With diabetes cases reaching record highs in recent times, new ways of treating the disease are being sought. India is the land that introduced the world to the healing powers of Yoga.
Diabetes is a metabolic condition that occurs either when the body cannot produce the hormone insulin needed to convert sugar into energy or when the body is unable to properly use the insulin you produce. If yoga is a cure for diabetes, it does not mean that it is a substitute for medical treatment.
Practicing yoga helps in the management and control of diabetes and acts as a preventive for diabetes, which is often caused by a hectic lifestyle and eternal stress. Incorporating yoga into your daily regime can help reduce your blood sugar levels, as well as lower blood pressure rates and weight loss.
Yoga is a combination of different elements such as cleansing processes (kriya), postures (asanas), and controlled breathing(pranayama). Let’s discuss the detailed study of diabetes and how it can be controlled by yogic practices.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a type of disorder that affects the way the body converts food into energy. When food is digested and broken down into simple sugar, called glucose. It is glucose that provides the energy needed for every cell in the body. Insulin, a hormone from the pancreas, helps move glucose into cells.
The pancreas regulates the amount of insulin produced based on the level of glucose in the body. In people who have diabetes, this process is disturbed, and blood sugar levels become very high.
There are various factors affecting diabetes which are as follows
Common factors:-
- History of high blood pressure
- High blood triglyceride (fat) levels
- Obesity
- Gestational diabetes
- Aging
Lifestyle factors:-
- High levels of job-related or personal stress
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Irregular sleep/work hours
- Lack of exercise
Contribution of dietary factors:-
- Excessive indulgence with high fat/rich food intake
- Frequent smoking and/or alcohol consumption
- Excessive intake of sweets and carbohydrates
How does yoga help in diabetes?
- Enhances overall metabolic health- If you practice yoga for even 10 minutes along with your regular medical care for diabetes, it improves your metabolic health.
- Helps Manage Diabetes-Research suggests that many yoga practices have a positive effect on the effective management of chronic diseases such as diabetes.
For example, yoga practice improves the efficiency of pancreatic beta cells. This can enable the pancreas to produce insulin for your body. Thus you can always do yoga for sugar control and diabetes care. It is advised to always consult your doctor before starting your yoga program. This is because some yoga postures are complicated.
- Helpful in the Management of Gestational Diabetes-Studies have shown that yoga has beneficial effects when it comes to achieving glycemic control in gestational diabetes. It also helps reduce the risk of prediabetes and obesity.
- Enhances Your Weight Loss Process-Yoga exercise is one of the best ways to stimulate your weight loss process. Research says effective weight loss through yoga activities and reduces obesity-related health complications
- Keeps Heart Healthy-Yoga can enhance your heart health. It improves your cardiovascular fitness. People with diabetes have a higher risk of heart diseases. But doing yoga helps them to maintain a healthy heart.
- Yoga Enhances Mental Health-People with diabetes are more likely to face depression issues. One way you can prevent stress levels from taking a toll on your health is through yoga has a positive effect on your mental health.
Here we are discussing some yogasana that help in controlling your diabetes.
Mandukasana-
Mandukasana is considered the best to control diabetes. When we do Mandukasana, the shape of the body becomes like a frog, hence the name of this posture is named Mandukasana.
This asana is also beneficial for the stomach, this posture activates the pancreas, which controls the secretion of insulin, and hence this asana is very beneficial for the diabetic patient.
Method:-
- First of all, sit comfortably on a yoga mat or a comfortable mat.
- After this, you sit in the posture of Vajrasana.
- Now make a fist in which your thumb is inside the fist.
- Now place your fist in the center of the navel.
- You take a long breath in.
- While exhaling, lean forward slightly and apply more pressure towards the navel.
- Now make sure that your chest is touching your thighs.
- The focus of your eyes should be in front.
- You stay in this state for 2-3 minutes.
- Now while making this pose, breathe in and out for a while.
- When you leave this pose, take a long breath.
- Now take a long breath and come into Vajrasana.
- Repeat this process 3-5 times.
Precautions:-
- People who are complaining of back pain, knee pain should not do it.
- Do not put maximum strain on your stomach and try to maintain the posture for a long time.
Ardha Matsyendrasana-
It is also known as Sitting Half Spinal Twist Pose and Half Lord Fish Pose. The diabetic patient should do this regularly. Practicing this yoga posture instructs the beta cells of the pancreas to secrete more insulin as Ardha Matsyendrasana stimulates the pancreas gland. The secretion of insulin controls the sugar in the blood, which is beneficial in diabetes.
Method:-
The various steps to do Ardha Matsyendrasana are given below.
- First of all, spread your legs in front of you and sit on the ground.
- Now bend your left leg so that the left foot comes close to your hips while the right foot is placed outside the left knee.
- Now place the left hand on the right knee and hold the toes of the right foot with the left hand.
- Now to touch the navel from behind, place your right hand around the waist behind your back.
- You try to look back by turning your head to the right.
- You repeat the same action from the other side as well
Precautions:-
- Ardha Matsyendrasana should not be done by people who are suffering from peptic ulcer, hernia, and hyperthyroidism.
- Women should avoid practicing this asana after two or three months of pregnancy
- People who have spinal problems should also avoid this asana.
Bhujangasana-
It is one such yogasana that is made up of two words. In which Bhujang means snake. Bhujangasana is called Cobra Pose because the shape of the body becomes like a snake while practicing it. There are many benefits of this yoga posture for health, due to which it has also been included in Surya Namaskar.
It has been studied that regular practice of this asana has a positive effect on the diabetes level of the body. This asana regulates the insulin level. Bhujangasana can help in improving impaired metabolism. Bhujangasana can help in keeping many organs healthy by increasing blood circulation in the body.
Method:-
- First of all, lie down.
- Now keep your hands on either side of the head and keep the forehead on the ground.
- Then while taking a long deep breath, try to raise the body up to the navel while applying pressure towards the ground with the hands.
- First of all, try to raise the head, then the chest, and finally the navel part.
- Stay in this position and try to look towards the sky and stay in this position for some time.
- Keep the weight of your body equally on both hands and keep breathing normally.
- Now slowly exhale and come to your starting position.
- In this way, you complete one cycle of this yoga.
- Try to complete three to five cycles of this asana according to your ability.
Precautions:-
Bhujangasana yoga should not be done under the conditions.
- Pregnancy
- Menstruation
- During carpal tunnel syndrome
- Joint pain.
- In the event of fractures in the wrists or ribs.
Dhanurasana-
Dhanurasana is also known as Bow Pose. While doing this asana, the shape of your body becomes like a bow. Dhanurasana is considered one of the 12 basic asanas of hatha yoga. The whole back gets a good stretch by the practice of this asana.
Dhanush mudra improves the functioning of the pancreas and intestines thus helping in synchronizing the blood sugar levels to a great extent. The liver, pancreas, intestine, and enzymes work actively with the practice of this asana.
Method:-
- Lie down on your stomach. Keep your feet close and keep your hands near your feet.
- Slowly bend your knees and hold the ankle with your hands.
- Breathe inwards and lift the chest and lift the thighs off the ground.
- Look in front of you and keep a smile on your face.
- Try to focus your attention on the movement of your breath. Your body should be stretched like a bow. Keep taking a long and deep breath.
- You become normal while exhaling after about 15-20 seconds.
Precautions:-
- Do not practice this asana if you have a neck or lower back injury.
- Do not practice this asana if you have had any abdominal surgery.
- Do not do this asana if you have problems like high blood pressure, ulcers, migraine, headache, or hernia.
In the end- Diabetes is a very common disease in the modern world. It is increasingly being seen in all age groups. Yoga is a primary way of meeting this need by balancing all bodily needs. It is useful in keeping the body fit and protecting it from many health risks. Yoga is an ancient traditional method of healing and healing.
It focuses on the balance of all the internal elements of the body. This helps to eliminate all the problems from the root. This yoga also enhances the body’s defenses and makes it less susceptible to catching other diseases. Yoga helps to develop multiple organs and promote healthy blood flow.
Some such simple yoga poses have been mentioned above, which will not only help you in preventing diabetes, and by doing them regularly, you will also be able to control blood sugar level.
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