Monday, November 11, 2013

Does Yoga Help With Diabetes?

In one word… YES! Yoga is excellent for people with type 2 diabetes. This disease is affecting millions of people around the world daily and the number is steadily rising. Our sedentary lifestyles, poor food choices and pace of life are all causes of this disease which can be avoided and even reversed.

Diabetes is controlled by maintaining stable blood sugar levels and keeping cholesterol levels low. This can be done with regular yoga sessions. There are many yoga poses that help to regulate the functioning of the internal organs. Yoga burns calories and improves metabolism. All these are factors which mitigate the cause of diabetes.

Since the yoga poses help to stabilize digestion, absorption of nutrients and proper elimination of wastes from the body, anybody suffering from diabetes will benefit from regular yoga sessions. Yoga is not a stressful discipline and may be done daily.

Thousands of people suffering from diabetes mellitus have reported that yoga reduced their stress level, increased their flexibility, reduced inflammation in their bod and generally made them feel healthier and more at peace. Once all these took place, keeping their diabetes in check seemed much easier and less stressful.

There are a few poses that have been reported as being extremely useful specifically for diabetes patients. These poses are - big toe pose, downward facing dog, hero posture, triangle pose, half lord of the fishes, western intense pose, fish pose and corpse pose.

The important thing to note here is that you will need to get a qualified instructor and tell them about your condition and ask them to recommend poses that will be suitable for a diabetes patient. Not all yoga poses are beneficial. So, it helps to have a qualified instructor to guide you every step of the way.

If you cannot afford one, you may do your research online and view how the poses are done on YouTube. You may be taking a risk doing it yourself and is not recommended. However, if you’re really determined to do yoga but are constrained by your budget, do your due diligence and research everything properly before engaging in any yoga on your own.

In order to benefit from yoga, you must be consistent and have regular sessions. Then and only then will you see and feel the benefits. Yoga will calm your mind and reduce your stress levels. When your stress is decreased, your blood sugar levels will be stable and will not result in heart disease.

You must practice the correct breathing techniques and meditation. This will help control cortisol levels too which are also responsible for affecting blood glucose levels.

Yoga is an ancient discipline which originated in India thousands of years ago. Though it is practiced by millions of people all over the world and its benefits cannot be denied, the medical industry does not look at yoga as an approved way of treating diabetes.

Do not let that deter you. Consult your doctor and check if you can do yoga. If you can, go ahead and do it while carrying on with your usual way of treating your diabetes. With time you will see the benefits of yoga and will need to rely less on medication. Always exercise good sense and judgment.

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