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Restorative Yoga & Diabetes – Improving Your Quality of Life

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Restorative Yoga & Diabetes – Improving Your Quality of Life

Yoga has many incarnations. A quick glance at a studio docket might be intimidating for the uninitiated, in fact: hot yoga, vinyasa, hatha yoga, kundalini yoga, yoga nidra—the options for the application of yoga are virtually endless. Although yoga is often associated with powerful contortion or impressive breath control, there is one form of yoga that requires neither a dedicated breathing practice or a particularly extensive range of motion: restorative yoga.

Say that?

What Is Restorative Yoga?

Restorative yoga is a type of yoga in which poses are entered into and held for 3-5 minutes each. Although this might sound daunting, the practice is called “restorative” because the poses are maintained through the use of props such as blocks, straps, and bolsters. Restorative yoga is ideal for those in need of the benefits of each individual yoga pose rather than a quick succession of poses, as the use of props allows you to hold poses safely and effectively for far longer than you usually would be able to.

Restorative yoga can be done at home but is typically best done in a class setting—at least for the first few tries. Because learning the prop techniques can be difficult or confusing with only a book or video, enlisting the help of a qualified instructor will greatly increase the likelihood of having a positive, helpful restorative yoga practice.




Restorative Yoga and Diabetes

Restorative yoga is wonderful for diabetes because it does not require a large amount of strain, improves flexibility and strength, and is often used to increase blood flow, body awareness, and has a soothing effect on the nervous system. All of these can greatly improve diabetes patients’ quality of life.

A restorative yoga practice typically consists of between 5 and 10 poses, each of them held for between 3 and 5 minutes. Restorative yoga focuses on backbends and forward folds and involves more groundwork than standing poses. Although some poses are better avoided (or modified) by those with diabetes, such as those that might cut off blood flow to the legs (hero pose, for instance), most restorative yoga classes are safe and useful for diabetes.

Blood Pressure, Nervous System Regulation, and Mindfulness

While some use yoga for exercise, restorative yoga is used as more of a mental practice, easing blood pressure through relaxation, encouraging the nervous system to enter a parasympathetic state—a state often underused by those with anxiety and blood pressure issues—and mindfulness. Each of these effects of restorative yoga is useful in and of themselves, but when paired with the common complications of diabetes such as high blood pressure, nerve damage, and mental disorders, restorative yoga proves itself an incredible tool in managing diabetes and limiting its adverse effects.

References

Diabetes Self Management. Accessed 5/8/17.
Chopra. Accessed 5/8/17.