Yoga cures diabetes?

I’m an Indian who was born and raised in the US. When I got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, my aunt and uncle told me to do certain yoga moves, which would cure me. I was, and still am, skeptical about that claim.

Apparently, yoga is supposed to stimulate the pancreas, which will increase bring back beta cells. My logic is that Type 1 is an autoimmune disease, so the root problem isn’t the pancreas but the immune system.

Now my dad’s friend’s son is 6 and has Type 1. The friend says his son’s insulin usage has decreased from 20 units/day to 14 units/day. I mark that up to yoga actually being exercise and the fact that his son is still growing, which could lead to different insulin usage.

What do you guys think?

Here’s the link for a DVD they say I should get

http://www.swamiramdevyoga.com/dvd-for-diabetes/index.html

I agree. It’s not about stimulating the pancreas. Also, I can decrease my dosage by that amount by going on a strenuous bike ride or lowering my carb intake. It’s not that impressive.

I wouldn’t hope for a cure, but yoga is good exercise so there’s no harm in trying it to see how it affects your body. Let us know how it goes if you do. :slight_smile:

I think you should do yoga because it builds muscle and will help keep your BG in contol, but it is not a cure.

1 Like

I am totally with you on this one mate. Type 1 is an auto-immune disease, yoga sure can’t hurt and may even be benificial. But that alone won’t make your islets immune to your own immune system, Maybe it could even do great things with Type2, but it needs to be studied. That’s my 2 cents worth. Take care everyone!
Warmest Regards,
Lee

Yea, I agree with ya. Yoga’s not gonna cure the diabetes, but boy, it sure does help control your bg! I’ve been taking yoga for about a year and it lowers my bg to very good ranges… but alas, doesn’t cure it. Ah, well. At least I’m more flexible! Lol

My mom has been trying to convince me to so ramdev yoga but I can’t seem to believe it would help me!

Any success stories?

Have you actually tried this yoga??? I do not believe in crazy cures but I do think sometimes we as humans have become so advance that we forget the basics. We dont drink water, eat from the land, dont sleep, we self medicate with chemicals and never exercise and wonder why we are not healthy. And we are real quick to accept process medication before we try something more natural…Do I think the yoga will cure you probably not but it is exercise like you said and what harm can that do. I say try it for a month and see if it makes a difference in your numbers…

Yoga may be a good thing; I would not know because I have never really tried it seriously. But for those who do it may have wonderful health benefits.

But "Yoga cures diabetes?"

You have got to be kidding. Thanks for my wry laugh for the morning.

Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia
Everything in Moderation - Except laughter

There is a tai chi form for diabetes too. It does not claim to cure diabetes but if you regularly practice the form you do notice a definite improvement in your condition. You can see about the tai chi dvd here http://www.taichifordiabetes.com/ You will note that it is approved by Diabetes Associations too. I should think yoga would also be beneficial.

I agree with your more logical explanation. Also, at 6, the child is probably going through growth changes, as well as periods during which his pancreas is still producing some of its own insulin, which would explain the changes in doses. Also, a change from 20 to 14 units per day is not that remarkable (IMO), especially for a 6 year-old. Most physical activity also decreases insulin requirements, so that could also explain it. Not that yoga is going to hurt anything, but it certainly will not CURE T1D!

Hi Pastelpainter: Thanks for the link. I love Tai Chi and didn’t know that there was a specific form for diabetes. Yoga is great too!

Yoga certainly cannot cure Type 1 diabetes, or surely I would have been cured! I have been avidly practicing yoga for 17 years–I started about 6 months before I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Often, in yoga books I see this reference to poses squeezing the pancreas to exude more insulin, but of course for those of us with Type 1 no amount of squeezing will do any good, when beta cells have been destroyed by an autoimmune attack. But I can say for certain that a vigorous yoga practice lowers blood sugar a lot (I turn my pump down by 70% or more for a vigorous class), and I can also say that my yoga and meditation practice has helped me survive the drudgery that is the daily grind of diabetes.

I’d do anything to wake up my pancreas to produce beta cells & protect them from further autoimmune attack, but alas yoga isn’t the answer. It’s wonderful exercise that you might enjoy.

glad to be of help, Peelie. I bought this dvd and it is great to do.

Pastelpainter: Our Tai chi class begins with 20 Qui Gong poses. I do them most nights at home before sleeping. Takes less space than Tai Chi and feels so good.
Certainly not a cure but it promotes a restful sleep. Ever tried it?

We do qi gong before our tai chi forms. I teach my group tai chi for arthritis, tai chi for diabetes and a karate form plus warm up and cool down exercises. I never do it before bed as I find it gives me too much energy and I have to throw it away (not always successfully). No tai chi is not a cure, nor I suspect is yoga, but any exercise is good.

Tai Chi, Hatha Yoga, QiGung/Chi Gung all are practices, arts none of which recommend any practice before bed. At best they get the heart rate up, the respetory system going faster. As such they’ll raise the body temperature which is the opposite of what you want to do if you wish to get any sleep.

Early evening, early morning, organs get twisted, the body turns those organs on, gets muscles working and activates them to function just a little more than their usual state. Blood flow increases. There is a good reason early morning are recommended, as is early evening… practice is cooler, more comfortable than in the high heat of the midday sun/humidity.

Neither is even close to a cure, or there would be a huge line to every guru, every shifu on the plane who taught any of them. Keep hoping to find one though… if she/he can cure it for me, I will become family and never leave their side -lol-

I found hot yoga was great for lowering my blood sugar, but it worked too well a few times. I tried going in with no insulin in my system which backfired. Hot room + high blood sugar = nap time. So yeah, it’s great exercise, but it’s no cure.

Hello Samantha:

Whats YOUR take on that??? More circulation carried it (insulin) along faster, purchased a free fall crash and burn routine?
Any pattern to the highs re: asana (postures) being “causal”?

Stuart

So apparently no one has "cured" themselves with yoga. I believe it could be part of a therapy towards cure. For me yoga became too hard because my sugars dropped dramatically while doing it, going way too low. I didn't stick with it long enough to figure out how to do it better. But when something like that can have such a dramatic affect on a sugars it sure must have some value!!