What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is chronic diseases that cause high blood sugar (glucose) levels in the body.This happens as the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the body can’t make insulin well. Without insulin, the sugar in the blood does not reach the body’s cells, and it builds up in the blood. Ultimately, having too much glucose in the blood leads to health problems. Diabetes patients need to carefully control their blood sugar levels as they may become too high.

Nowadays, this condition can happen to anybody, irrespective of age, place, or genetic history. The condition can be controlled with a little awareness and care. Good food, regular exercise, and a few minutes of yoga practice every day.Just look out for these common symptoms:

Common symptoms of diabetes

• Frequent visits to the toilet to urinate, especially at night.
• Being really thirsty or hungry
• Feeling more tired than usual.
• Losing weight.
• Cuts and wounds take longer to cure.
• Unclear vision.

Yoga for diabetes

Yoga is one of the best effective results to control diabetes. It is a popular practice that many people find beneficial for their health. It acts as a good form of exercise and may reduce stress. It also helps people with diabetes to manage their condition.

Benefits of yoga for diabetes Patient

• You bring positive benefits for people with diabetes.
• Yoga is an excellent workout for people with diabetes.
• Yoga has the ability to handle and puts a stop to diabetes.
• Yoga helps in reforming the body. It slowly affects body system with regular practice and enthusiasm.
• Yoga helps to reduce stress.
• Yoga is appropriate for every age and fitness level.
• Yoga improves digestion, circulation, and immunity

Yoga has numerous health benefits and you can find countless relief by accepting yoga and its postures (asanas) as a daily practice. Keeping the body active and mind stress-free are essential for the treatment of diabetes with help of Yoga poses.

Best yoga poses to control diabetes

1. Salutations to the Sun (Surya Namaskar)

It is considered as one of the best exercises for them all. It helps to work out all the different parts of human body. Therefore, this pose is very helpful for diabetes control as well. For getting best results, do salutations to the sun for at least 15 minutes in the early morning.

Steps to do: There are 12 rounds of sun salutations. You should stand with your toes touching each other while your heels should be kept apart. With arms on the side, the palms are moved forward and stretched.

2. Breathing (Pranayama)

Pranayama is a breathing exercise. While performing pranayama, it is said that you breathe out strains and breathe in joy. Pranayama helps in controlling diabetes as it improves the immune system of the human body and reduces all the unnecessary stress on the mind.

Steps to do: While doing pranayama, sit on the mat either cross-legged or in Padma- asana. With the back straightened and palms on the knees, close your eyes. While you breathe in, try to bring your stomach outward and hold the breath for a few seconds. Release air slowly while your belly moves inwards. After repeating it 15-20 times, rub your palms together and place them on your eyes. Open your eyes slowly now.

3. Tree Pose (Vrikshasana)

It is one of the best exercises for diabetes patient. This yoga pose helps to manage diabetes by effectively helping in the secretion of insulin by the pancreas of the human body system.

Steps to do: While performing, you stand straight with the knees, hands, and legs all in a straight position. The right foot to be positioned on the right thigh. After that, bring the palms in the center of your chest by holding them together. Now, try to place your hands over the head. Now the arms are raised over the head. Stay in this pose for a few seconds and then be relaxed. Repeat the process with the other leg and repeat the entire procedure for few times.

4. Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana)

This yoga asana will give you the same energetic feeling. This is the best yoga asana for the people suffering from diabetes.

Steps to do: To perform this pose, you have to stand with your feet together. After that, Place your right foot a few steps down the mat. The left foot should take turns inwards. While breathing in, raise your left arm and stretch sidewards while looking towards your thumb. Then breathe out air as your right arm is placed on the right foot. Hold this pose for a few seconds and further repeat the position in the opposite direction.

5. Child’s Pose (Balasana)

This yoga pose helps to stretch the hips, arms, thighs, backs, and ankles. This pose relaxes the entire physical and mental body. It helps to reduce stress-related conditions. Do this asana; in-between yoga poses to improve overall benefits.

Steps to do: While doing this posture, you have to sit down and put your whole body weight on the knees. You have to sit on your heels. With the thighs kept to one side, use your waist to bend forward. To be sure that you have stretched your arms as possible as you can. The pose is also recognized as the child’s pose and is effectively a resting pose. Remain in this pose for maximum time as you can and repeat it 5-6 times for getting results.

6. Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana)

To improve digestion and to Keep the body active and mind stress-free, this yoga asana helps to control not only diabetes but protects the overall health too. It is also one of the simplest postures which help to improve our health as well.

Steps to do: While performing this yoga pose, you have to just kneel down, with the heels of the feet pointing upwards. Then the hips should be placed on the heels. With both palms on your knees, face downwards. Breathe normally and just stay relaxed.

7. Wheel Pose (Chakrasana)

This is another way to manage and control diabetes by doing yoga that is called the Chakrasana. Chakrasana or the wheel pose is a backward bending yoga asana. It gives great flexibility to the spine.

Steps to do: For this, first, lie down on your back. Post that, bend your knees and your legs should be kept close to the hips. Try to now touch the knee one after the other onto the ground. Turn your head in the direction opposite to that of the knee. Repeat the posture for best results. However, if you are someone who is suffering from injuries in the spine, you should avoid this yoga posture.

8. Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)

This is a very effective yoga posture for diabetes patients. It helps to strengthen the immune system of the human body as well which enables to avoid and fight the other complications which accompany diabetes. It not only helps to improve hormonal secretion of the pancreas but the body also maintains a balanced level of blood sugar levels as you perform this yoga asana.

Steps to do: To effectively do this posture, take a yoga mat and lie down on your stomach. With both the knees bend, hold the ankles. Try to pull the entire upper body upwards as you take the body’s support while stretching the ankles. Stretch the ankles in this position to the maximum possible extent. Repeat this posture no less than 12 to 15 times.

9. Sitting Half Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

This yoga posture is also known as the half twist pose. By squeezing out toxins from all the important body organs, namely the pancreas, liver, intestines, gall bladder, etc. the half twist pose goes a long way in helping one to control diabetes.

Steps to do: While doing this posture, you have to sit down and just stretch your legs. Then fold the right leg in such a way that the heel of the right leg should touch the knee of the left leg. Now the right hand should be kept at the back of the waist and you should now twist. Bringing the left hand close to the right knee, hold the ankle of this leg. Also, try to twist your head and shoulders as you sit in this position.

10. Seated Forward Bend Pose (Paschimottanasana)

This yoga asana helps in the smooth flow of blood all the way through the body. It helps in managing diabetes in a better way. This posture stimulates liver, pancreas, and kidney. It is not only beneficial in the treatment of diabetes but also helps lower cholesterol and high blood pressure. It activates nervous system, calm mind, and relieves your stress.

Steps to do: Start with the leg being stretched out and hold the toe of the feet with the help of your fingers. It is preferable to use either your thumb or your index finger for this purpose. While exhaling air, bend forwards and try to touch the knee with your forehead and the elbows are kept on the floor all this while. Try to stay in this position for a few seconds and as you get back into your original position, inhale the air. Remember to avoid doing it if you are someone who is suffering from any kind of back pain or problem in the spine.

11. Shoulder Stand Pose (Sarvangasana)

This yoga pose helps to recover the digestive system, the immune system of the human body, increase the metabolism, preventing the body from nerve damage, etc. All this takes a long time in helping to fight and manage diabetes and its related complications in a much better way.

Steps to do: To effectively do this posture (asana), lie on the yoga mat in a straight position. Now lift the legs straight in the forward direction while taking the support of your hands. Try to point your toes to the ceiling and entire weight should perfectly be on your shoulders. Stay in this position as possible time and then get back to the normal lie down position only slowly. Remember to not to perform the exercise if you are suffering from back problems or have the problem of a high blood pressure.

12. Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

This yoga posture is very effective in controlling diabetes because it helps to maintain a balanced level of blood pressure. Besides, it also helps to reduce stress levels by helping you to relax your mind and body. This yoga posture is considered as the best posture if you want to improve your digestion as well as metabolism.

Steps to do: To start with, you need to lie down flat on the yoga mat. Breathe out air and try to push your body upwards while the heels are still on the floor. Besides, the neck and the head should also remain flat on the floor while the rest of the body lies hung in the air. Try to use your hand as the support. You can also touch your toes with the hands if you are able to stretch to that extent. Remain in this posture for a few seconds before returning to your original position. Remember, however, to avoid this yoga position if you have problems in the neck and back.

13. Double Leg Poses(Uttanpadasana)

The double leg yoga pose is an effective way of controlling and managing diabetes as well as the other complications. This Pose is also beneficial for those suffering from lower back pain. It makes strong the abdominal muscles and the lower back.

Steps to do: Just lie down straight on your back and try to raise both your legs up in the air while simultaneously breathing at the same time. At this point, the arms should stay very close to your body and you should remain in this position until the time you can hold to it.

14. The Fish Pose (Matsyasana)

This particular yoga pose is yet another effective way of controlling and managing your diabetes.This pose is usually done with the yogi’s legs in Padmasana (Lotus Pose).

Steps to do: Just take a yoga mat and lay on your back. The legs should be kept very close to each other but care should be taken to not overlap them with each other. After that, try to lift the neck so that the chin is able to face the ceiling. Try to stay in this posture for as long as you can and then get back to the relaxed self.

The effectiveness of yoga has long been known to be the cure for most of the diseases. When practiced regularly, the above yoga postures help you to control diabetes to a great level. We expect that by reading the above article, you will now be aware of the different yoga poses which can help you in controlling diabetes. Even though you are not suffering from the disease, it is highly suggested that you initiate adopting it as a daily practice because of various health benefits of yoga.

We all need to remember that the major cause of diabetes, like other diseases, is nothing but stress. Once you are able to handle the problem of stress, you will be in a better position to even manage conditions like diabetes. Thus, the practice of yoga has highly been suggested by the medical experts. With yoga, you can also get the benefits linked with meditation. Yoga can also help you in restoring your lost confidence and helping you lead a life which is as normal and healthy as possible. It is always advisable to be careful while you perform some of the above-mentioned poses, particularly when you are suffering from some type of shoulder pain, neck pain, or any other problems. It is best to avoid some of the poses which might harm your body!!