Diabetes

Diabetes Mellitus
Yoga’s effectiveness at preventing and treating diabetes is due to its emphasis of a healthy diet and lifestyle as well as its ability to balance the endocrine system, massage and tone the abdominal organs, stimulate the nervous and circulatory systems, and reduce stress.


Yoga Postures
Forward bends, twists and prone (belly down) poses all compress the abdomen to stimulate the pancreas, with prone poses being the most effective. Use forward bends and calming poses to reduce stress. The following postures have been found to be effective in the control and cure of diabetes (Sanskrit names; the English and Tamil names are in parentheses): Dhanurasana (Bow pose, Vilasana), Paschimottanasana (Sitting crane, Amarntha kokkuasana), Padangusthasana (Standing crane, Nindra kokkuasana), Bhujangasana (Serpent pose, Paambuasana), Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand) Ardha-matsyendrasana (Spinal twist), Halasana (Plough pose, Kalapoy asana), Yoga mudrasana (Yogic Symbol pose), Supta Vajrasana (Sitting pose of Firmness), Chakrasana (Wheel pose), Shalabhasana (Grasshopper pose, Vittelasana).

Pranayama
Practice Dirga Pranayama to increase circulation of blood, oxygen and prana to facilitate healing and in conjuction with Nadi Sodhana Pranayama for stress reduction.

Meditation
Meditation reduces stress, calms the mind and activates the body's natural healing abilities. Use one of the following by itself and/or at the beginning and end of your yoga practice: Yoga Meditation, Third Eye Meditation, Prana Healing Meditation.