Yoga & Diabetes Prevention

Diabetes is a condition where the body either resists or doesn't produce enough insulin, the hormone that regulates sugar in your bloodstream. Some ways to prevent the onset of diabetes include eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, keeping off excess pounds and minimizing stress. The practice of yoga addresses all these areas.

Yoga benefits

• A regular yoga practice not only builds strength and flexibility, it aids circulation, fortifies the lungs and heart, calms the mind, reduces stress, helps you lose weight, and keeps the body in balance.

  Researchers at the University College of Medical Sciences in Delhi, India, have found that yoga can decrease blood sugar and blood pressure levels.

  The best yoga poses for diabetes prevention focus on the pancreas, the organ where insulin originates. Sun salutations heat the body and increase blood supply to your organs; back bends stimulate the pancreas; forward bends nourish cells with a supply of freshly oxygenated blood; and resting pose gives the body a chance to incorporate these benefits.

Meditation

• To begin, all you need is a yoga mat and comfortable clothes. Start with a seated meditation, focusing on your breath and relaxing tight muscles to release stress.

Sun salutations

• This aerobic series postures get you flowing as you connect with your breath.
  . Stand at the front of your yoga mat, feet hip-width apart.
  . Inhale, raise your arms overhead; exhale, lower your arms as you bend forward.
  . Inhale, lengthen your spine toward the front of the room; exhale, bend forward, place your hands flat, shoulder-width apart, and walk your feet back into downward-facing dog. Your body will be in an upside-down V shape.
  . Inhale, bring your shoulders over your hands (like the beginning of a push-up); exhale, lower your body slightly forward.
  . Inhale, lengthen your spine forward, and lift your head and shoulders for cobra pose; exhale, step back into downward-facing dog.
  . Inhale, walk to your hands, and lengthen your spine toward the front of the room; exhale, bend forward.
  . Inhale, rise to stand as you reach your arms overhead; exhale, relax your arms to the side.
  . Repeat this series at least four more times.

Back bends

• Back bends, like cobra pose, stretch the abdominal muscles and tone the organs. For locust pose, lie on your belly, lengthen your spine forward and lift your torso, arms and legs. Hold for 30 seconds.

Forward bend

• Seated forward bend stretches and relaxes muscles, calms the mind and lifts your spirits. Sit on your mat with your legs straight in front of you (if this is uncomfortable, sit on a folded blanket), take a deep breath, lengthen your spine upward and exhale, lead with your chest as you hinge forward. Hold a strap around your feet, keeping your elbows bent. Hold for a minute or so.

Resting pose

• Lie on your back, feet slightly apart, arms out to your sides, palms facing upward. Close your eyes and focus on breathing for five minutes.