As our lifestyle is increasingly becoming sedentary with unhealthy eating practices and irregular sleeping patterns, it is affecting our body physically and mentally. At present, India is home to the second-largest diabetes patients in the world. In the human body, insulin is the hormone that regulates sugar content in the blood. Diabetes occurs due to a fluctuation in sugar levels in our blood and can be of two types. Type-1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce sufficient insulin. Type-2 diabetes is a medical condition when our body fails to use insulin effectively. While Type-1 diabetes requires insulin in the form of injections or insulin pumps, the treatment of Type-2 diabetes is possible by using drugs that increase the efficiency of insulin absorption.
Alternatively, following a proper diet and exercise routine can help in managing blood sugar levels efficiently in the case of Type-2 diabetes. Although yoga exercise helps prevent complications, it can be quite daunting for physically inactive and older people. In such cases, yoga can be a gentle yet effective way to build strength, maintain fitness, and improve the physical and mental wellness of their bodies.
With the lifestyle, eating habits, stress levels, and lack of exercise, today, every 1 in 5 people have diabetes, and not just adults but children too. There is evidence that yoga for diabetes can evade it.
Read to learn more about how you can improve your quality of life with diabetes.
Benefits of Yoga for Diabetes
Since most of the yoga asanas are gentle on your joints and heart, yoga is an excellent choice for staying healthy with diabetes. Yoga is an effective way of resistance training to build your muscles, which helps in better regulation of blood sugar levels in the body. Additionally, it results in the efficient utilization of insulin by converting glucose into energy. Here are some of the most prominent health benefits of yoga for diabetic patients:
- Lowering stress levels.
- Boosting strength and flexibility.
- Preventing heart diseases.
- Improving emotional health.
- Relaxing the mind and reducing stress.
Yoga Poses For Diabetes Patients
The following yoga asanas for diabetes, it is possible to eliminate stress, increase strength, and improve blood circulation in the body.
1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
Mountain pose is referred to as Tadasana Pose and is the best yoga asana for diabetes. It reduces body fat by toning the abdomen and buttocks. Weight reduction is a must for diabetes patients, and mountain pose helps achieve the same.
- Stand with your feet slightly apart on the floor and your arms at the sides.
- Tuck your tailbone to engage the abdominal and hamstring muscles.
- Breathe in and extend your arms upward on the sides with your palms facing up.
- Exhale and bring your arms back down slowly.
2. Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Diabetes can be reversed if beta cells increase in production. A child’s pose lends a hand to producing beta cells that produce insulin. Child’s pose yoga asana normalizes the breath rhythm and facilitates the blood flow in the body.
- Sit on your feet with your knees apart.
- Lower your head slowly to the mat, and rest your belly on top of your thighs.
- Stretch your arms forward with your palms facing down as you touch the mat in front of your head.
- Hold this pose for 10 to 20 seconds, and relax the tailbone towards your heels to stretch your lower back.
3. Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)
De-stress is one of the components of a quality life for people with diabetes. With bridge pose, it is possible to achieve this, as it improves breathing efficiency and blood circulation and reduces stress and anxiety issues.
- Lie on your back with your knees bent, keep your feet flat on the floor, and maintain a hip-width distance to keep your legs apart.
- Press your heels down into the mat. Lift the tailbone to keep your hips and lower back above the floor.
- Lace the fingers of both hands together under the hips.
- Use your abdomen and hamstrings to hold the bottom and back up. Now, release your fingers and slowly lower the tailbone back down.
4. Plank Pose (Phalakasana)
When you practice plank poses daily, you are attaining strength for muscle mass. Muscle mass is vital for metabolism. An increase in muscle mass heightens the metabolic rate. As a result, you can burn calories at a faster rate. Thus, your weight is under check.
- Get on the floor on your hands and knees with your toes tucked.
- Lift off your knees from the mat and stretch your feet towards the end.
- In this position, your body must form a straight line, and your shoulders must stack vertically over the wrists, similar to a push-up position.
- Hold the pose by engaging the abdominal muscles for around a minute until you are comfortable. Relax slowly.
5. Corpse Pose (Savasana)
Corpse pose as the name suggests, you close your eyes and concentrate on breathing. It helps you to eliminate the tension between the mind and the body. With no stress and tension in mind, your insulin is regulated, keeping your blood sugar normal.
- Lie flat on your back with your arms resting at the sides and your palms facing up.
- Relax your body, inhale through your nose, and exhale through your mouth.
- Starting with gentle breathing, proceed with deep inhaling and exhaling.
- This pose produces the best results when you warm up for about 5 minutes and end with a 10-minute relaxation.
6. Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)
The backbend pose controls blood sugar levels by stimulating your abdominal organs and opening up your chest.
- Lie down on your stomach and rest your arms alongside your body. Your palms must be facing up.
- Bend your knees and place your hands outside your ankles.
- Lift your head, chest, and knees.
- Breathe deeply and maintain this pose for 15 to 30 seconds.
- Release the pose as your exhale.
- Make a pillow for your forehead by keeping one hand on top of the other.
- Shake your hips from one side to the other gently to relax your lower back.
7. Plow Pose (Halasana)
By practicing 5 minutes of Plow Pose [Halasana] at home or in the office, you can be away from pressure and constant worry. It eases you out and leads you to a healthy life.
- Stand upside down on your shoulders and move your feet above your head to touch the floor.
- For added support, place your hands on your lower back.
- You can use a pillow, a chair, or a stool if you cannot touch the floor with your feet.
- Maintain this pose for 1 to 5 minutes until you are comfortable.
- Release by rolling your spine back and raising your legs to form a right angle.
- Lower down your legs to lie on your mat.
8. Upward-facing Dog Pose (Urdhva Mukha Shavanasana)
We are aware of how much weight loss has become a significant part of class life. Upward-facing dog poses promote weight loss. What’s more, it perks up blood circulation, facilitating the insulin level in the body.
- Lie on your stomach and extend your legs behind you.
- Keep your forearms perpendicular to the floor and place your palms flat on the floor.
- Straighten your arms and press into your palms as you lift your body and legs.
- Bend your elbows slightly and engage your abdominal, arm, and thigh muscles. Keep your hips and shoulders firm.
- Relax your neck and maintain the pose for 20 to 30 seconds.
9. Seated Forward Bend Pose (Paschimottanasana)
A seated forward bend, or Paschimottanasana, triggers the stomach and pelvis organs of the body. It provides the right amount of massage to the pancreas. As a result, it compels the endocrine glands to release insulin. This ensures the sugar level is under control.
- Sit down on the mat, then extend your legs.
- Draw your toes back towards your shins.
- Sit straight on your sitting bones and lengthen your spine.
- Hinging at your hips, bend forward to touch your feet with your hands.
- Fold your torso in between your legs, with your chin tucking into your chest.
- Maintain the pose for up to 3 minutes until you are comfortable.
10. Legs up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
15 minutes of Viparita Karani or the legs-up-the-wall pose will regulate the sugar and insulin levels in the body. The pose facilitates nourishment to the endocrine glands, easing the release of insulin in a timely manner. It also increases blood circulation, reducing sugar levels in the body.
- Sit down on the floor with your body resting against a wall on the right side.
- Lift your legs along the wall by lying flat on your back as your body forms a right angle against the wall.
- Place your sitting bones close to the wall and relax your chin and neck.
- Stretch your arms outward on the sides with your palms facing up.
- Maintain this pose for 5 to 10 minutes before releasing your legs slowly down on the side.
Mudra For Diabetes Patient
1. Linga Hand Mudra
Linga hand mudra reduces blood sugar levels. Practising it for 15 minutes daily will enhance the metabolism. This will lower the blood sugar level. To do Linga hand mudra, interlock the fingers of both hands and keep them in front of the chest. After this, you have to straighten the thumb of one hand and bring the opposite hand’s thumb around it.
2. Pran Hand Mudra
Pran hand mudra is all about strengthening immunity. By practicing this mudra for 15 minutes, people with diabetes get support for the body’s defence mechanisms. You will have to fold the ring and little fingers together in a way that touches the tip of the thumb. The tall finger and index finger will remain stretched out.
3. Apana Hand Mudra
This mudra for diabetes eliminates the impurities around the glands and in the digestion system that are prone to the risk of secreting insulin. By performing this mudra, you urinate more and flush out the excess sugar level in the body. Practice this mudra by bending the middle and ring fingers of both hands and touching the thumb’s tip, keeping the other two fingers stretched out.
4. Gyan Hand Mudra
Stress and anxiety trigger sugar levels. Gyan-hand mudra de-stresses the mind. It calms the mind, which is essential for people with diabetes. You will have to sit in a relaxed position, fold your index finger, and touch your thumb’s tip. Keep the other three fingers stretched out. Now pose the mudra on the kneecap with the palm side facing up.
Conclude
Yoga, when practiced with the right technique and from the right yoga teacher, fetches you infinite benefits. It manages your holistic development of the body. Yoga for sugar control must be done regularly to improve the life of a diabetic person. The world is discovering new advantages of yoga and its relevance to diseases. It is time we embrace the benefits of yoga and reverse diabetes as if it never existed. We are ready to help you! Are you?
FAQ
1. Is Suryanamakar good for diabetes?
Yes, Suryanamakar, yoga for sugar control is good for diabetes. It improves the blood flow to the pancreas. As a result, it enhances the production of insulin in the body. Performing 12 sun salutation poses daily will aid in reducing fasting blood sugar levels and stress.
2. Can Anulom-Vilom cure diabetes?
Yes, practicing AnulomVilom daily can reverse diabetes. It keeps the lungs healthy and helps in blood circulation by supplying oxygenated blood to all the parts of the body. It detoxifies the impurities in the digestive system, easing out the secretion of insulin.
3. Can deep breathing lower blood sugar?
Yes, deep breathing can lower blood sugar levels. The diaphragmatic Breathing technique gets insulin levels back to their normal state. It reduces insulin resistance and thereby the blood glucose levels too. Deep breathing controls the oxidative stress that prevents elevating the blood sugar level.
