The Habit Coach with Ashdin Doctor

Did you know that it's possible to rewire our brains with just the use of positive thoughts? In the book 'The Brain That Changes Itself', Dr. Norman Doige wrote about 'positivity workouts' that can actually rewire and change old negative thought patterns. On this episode, Ashdin talks about how we can cultivate positivity. Tune in to find out how! You can follow Ashdin Doctor on Instagram @ashdind...

Did you know that lying is actually bad for your health? Many studies have been conducted where they show that lies increase our stress level, thus affecting our bodies. Turns out lying is bad for the brain too. Lying has so many negative aspects to it. You start with one lie and then you are forced to keep lying and coming up with bigger and more elaborate lies. But, could there be a good way to...

Did you know that the fingers in our hands have no muscles? All movements in the fingers is controlled by ligaments. Hence, there are no exercises to grow the muscles in your hands, because there aren't any. The average grip strength is reducing the world over. People's ability to hold things is reducing day by day. How can we change this in ourselves? On this episode, Ashdin talks about the best...

Did you know that not all years that are divisible by 4 are leap years? All this business of days in a year can be quite confusing. But it is cutting edge science! For instance, we added a leap second a few years ago. We didn't notice of course, but we technically had an extra second added to our lives, just like we have an extra day added this year. It's like you have been gifted time. What do yo...

We all know people who are diabetic. Every family has one. Hence, it becomes important for us to know, whether you yourself are diabetic or not, how to deal with a person who has diabetes, or at least understand it. On this episode, Ashdin is joined by Dr. Roshani Sanghani, one of his closest friends and an endocrinologist, who breaks down the topics of sugar and diabetes in easy-to-understand way...

Did you know that there is no one hormone that causes us to get angry? Which means that anger is a very complex emotion. The world is divided into two kinds of people. The first has no control over their anger and it consumes them. The second has too much control over their rage and they are able to shove it deep inside and bury it. Both are unhealthy! Which one are you? On this episode, Ashdin ta...

Did you know that the first commercially available first aid kit was created by none other than Johnson & Johnson? Fist aid kits are typically for physical conditions. But what about first aid kits for our emotional state. Think about it, when we are passing through a very emotional state, filled with negative thoughts, don't we feel like we are dying inside? On this episode, Ashdin takes us d...

Did you know that the whirling dance or meditation of the Sufi has a very fun origin? It involves a 13th-Century mystic, a clanking hammer, whirling, dizziness and a trance-like state of complete peace and ecstacy. Ashdin just had his first experience of this yesterday. He went to a Sufi workshop, half expecting to fall flat on his face with all the spinning. Feel dizzy and disoriented. However, h...

Did you know that Mondays are the most bunked days of the week? This week, Ashdin talks about why Mondays are the most bunked days, while Fridays are the most attended, and how we can change the temptation to bunk on a Monday. He also talks about how we can maintain a work-life balance by leaving our work at the office and our personal lives at home. Tune in to find out how. You can follow Ashdin...

Did you know that the human mind is designed to remember bad memories more than good ones? This is because, from an evolutionary perspective, it is very important to remember bad things. Bad things are always taken as a warning sign. Chances are that you remember your nightmares far more than you remember your happy dreams, even though you have a lot more of the latter than the former. On this epi...

Did you know that Ashdin, The Habit Coach had a list of '10 habits for 2020' for you to pick up and carry forward this year and beyond? Well, here it is! Recently, Ashdin had done a talk at Soho House, Mumbai, to celebrate the podcast completing 1 year! It got such a good review that Ashdin wanted to share these 10 habits with you. So, in this 3-part series, Ashdin runs down the best habits for yo...

Did you know that Ashdin, The Habit Coach had a list of '10 habits for 2020' for you to pick up and carry forward this year and beyond? Well, here it is! Recently, Ashdin had done a talk at Soho House, Mumbai, to celebrate the podcast completing 1 year! It got such a good review that Ashdin wanted to share these 10 habits with you. So, in this 3-part series, Ashdin runs down the best habits for yo...

Did you know that Ashdin, The Habit Coach had a list of '10 habits for 2020' for you to pick up and carry forward this year and beyond? Well, here it is! Recently, Ashdin had done a talk at Soho House, Mumbai, to celebrate the podcast completing 1 year! It got such a good review that Ashdin thought it a great idea to share these 10 habits with you. So, in this 3-part series, Ashdin runs down the b...

Did you know that the smallest muscle in the body is called the 'stapedius'? This muscle is located in our inner ear and holds the smallest bone in our body in place. That's the smallest muscle. Do you know the largest muscle in our body? It is the 'gluteus maximus'. Or our butt! Our legs are amazing machines. The way they fold, the way they generate power. Compact and efficient. Yet, completely i...

Did you know the origin of the word 'health' means 'to be whole'? Health is such a hot topic these days because, at some level, none of us feel whole. We all feel broken in some way, held together by sheer willpower and faith. Some aspect of our life feels broken and incomplete. On this episode, Ashdin Doctor - The Habit Coach, talks about how he views health, wellness and fitness, and their relat...

Did you know that Google was originally called 'Backrub'? The founders used this as the company’s name because it used to collect backlinks to websites. It is critical for us to learn how to research. What is it that we're searching for? How does one hold that information in the mind? How to deal with two websites or studies that say completely contradictory things? On this episode, Ashdin underli...

Sugar, as an addictive substance, is very devious. Some studies show that it is more addictive than even cocaine. Here, we continue from the previous episode where we discussed the first two stages of getting over sugar addiction. After having set your intentions to give up sugar, then having worked on breaking the habits and routines that already exist, on this episode, Ashdin breaks down the psy...

Did you know that there's a big difference between substance 'addiction' and 'abuse'? Very often, we mistake the two. In the order of seriousness, addiction is far worse than abuse. In the case of sugar, 'abuse' could be having a large piece of cake plus ice-cream, plus a bar of chocolate, but only once in a while. On the other hand, 'addiction' is feeling the need for dessert everyday. So, how ca...

Did you know it takes about two months to form a habit from a behaviour? When we start doing something new, or when forming a new habit, there is always a struggle. It is something that we have to force our selves to do. It doesn’t come easily to us. Most of us stop at this stage as we start thinking if this struggle is going to be worth it in the long run. Ashdin talks about one of the most power...

Did you know that Reindeer are possibly the only mammal that can see ultraviolet light? Humans can see up to the colour violet and not beyond it. Learning about light and the way it affects our physiology is absolutely fascinating as sight is something we all take so much for granted. For instance, our sleep hormone is affected by the presence of blue light. Hence, over a period of time, we start...

Did you know that the fear of failure can be transferred from parent to child? On this episode, Ashdin talks about failure, how to fail with grace and how to not let the failure put you down. When we fail, it is never the failure that stops our growth. It is the reaction to the failure that affects our self-worth. Every failure has something to teach you if you're willing to learn. Don't fail back...

Did you know that it takes about one to two hours for a banana to be digested? Some other foods take anywhere from 7 hours to a full day to be digested and used as energy. On this episode, Ashdin talks about something he gets asked a lot - can you exercise while fasting? It's a scary thought for most as we've been told that we will faint, or we won't be able to perform on an empty stomach. Listen...

Did you know that kids understand the concept of ownership of items by the age of 18 months? That is, they can fathom the difference between what is theirs and what's someone else's. Historically, there have been tribes where the concept of 'individual ownership' didn't exist. It was all owned collectively by the tribe. On this episode, Ashdin Doctor talks about all the things we attach the word '...

Did you know the bones in our spine are the first bones to form in the womb? On this episode of The Habit Coach, Ashdin talks about why and how most of us no longer look back much. By 'look back', we mean physically looking back - rotation of the spine. Ashdin tells us the importance of turning and twisting our spine, especially in today's time, when our world is no longer designed for it. How can...

Did you know that as someone's caregiver, you can see a steady decline in your own health as well? On this episode of The Habit Coach, Ashdin talks about how the caregiver's health should be his/her first priority, as how can one properly take care of someone they love, if they themselves are not healthy? He also talks about how, in today's times, we can't possibly keep up with all the things goin...