Here’s a little something to startle you: One in four U.S. adults has high enough blood sugar levels to qualify as diabetic but doesn’t know it. That’s according to the National Institutes of Health division that focuses on diabetes. And nearly 40 percent of U.S. adults are prediabetic, according to the NIH’s most recent research. Yeesh. All those stats add up to well over half the adults in the country.
Diabetes is no fun. It can mess with almost every part of your body and make you more susceptible to eye, kidney, nerve and heart problems.
The good news is that wielding power over blood sugar and preventing type 2 diabetes is more in your control than many other health conditions are. Doing regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and keeping stress are your winning strategies. Yoga can help with all three, research shows, often in ways that might surprise you.
Why high blood sugar levels can harm you
Your body breaks down certain types of food (carbohydrates, for example) into sugar, aka glucose, and sends it to your bloodstream. Glucose is your body’s main energy source. But you can’t do much with it unless it gets to your cells.
That’s where insulin comes in. It’s a hormone your pancreas produces when it realizes there’s a bunch of glucose in your bloodstream. If there’s too much glucose though — if blood sugar levels are too high over a long period of time — your pancreas can’t keep up.
At first it tries to. It pumps out a whole lot in a campaign to get more of the sugar in your blood to your cells. But that’s not great either. Things are out of balance.
Eventually your cells stop responding to the insulin, and your blood sugar stays elevated. That creates insulin resistance and leads to type 2 diabetes.
By the way, several types of diabetes exist, including type 1, which is due to autoimmune issues wherein the pancreas doesn’t produce insulin as it should, and gestational, which can occur during pregnancy and usually goes away after birthing a baby. We’re talking about type 2 here.
Why yoga can help regulate blood sugar levels
Cultivates mindfulness
One of yoga’s signature selling points is that it helps you stay in the moment. It happens while you practice, and then that awareness carries into your life, especially if you practice yoga regularly.
Eating in ways that are healthful so that you can maintain a healthy weight is a lot easier when you’re aware of what you’re doing. So is exercising.
For some folks, engaging in mindfulness activities appears to lower blood sugar as much as some diabetes medications, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Increases contentment
Yoga encourages you to let whatever is happening unfold as it happens, to be aware and surrender to it instead of immediately being reactive. Likewise, meditation, one of yoga’s arms, encourages this.
You can much more effectively handle your health condition (and life!) when you’re even keeled and content. Contentment is a more productive state than seeking perfection or happiness, which is fleeting.
Reduces stress
High levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, raise blood sugar levels. The relaxation response that yoga elicits pushes against spikes in cortisol and adrenaline.
What’s more, high cortisol levels make you gain weight in your midsection (intra-abdominal fat) and want to overeat. Both those conditions contribute to insulin resistance.
Increases insulin sensitivity
Classical yoga, the smooth and steady kind, activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This increases insulin sensitivity and improves glucose tolerance in people with type 2 diabetes, a 2018 review of clinical studies found.
Can help with pancreatic function
Forward bends and certain seated postures in the yoga canon were associated with better pancreatic function in the 2018 analysis. Researchers concluded this was probably because these poses massage the pancreas, stimulating insulin secretion. That said, other postures, such Locust, which is performed prone with pressure against the abdomen, worsened diabetic status “for reasons that are not clearly understood,” the study said.
Shifts your diet for the better
Okay, so this applies only if you put into practice yoga’s approach to diet, which is vegetarian and leans heavy on whole foods.
As a rule, eating more healthfully moderates your blood sugar levels. For example, whole grains are less likely to spike blood sugar levels than processed foods such as white bread and refined sugar.
Your game plan
A little bit of yoga every day is more useful than a whole bunch once a week (or less frequently). Shoot for 10 minutes a day, and increase the duration later if you want. You can go to classes or find online videos.
If figuring out how to do yoga feels overwhelming, here’s a simple way to start: Do stretches, hold static strength shapes (isometric holds), and create balance shapes on one leg at a time.
While you do each of these exercise types, breathe slowly, expanding your lower rib cage and/or belly when you inhale and contracting them when you exhale. When you move parts of your body, match each part of your breath with a movement. Throughout, stay present by paying attention to sensations in your body.