​​How does yoga help in managing diabetes?

Yoga is an Indian-origin exercise. Today, it has been recommended for curing various diseases and maintaining a healthy life. Practising yoga daily can help in reducing blood sugar levels. Some asanas in yoga help prevent you from high blood pressure, and there are some yoga for diabetes as well. It is considered one of the best activities to reduce weight or maintain it.

Recently, it has been found that yoga can help people suffering from diabetes get relief from the symptoms. Yoga helps increase glucagon production, the hormone that increases blood glucose levels. Let’s see how we can use yoga to control diabetes?

How is yoga helpful for diabetes?

Some yoga asanas help to have a relieving stretch of the pancreas. This leads to an increase in insulin-producing beta cells, thus ultimately causing a renewal of the pancreas. In diabetic patients, it helps increase glucose absorption of muscle leading to lowering blood sugar levels, improving circulation, and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

It is useful in weight loss and improving weight control, which is essential for protecting against cancer and heart disease. Good for developing a focused mind and creating the right mental approach to deal with diabetes.

Best yoga asanas for diabetes patients

Not all yoga poses can help a patient suffering from diabetes. Some of the effective and best yoga exercise for diabetes are Pranayama (the practice of breath regulation), Setu Bandhasana (bridge pose), Balsana (child’s pose), Vajrasana (legs up the wall pose), Sarvangasana (shoulder stand pose), Halasana (plough yoga pose), Dhanurasana (bow yoga pose), Surya Namaskar (sun salutation), and Viparita Karani (legs up the wall pose), are some of the best yoga for diabetes.

Surya Namaskar

Surya Namaskar is called a sun salutation and is one of the best yoga for diabetes. It has been practised by many people in recent and ancient times. It is extremely profitable for people suffering from diabetes. The benefits of Surya Namaskar are as follows:

1. It helps in improving blood circulation.

2. Helps in controlling and managing the insulin in the body.

3. Rejuvenation of pancreases.

4. Helps in weight loss.

Pranayama is the breathing exercise of breathing in and breathing out. Pranayama is one of the simplest of all yogas. It is of four types, namely:-

1. Bhramari Pranayama (bee breath)
2. Kapal Bhati Pranayama (shining forehead breathing technique)
3. Bhastrika Pranayama (bellows breath)
4. Nadi Shodhan Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing technique)

The benefits of Pranayama for diabetic patients are:

• It helps in oxygenating the blood.
• Improves blood circulation, thereby reducing the chance of heart diseases.
• Calms the senses and relaxes the nerves.
• Reduces cigarette cravings.
• Reduces high blood pressure
• Improves lung function.

Viparit Karani, the legs up the wall pose, is the yoga best for diabetes. It has its benefits, which include:

• This poses exercises the pancreas gland and thus helps in stimulating the pancreas.
• It exercises other internal organs together, which helps in bringing significant improvement in the body.
• Helps with backaches.
• Burn body fat, especially around your belly.
• Stimulate the digestive system.

When it comes to yoga for diabetes, Halasana comes first. It is the pose with the shape of the plough. This yoga posture is best for stressed people due to sitting in one place for long hours or having a bad body posture. The benefit of this pose are:

• This yoga pose helps in stimulating the thyroid glands, the lungs and the parathyroid glands. It also stimulates the abdominal organs.
• It helps in blood circulation in the face and the head, keeping the hormone levels under supervision.
• Reduces the stress hormones and thus acts as an effective pose for diabetic patients.
• Practising Halasana enhances flexibility, which improves muscle and joint mobility.
• The pose also strengthens your shoulders, arms, and legs.

One of the best yoga for diabetes. Vajrasana is a simple sitting yoga pose. It is a yoga pose that is easy to do at any place and anytime. Its benefits include:

• Aids in relieving digestion.
• Calm and stabilise your mind.
• Prevents the problem of gas in the stomach.
• Relieves knee pain.

Doing yoga in the morning is the best way to keep diabetes in check. One can do yoga for diabetes at its pre-stage (prediabetes). The health benefits of morning yoga practice for the people suffering from diabetes are:

1. Helps to get better sleep at night.
2. Reduces anxiety and depression.
3. Gives the feeling of well-being.
4. Cures from chronic illnesses.
5. Improves digestion, circulation and immunity.
6. Improves flexibility, posture and strength.
7. Increases the concentration capacity and energy levels.
8. Improves the respiratory, neurological and endocrine organs’ functions and efficiency.

Doing meditation and yoga in the morning or evening regularly for a few minutes helps reduce stress. It is the best way to enhance your mood and restore one’s confidence levels to fight any condition. Helps to gain control over the mind which can help control the diabetic’s craving for sweets. It is recommended to perform yoga for at least ten minutes. These can help to improve fasting blood sugar levels, heart rate, and diastolic blood pressure.

Thus it can be concluded that yoga is the best practice for diabetes patients. It helps to reduce weight or maintain it, keeps the blood pressure in check, lowers blood sugar levels, improves circulation, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Not just this, but it has a mood-enhancing effect on diabetic patients and thus helps in reducing their stress levels. Thus, now you may understand why yoga is best for diabetes?

Yoga helps to keep diabetes in check. Different asanas of yoga, if practiced regularly, can also help cure prediabetes. Some of the best asanas for diabetic patients are Pranayama, Balsana, Vajrasana, Halasana, Surya Namaskar, and Viparita Karani. It is recommended to perform yoga for at least ten minutes in the morning. This can be helpful to keep a check on diabetes as well as will keep your body healthy.

Q1) Is yoga good for insulin resistance?

Ans 1) The various yoga postures help to improve the sensitivity of β-cells to glucose, thereby improving insulin secretion. This increases the blood supply to the muscle and muscle relaxation, improving glucose uptake.

Q2) Which yoga exercise increases insulin?

Ans 2) Ardha Matsyendrasana combined with Dhanurasana, Vakrasana, Matsyendrasana, and Halasana are some of the yoga exercises that increase insulin.