Did you know that long before India became known as the diabetes capital of the world, it was renowned as the land of yoga? And guess what? Yoga might just hold the key to managing diabetes!
Among the numerous asanas believed to lower blood sugar levels, there's one that truly stands out for its effectiveness: the magical Suryanamaskar!This fantastic sequence consists of 12 poses performed in a flowing rhythm, perfectly coordinated with your breath. Trust us, it works wonders in multiple ways!
Let's dive into the exciting benefits of Suryanamaskar for managing diabetes:
Improves digestion and nutrient absorption: With its belly and colon massaging forward folding asanas, Suryanamaskar activates your digestive tract, which is where all the real action happens. Your gut's microbiome, the ecosystem of bacteria residing in your bowels, plays a crucial role in digesting food, extracting nutrients, and eliminating waste. By performing the forward folds, Suryanamaskar boosts your digestive fire, enhances digestion, and clears out toxins, leading to improved insulin sensitivity and regulated blood sugar levels!
Banishes mood swings and fosters emotional stability: Prepare for a surge of emotional well-being! The combination of asana movements and meditative breathing techniques in Suryanamaskar has been proven to enhance stress regulation by promoting the production of feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine. These delightful poses trigger your parasympathetic nervous system, effectively dissolving stress. You see, stress is a major trigger for diabetes, as it leads to the release of cortisol, a hormone that counteracts insulin. By helping you dissipate stress, Suryanamaskar also aids in shedding unwanted fat and promotes emotional stability!
Provides cardio training and aids weight loss: Get ready to break a sweat and burn those calories! Even when performed at a moderate pace, Suryanamaskar serves as an energetic exercise that engages your entire body from head to toe. Just one round, consisting of two circuits, will leave even the newest practitioner gasping for air and burning approximately 13 calories. Now, imagine doing 12 sets of 24 asanas in a meditative rhythm—talk about a calorie-burning extravaganza! Weight control is essential for managing diabetes, and Suryanamaskar helps regulate blood sugar levels by increasing calorie burn. Time to get your heart pumping!
Enhances muscular strength, flexibility, and balance: Prepare to unleash your inner warrior! Suryanamaskar poses to challenge your musculoskeletal system in incredible ways. From strength-building poses like Chaturanga and Mountain to flexibility-enhancing poses like Hastapadasana and Bhujangasana, this sequence does wonders for your core, shoulders, arms, legs, and overall muscle tone. More muscle mass means more calories burned and better blood sugar control. Get ready to feel stronger, more flexible, and perfectly balanced!
The beauty of Suryanamaskar lies in its versatility. You can explore various versions and increase the level of difficulty to keep things exciting.
Here are the basic Suryanamaskar poses:
Here's an amazing fact: Suryanamaskar can even be adapted for those who are new to yoga, elderly, or have mobility challenges.
Below is a simple chair variation that provides almost the same benefits without even leaving your seat
Be Super Healthy, Be Super Happy, Ramesh