Tame your Blood Sugar

YOGA has wide-ranging therapeutic values, one of the most important being the management of type 2 diabetes. But how exactly does yoga prevent/cure diabetes? 

Yoga helps you keep your blood sugar levels under control in three ways: by checking your weight; by relieving stress (a major trigger for escalating blood glucose levels) and by improving the functions of the pancreas (the organ that produces insulin, a glucose-regulating hormone). Even though there's very little scientific data to prove yoga's action on the pancreas, wisdom in the field points to it. I would recommend a few asanas that will help you control diabetes better than before.

BHUJANGASANA 

Lie on your stomach with legs and toes together and pointing outward, hands by the side of the body, palms facing upward and forehead on the floor. Now bend hands from the elbows and place palms on the floor near each shoulder. Keeping your thumb under the armpit, raise the chin and turn the head backward over the right shoulder as you inhale. Raise the thorax up to the navel. Hold this position for some time while breathing normally. Come down to the starting position while exhaling. Also good for bronchitis, asthma and spondylitis. It strengthens the spine, lends flexibility to the chest, shoulders and abdomen and firms the buttocks.


DHANURASANA 

Lie on your stomach and bend your knees, holding your ankles with both hands. Inhale and raise the upper body and legs. Hold for some time, breathing normally and come back to the starting position. Also good for digestion, this asana cures constipation while strengthening and improving the function of your spine.

NAUKASANA 

Lie down on your back with your feet together and palms resting on your thighs. Inhale and raise both legs, lifting your upper body off the floor. Hold it for some time and breathe normally keeping your hands parallel to the floor. Now come back to the starting position slowly. Also good for nervousness and tension. Naukasana lends flexibility to your joints and bolsters the capacity of your intestines, while improving the functions of your stomach, liver and pancreas.

BHRAMARI PRANA-YAMA 

Sit on the floor in a comfortable posture with a straight back, eyes closed and shoulder muscles relaxed. Inhale deeply and exhale slowly with a murmuring sound like a bee. Also good for lungs. It enhances your oxygen efficiency by reducing carbon-dioxide in the blood.

VAMANKRIYA 

Add one tablespoonful of salt to one litre of lukewarm water and drink all of it, as quickly as possible, until you feel full to the point of throwing up. Lean forward and insert the middle and index fingers of your right hand deep into your throat. Vomit out the water until your stomach is empty. Relax in the shavasana pose for 10 mins. You need to do this near a wash basin. Also good for gastro-intestinal problems. It also relieves you of headaches, nervous weakness, chronic cold and asthma.