps of your business can save a lot of time for you. Chose the right mentor who can get you the results. A mentor can guide you with the right steps that can bring success in your business. A mentor can help you in the best way to sail through different phases of your business.

You can learn everything online, but that is going to take ages. Invest in yourself and fast track your business.

Running a successful business has a lot of aspects, from building a website and to writing a business plan. I hope these 7 great tips can help you build a successful health coach business. It is all about taking action, so take your steps today to start your journey to a successful business.

Let me know in the comments if you have more tips or questions.

Join my tribe and get a free copy of 3 Expensive mistakes every health coach makes in their website copy here.

Age gracefully

6 Holistic Tips to Age gracefully

Everyone taking care of their looks and health, these days truly age is just a number. With so much awareness about health, you cannot only feel young but also look young. Just like that perfect wine which gets better and better with each passing day. Graceful aging is not aging better but it is aging smarter.

“The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully” Eric Hoffer

Quote Fancy

6 Tips to Age gracefully

1. Live joyfully to age well

The good news is you can control your aging by focussing on your happiness. It\’s time to discover the things that make you happy and add them to your everyday life. With this passing age find that peace and happiness. Life is too short to keep worrying, so bring some happiness and joy.

   2. Play some mind games

Studies have shown that mentally engaging games can even reverse your mental age. The true secret of aging gracefully is, never stop learning. Learn something new, introduce new concepts and technologies to your brain. This will bring some dramatic improvement towards your mental focus and clarity.

   3. Keep moving

Exercise is an excellent way to keep you young. Exercise boosts your energy and well being. Choose an exercise that you enjoy, be it walking, running or swimming. Spend minimum 30mins a day in some physical activities. Make it a habit and stay motivated.

Exercise also keeps you away from stress-related problems. Learn to manage your stress through the workout to age gracefully. Meditate, give yourself few minutes to unplug, relax and feel inner peace.

   4. Get your diet right

Eating fruits and veggies is the best way to get the glow that comes from within. Some of the anti-aging foods that will nourish your body are –

  • Spinach
  • Broccoli
  • Papaya
  • Blueberries
  • Nuts
  • Avocado
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Yogurt
  • Fish
  • Red wine
  • Dark chocolate
  • Citrus fruits

Drink enough water to keep you hydrated and eat all veggies to fight those wrinkles. Include these antioxidant foods to your diet, stay healthy and young.

   5. Wear sunscreen

Sun exposure is the main cause of skin sagging and wrinkles. UV rays are harmful can even cause skin cancer. Apply sunscreen and wear sunglasses on a hot day. Regular moisturizing maintains your skin elasticity and smoothness, avoiding wrinkles. Apply enough sunscreen not only on the face but all sun-exposed area to protect your skin. Make a skin care regimen use topical retinoid to have a wrinkle free skin.

   6. Sleep more

People who sleep better face fewer health problems. Poor sleep can make you look less attractive. When you are asleep your skin gets time to renew itself. Doctors recommend 7 to 8 hours of sleep to get the good benefits. Let your skin bounce back with some beauty sleep.

Things to avoid

Stay away from negativity and negative people. Frown less for fewer wrinkles. A most unhealthy habit that can shorten your life is getting little too comfortable in your couch with the TV, reduce your TV time get more social. Eating too much salt can trigger some serious health complications. Watch out your salt intake during meals to avoid hypertension, stroke, and heart attack. Avoid smoking and alcohol which can speed up the aging process.

Take good care of your health, follow these good habits to boost the overall health of your body.

Acceptance with Attitude

It is a fact that no one is growing younger, so do not resist aging. Life itself is a gift cherish it, accept aging for the wonderful things it brings along. There is nothing more beautiful than the knowledge, self-confidence, and clear priorities in life that comes with aging. Worry less and show more gratitude toward life. Finally, embrace your aging with a positive attitude.

Feel alive with those endless opportunities and overwhelming life.

yoga poses for beginners

Master Essential Yoga Poses for Holistic Well-being

If you are new to yoga, it is better to get comfortable with some basic yoga poses. Wear comfortable clothes during practice. It is great to invest in a yoga mat to make a strong commitment to yoga. You can create your own yoga space by rolling out your mat. Make a realistic commitment on how much time you can dedicate and stick to it.

8 Basic Yoga Poses

Slowly and gradually begin your yoga journey. Start with some basic poses that will help you to prepare for more advanced practice. Only your practice can progress your journey, stay consistent and stay motivated.

   1. Tadasana or Mountain Pose

It is a pose to stand erect and relaxed. Exhale all your tension out and release all the parts of your body. With slow and deep breath let your body open up.  

This pose connects you with both earth and sky. Stand steady like a mountain, feel alive from inside and respond to every breath.

   2. Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward-facing dog

This pose helps to stretch and strengthen the whole body. It can be a little stressful in the beginning but with practice, you will achieve the flexibility.

Start with an easy puppy pose on all your fours, with knees and feet apart. Slowly straighten the legs, raise your hips and stretch all parts of your body. Try to stretch your heels to the ground, hold for 8 to 10 breaths. End with child pose, release your shoulders and wrists.

   3. Virabhadrasana or Warrior Pose

This pose strengthens the arms and legs. It improves body balance also releases stress. This pose presents independence and fearlessness.

Stand with your legs apart. Take a step with your left foot, and bend your knee at 90 degrees. Extend the arms to make them parallel to the floor. The left foot should face forwards with right foot perpendicular to left foot. The left arm and head both should point forward that is towards your left side and right arm points towards backward. Take steady breaths and repeat on the right side.

  4. Trikonasana or Triangle Pose

This posture stretches the sides of your body, strengthens the legs and tones the entire body.

Start with warrior pose, straighten your legs and with your left-hand reach towards the left ground. Gaze upwards and stay for 8 to 10 breaths. Stand up and repeat on the other side. Stay aware and let the rays of energy pass through your body.

    5. Setu Bandhasana or Bridge Pose

It is a good stretch for beginners that strengthen your back. It expands your upper front and tones your arms and shoulders.

Lie down on your back with your knees bent up. Keep your knees and feet, hip-width apart. Lift your chest towards the chin and stretch the knees away from you. Hold for 5 to 10 breaths, then lower your hips down and relax. Repeat this two times.

   6. Biralasana or cat pose

This pose creates awareness for the whole length of the spine. Move slowly and practice with patience. It also improves digestion and gives a gentle belly massage.

Start with the tabletop position with knees below your hips. Inhale making your body concave, gaze upwards keeping your back and neck long. Exhale to round your spine and release your head down. Keep your knees and shoulders apart. Repeat this pose 10 times and try to curve deeper each time.

    7. Balasana or Child Pose

Child pose is a resting pose that relaxes your body and mind. Sit down on your heels, keep your knees together. Rest your forehead on the floor and close your eyes. Enjoy the release of all stress with a soothing massage of your belly.

    8. Savasana or Corpse Pose

This is the final relaxation pose of your body. It is always advised to end your yoga practice with this pose to absorb the effects of your yoga practice.

Lie down in savasana with legs apart and arms on your side. Close your eyes and become aware of the inner side. Relax with every breath and consciously release each muscle. Let your body attain the deep relaxation and stay for 10 to 15 mins. This pose refreshes your body and mind.

Yoga let you discover body and mind, it is not about how much time you spend on the mat but how you spend the whole day outside the mat. Yoga helps you to connect with purity and improves your focus. Have a joyful yoga journey.

Yoga For Mind And Body

How to Begin Yoga For Mind And Body

Practicing yoga brings many health benefits for both mind and body. Yoga not only makes you physically strong, but it also brings that mental peace and improves your self-awareness. It is a spiritual, physical and mental practice that is followed from ancient times. Regular disciplined yoga can make your life feel better.

Yoga makes you live in the present, it teaches you to enjoy your present moment.

How to Begin

Before starting you need to understand what is yoga and how it helps. Yoga is not about those asanas, but it is about Breathing with those movements. You do not need to be flexible or graceful to do that yoga pose, you need to breathe gracefully in that.

In yoga an asana makes you feel internally alive, it makes you aware of your breath and mind. Yoga teaches your mind to focus to the center of your body. Regular yoga practice improves your health and keeps your mind calm and happy.

Yoga unites body, mind, and spirit through meditation and breathing.

Breathing in Yoga

In yoga your conscious breathing makes you feel alive. With increased breath awareness you will gain new energy, feeling of cleansing and mental clarity.  A regular flow of breath makes you attain a perfect pose.

In yoga, one should inhale on opening or unfolding the body, when stretching your body. Exhale when releasing or closing the body. When you apply these general rules in your yoga practice it should feel right to your body. When you breathe comfortably in your yoga practice then you have attained a perfect pose.

Presence of Mind

When you spend some time in a posture, it quietens the mind and thus increases concentration. By staying present in a pose your awareness deepens. Yoga asana with a conscious mind increases your feel-good factor.

Do’s And Don’t’s

In a yoga asana, you should feel steady and comfortable. When doing stretching in yoga your body should not feel any strain. Overworking your body in the name of yoga is not advised. When your mind is present in a pose it gives strength to that pose. When you gain that strength, energy, and lightness, it is easy to move your body. Flow in and out of a pose to release tension from your body.

In the beginning, you may need to put some efforts to attain a pose. With regular practice, you get more comfortable and the effort needed for that pose reduces. With some dedication, asanas will feel more comfortable and rewarding.

Discomfort and pain

When you stretch in yoga you may feel some discomfort, which is the resistance of your body. It is normal for your body to show some discomfort when you are exploring something new. But pain is more acute and is not a pleasant feeling. If you feel pain then your body alignment is not right, it should not be ignored.

Light optimum strain will engage your mind in the right direction. Yoga is meant to remove pain and suffering.

Play your edge

During practice push your edge in a slow and humble way. Grow with every pose, stay in a pose with a steady breath.  Let your body adapt the pose, attain a new level in every pose. Master your practice and challenge yourself with every pose. Be flexible with your mind, do not push it beyond limits. Encourage yourself and enjoy your yoga.

Your goal

Think about what you want to achieve with yoga. Be clear about your intention and start your practice with an open mind. Regular practice of yoga is a reward itself. Practice with honesty and integrity to make your yoga journey a joyful one.

Disorders Of Pregnancy

Understanding Pregnancy Disorders: Causes, Symptoms, and Care

Pregnancy is an unforgettable phase of every woman’s life. To make this a happy phase you need to know a few things that affect pregnancy and how you can cope up with it.

During pregnancy women’s body changes in ways to make an appropriate environment for baby’s growth inside the womb. Even though this causes discomfort to the mother these changes are normal and they subside after delivery. It is advised to avoid taking medications during pregnancy as fetal growth can get affected.

Knowledge about these minor disorders and their available treatment options can make pregnancy less stressful.

5 Most Common Disorders Of Pregnancy

1. Nausea and Morning sickness

This is seen at the beginning of the pregnancy. Morning sickness is seen during any time of the day and not only in the morning.

Causes – during pregnancy, pregnancy hormones are released to maintain pregnancy which causes nausea and vomiting. Certain foods and smell also trigger nausea in some women.

Symptoms – inability to eat food, weight loss, severe discomfort, dizziness, fever, and vomiting. These symptoms usually subside by 12 weeks but some women have it throughout their pregnancy.

In a family, it becomes difficult for women to deal with nausea and vomiting all day.  Doing daily household work becomes a big task.

Tips to avoid nausea – Avoid eating fried and spicy food. Eating a small amount of food at regular intervals is advised. Rest and sleep can reduce these symptoms.

2. Heartburn

Heartburn is burning sensation in throat and stomach while eating, commonly seen during pregnancy.

Causes – hormones acting on smooth muscles like stomach and esophagus leads to this condition.

Symptoms – burning sensation in the throat.

Heartburn makes women feel uneasy to eat or drink.

Tips to avoid – avoid spicy food and caffeine drinks. Drinking milk can give some relief. Use of pillows while sleeping is advised.

3. Increased urination

During pregnancy women, experience increase in the frequency of urination.

Causes – hormonal changes affecting the smooth muscles of the urinary tract is one of the cause and also growing baby puts pressure on bladder making the mother feel full all the time.

Symptoms – frequent urination.

Tips to avoid – drink plenty of water but limit fluid intake before going to bed to avoid disturbed sleep.

4. Leg cramps

It is a sharp sudden pain which occurs during rest or sleep.

Causes – decreased calcium and potassium level in the blood due to severe vomiting can cause these cramps. Tired muscles produce lactic acid which is also one of the causes of leg cramps.

Symptoms – sudden sharp pain in legs and foot.

This can cause disturbed sleep and tiredness.

Tips to avoid – drink plenty of fluids to replace salt and nutrients in the body, doing some leg exercises are also advised to avoid leg cramps.

5. Emotional problems

During pregnancy, a woman experiences an emotional roller coaster. It changes her body, food requirements and even affects her work efficiency and family life.

Symptoms – sudden changes in feelings, anxiety, insomnia, strange dreams and forgetfulness.

Pregnant women worry about many things, especially about the baby’s health, family issues, and labor. Sometimes they experience mood swings or emotional changes. Emotional changes and disturbed sleep makes women irritable. This can lead to misunderstanding in families. These worries and feelings are normal. During these conditions, family needs to provide emotional support and encourage them to be positive.

Pregnant women face problems in sleeping. Lying on one side and keeping a pillow between knees can make sleeping comfortable.

Conclusion

Many women do not understand how to deal with pregnancy-related problems. Hence it is required to create awareness among pregnant women and their families about these minor disorders. Simple exercise, changes in diet and some home remedies can make the mother feel better. If the condition worsens it’s better to take doctors advice.

By educating people about pregnancy-related disorders we can help minimize the complications and make pregnancy a happy pregnancy.

Boost your Immunity

Boost Your Immunity with Expert Insights

Immunity is the ability of your body to protect you from any infectious disease, it is that capacity of your body which distinguishes foreign material from self. It is immunity that keeps you healthy, avoiding any allergy and autoimmune diseases. In short, immunity is your personal defense system. So your immunity is defending you all the time from infections, but sometimes it does not succeed and a microorganism enters your body. How can you improve your immune system?

By adapting dietary and lifestyle changes you can boost your immunity. Start with some small realistic changes, so that they can become long-term lifestyle changes.

5 Simple Way to Boost Your Immunity

Adapting a healthy lifestyle

Changing to a healthy lifestyle includes, quit smoking, eat more veggies and fruits, exercise regularly and minimize your stress.

Healthy diet to improve your immunity

Eating right is a great way to your healthy immunity. If you want to improve your immunity through diet then include these powerful ingredients to your meal.

  • Citrus fruits are rich in Vitamin C, which increases the production of white blood cells. These include grapefruit, oranges, and       Lemons.
  • Almonds have Vitamin E and healthy fat. Having almonds every morning boost your immunity and keep infections away.
  • Vegetables like, broccoli, garlic, onion, ginger, red bell pepper, and mushrooms are highly recommended.
  • Yogurt is a good source of Vitamin D. It regulates your immune system. Yogurt is also a natural probiotic which improves the immunity.
  • Green tea and black tea are packed with antioxidants, which enhances your immune system.

Relaxation and sleep

Not having enough sleep and, stress suppresses the immune system. During any sickness doctors commonly advice to rest and sleep. It is strongly believed that sleep enhances our immune system and helps to defend our body. Rhythmic and scheduled sleep can optimize your immunity.

When you are relaxed and happy high level of Immune antibodies are formed. Meditation is the best way to keep your mind relaxed. Deep and rhythmic breathing will create a calm mind which can help to boost your immunity.

Quit Smoking

Smoking affects many organs of our body leading to diseases. This will hamper your immune system. So give up smoking for good immunity.

Must Read: Harvard Case Study

Workout

Workout helps in overall health, there are some exercises and yoga which can reduce stress from your life and boost immunity. Spending time in sunlight is advised as sunlight has Vitamin D  which helps our immune system to produce antibodies. Learn some cool workout tips to keep you motivated.

There are many products, natural herbs available which assure about boosting your immunity. But better than that try these natural ways. By following these simple steps you can get rid of frequent infections and lead a disease free life.

Antibiotics and Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotics are medications used to treat diseases caused by bacteria, they either kill the bacteria or reduces their growth. The antibiotic penicillin was 1st discovered in 1928, by Alexander Fleming. These antibiotics are a lifesaver when used properly.

Whenever there is a bacterial infection, our immune system can fight back. But when there are excessive bacteria, the immune system can not fight them all. In such condition, antibiotics are advised.

When to use Antibiotics

Antibiotics usually help to treat the following infections-

  • Ear infection
  • Strep throat
  • Dental infections
  • Meningitis
  • Urinary tract infections (UTI)
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s)
  • Eye infection
  • Skin infection

Only bacterial infections can be treated by antibiotics. Antibiotics do not fight against viral infections like-

  • Common cold
  • Flu
  • Coughs, and
  • Sore throats.

Some reality –

Antibiotics are great inventions and have saved many lives. But, taking antibiotics does not mean that they will fix all your symptoms. All antibiotics do is to kill the bacteria and it takes days for them to clear away that group of bacteria. Hence antibiotics are not a quick fix for any infection but are a potential lifesaver. Overuse of antibiotics can make your body bacterial resistant.

When taking antibiotics, follow the course advised by your doctor. It is important to finish the course even after feeling good. If medication is stopped in between, then there is a chance of reinfection by the remaining bacteria. This further leads to bacterial resistance.

Missing a dose

If accidentally you miss a dose of your antibiotic, then take it as soon as you remember, and continue the course. But if you have skipped one dose and its time for the next dose, do not try to double your dose. Finish your course in the normal schedule.

Side effects

Antibiotics do not cause any serious side effects. Some common side effects are:

  • Nausea
  • Diarrhea
  • Indigestion and bloating
  • Abdominal pain
  • Rash or allergy

Antibiotic Resistance

Overuse of antibiotics has led to antibacterial resistance. Each time a new antibiotic is introduced,  the bacteria adapt over time and become resistant within a few years. This is a big threat health industry is facing these days.

Antibiotic resistance is growing due to overuse and misuse of this drug. Bacteria which becomes resistant to all antibiotics can cause a major health hazard.

If antibiotics become less effective, then it becomes impossible to treat infections like pneumonia, gonorrhea, and tuberculosis.

Ways to fight back Antibiotic Resistance

To fight back this challenge, both health care provider and patients need to work towards it.

  • The health care provider needs to explain the patients, how antibiotics work and do they really need it.
  • Health care provider should avoid prescribing antibiotics when not required.
  • Follow your doctor\’s instruction while taking antibiotics and complete the course.
  • Do not skip doses and do not save them for later.
  • Trust your healthcare provider.
  • Follow some hygiene habits like washing hands, preparing hygienic food and avoiding close contact with an infected person, can prevent infections.

Researches have shown that Antibiotic resistance is seen worldwide. If this continues, then in future, people will die with simple infections that can be treated now. It is a wake-up call to take action towards reducing the use of antibiotics.

Scroll to Top