The diagnosis of Diabetes can be overwhelming and to be honest quite scary, luckily whether you are in advanced stages of the disease or have just been diagnosed, doctors and health experts have found that simple lifestyle choices can help to control, and even reverse the symptoms. I will talk about food choices in another article, but for now I will explain about yoga for diabetes and how the practice of yoga can really make a difference for you, in your life. (This article is aimed at people dealing with Type 2 Diabetes) There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 which is autoimmune and the body destroys the pancreatic cells. Type 2, (sometimes called adult onset diabetes, although we are seeing more and more cases in children), which occurs because the cells develop a type of insulin resistance, which can be triggered by health problems such as high sugar diets, obesity, and stress etc.
Health of the Nervous System: People with diabetes are at risk of developing problems with autonomic nervous system, which are the nerves that you can’t consciously control. Problems that can arise from this are anything from bowel movements to the regulation of heart rate and blood pressure. It can also affect the peripheral nervous system, leading to reduced movement and sensation, or numbness. First in the feet and later into the hands. Many asanas (postures) in yoga, particularly back bending help to remove blockages from your central nervous system (running up the spine), this can improve the functioning of the autonomic nervous system and preliminary evidence (see link) suggests it can improve nerve conduction.
Massaging the Internal organs: In the same way that you might find yourself rubbing your achy muscles after lots of physical exertion, particular postures can press or massage the internal organs. This increases blood flow to the area bringing more oxygen. Postures (particularly the twisting postures) compresses the abdomen against the thigh and induces stomach breathing, as a result the internal organs (kidneys, liver, pancreas etc.) are massaged, speeding up the blood circulation and cleansing effect (removal of toxins, blood is the carrier of the toxins as well as the nutrients). Similarly massaging of the pancreas will happen which will rejuvenate it and increase the production of the pancreatic cells and the insulin. This is how yoga differs from other forms of exercises.
Stress Reduction; Stress is a major contributing factor to diabetes. When we are stressed it increases the secretion of glucagon, which is responsible for increasing the blood glucose levels. Stress also releases cortisol, adrenaline, which can trigger food cravings. If you can consistently take a few minutes a day to practice a combination of the yoga asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing exercised), and meditation or just taking time out to calm down, you will help to reduce stress in the mind and body. It will help you to make healthier choices in all aspects of you life.
Weight loss & lower blood pressure Diabetes symptoms often get worse with high blood pressure, (or hypertension). High intensity sequences like the Surya Namaskar (sun salutation) can help to reduce weight and extra fat, which in turn will keep the blood pressure in check.
Lowers the blood sugar level: As explained earlier, the various postures of Yoga massage the internal organs and increase the insulin sensitivity helping to decrease the blood sugar level. Also sequences like Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations) will burn the glucose and the fats decreasing the sugar level in the body. We have compiled a one hour sequence which will help you keep your weight under check and control your blood sugar level. If you are Diabetic or pre-diabetic (overweight, obese), this book will help you a lot. We were inspired to write this book, as many of our close family members and friends are now suffering from diabetes. A combination of poor diet and little exercise, has fast tracked this disease into an epidemic. We have shown them various sequences, and they have all seen improvements from weight-loss to improved eyesight and reductions in medication. We have spent a long time writing up almost identical sequences, so we thought it would be better to create a book, in hope that it can also help others. We want you to regain a life that isn’t dominated by this disease, and help you move towards to a happy state of health.
We have compiled a one hour sequence consisting of Asanas, Pranayama and Kriya which will help you keep your weight under check and control your blood sugar level. If you are Diabetic or pre-diabetic (overweight, obese), this free ebook will help you a lot.
Disclaimer; none of the advice given here is supposed to replace that of a medical professional, always consult a doctor before starting and new activity.
If you are interested in finding out more about diabetes, and how you can manage or even reverse it. I recommend books by Jason Fung. He has done extensive research into the mechanism of intermittent fasting and these books are great to get better understanding of how to make changes and why.
