Yoga can help find answers to diabetes

Regular special yoga exercises can help diabetics control their blood sugar levels to a great extent, regular practitioners of this ancient discipline say. An instructor vouched for the fact that many people he knew who had been practising yoga on a daily basis had reduced or controlled their blood sugar levels. "It works," said Tony D'Silva, an instructor with the Dubai-based Friends of Yoga. "Among the participants, there were many sick people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics and heart patients about to undergo a bypass. Many have recovered from their illness and themselves become instructors," he said. Article continues below According to Dr Madhur Prashar, an Ayurvedic doctor, a special yoga posture vitalises the pancreas. "This helps release insulin," she said. The posture is called ‘Ardha Matsyendrasana' and if done daily reduces glucose levels, practitioners say. The exercise is apparently difficult but even the elderly are able to hold this ‘complicated' posture once they learn to relax their muscles, Dr Prashar said. Holistic approach The posture is supplemented by a series of exercises — nine in all, which are done along with special breathing exercises. "The breathing is done only through the nose. The deep breathing helps supply oxygen to all the organs," D'Silva said. It is not an overnight cure though and will take about 90 days to show success. "This is not like allopathic medicine where you take a pill and your headache is gone," he said. "Yoga is a holistic approach which helps recovery of your whole body." According to a diabetologist and a yoga practitioner, one can continue eating the food one regularly eats and there is no special diet to be followed with the exercises. But one has to eat less of fats and carbohydrates, while increasing fibre intake. The best foods are fruits (except banana, mango and grapes) and vegetables. He recommends eating less sugar, milk and milk products, rice, oily and spicy food. It is best to avoid refined foods, fast food and canned or preserved food. According to D'Silva, yoga can also help eliminate tension in our lives even as doctors unanimously agree that stress is one of the leading causes of many ailments in today's society.