This yoga day keep diabetes at bay

The world battles an unimaginable number of diseases. Diabetes, being one among them, is a disease where the blood sugar levels are excessively high, which can result in grave problems. By bringing in holistic lifestyle changes, one can manage diabetes and live a long, healthy life.

Yoga helps manage diabetes along with your daily medicines, improving the quality of health, both bodily and mentally. Dr Satish Bhandarkar, Homeopath and User Experience professional at OIVI, Eye Care for All recommends yoga to manage diabetes.

There are many yoga asanas that stimulate healthy functions in the body, helping lower your blood sugar levels. One of them being, mandukasana or frog pose - done in two ways. 

To practice this, sit in Vajrasana, sitting on your calf muscles. Form a fist with both your hands with the thumbs inside, place the fists around your navel, take a deep breath in and bend forward to reach your forehead to the floor as you breathe out.

Do not let the buttocks elevate. Hold this pose for five breath counts and then slowly come back up. The second method is to place your left palm over the navel and right palm on top of it. Take a deep breath in and touch your forehead to the ground as you breathe out. Hold this pose for five breath counts and then slowly come up.

Shashankasana is another asana where you sit in vajrasana, lift both hands up with straight elbows. Take a deep breath in and bend forward to reach your forehead to the ground as you breathe out, keeping your hands stretched out in front of you. Hold this for three to five counts. As you breathe in, come up keeping the hands straight and then slowly bring your hands down. 

Yogamudrasana can be practised sitting in padmasana or any comfortable cross-legged position. Place the left palm on the navel and right palm on top of the left. Take a deep breath in, breathe out completely and slowly bend forward and touch the forehead to the ground. Hold in this position for five breath counts and then come up as you breathe out.

Ardha matsyayendrasana and vakrasana are asanas that turn it up a notch while being beneficial for diabetics. All the mentioned asanas must be practised four to five times daily as they help in bringing down stress levels and, stimulation of pancreas helps regulate blood sugars.

Meditation along with these asanas acts as a catalyst for reducing blood sugar levels. A calm and stillness in mind is a boon for any disease to bring about healthy and well-being of the body.