Yoga and Health
by
Swami Adhyatmananda

 DIABETES — 3

Simple advice for food to a diabetic patient:

NON-CONSUMABLE

1. Sugar, jaggery, crystal sugar, honey

2. Sweets, Chocolate.

3. Dry fruits - Almonds, cashewnuts, pista, walnut, coconut, cheese, cream-desserts, sweetdrinks, condensed nilik, fried savory eatable like Bhajiya, Vada, Kachori, Pettis, Mathiya etc.

4. Pickles, sauces, soups.

5. Maida,cornflour, custard, jelly, sweet biscuits, icecreams, ghee, coconut oil, palm oil, sweet fruits, fatty mutton, chicken, fish.

LIMITED CONSUMPTION

1. All types of grain viz, wheat, corn, bajari, rice, pulses viz, munga, matha, tuvera, broad beans, black gram, ground­nut.

2. Milk, curd, lassi, fruits, non-sweet juices, unsweetened bread and unsweetened biscuits, non-fatty mutton, fish, eggs etc.

FREELY CONSUMABLE:

1.  Salad, raw tomatoes, cucumber, radish, carrots, cabbage, green chillies. Bottle-gourd, pumpkin, green onion, flower cabbage, water melon, sweet melon.

2.  All leafy vegetables.

3.  Rasam; thin vegetable soup without cream.

4.  Lemon water, thin whey, tomato juice, soda, green co­conut water.

5.   Drinks without sugar, skimmed milk.

PHYSICAL LABOUR:

Physical labour occupies a very important place in the curriculum of a diabetic patients. The patient should accept both physical labour and regular exercise as a part of daily routine. A diabetic patient should perform aerobic exercises such as walking, running, swimming, cycling and flexibility exercises of Yoga-abhyasa.

ADVANTAGES OF EXERCISING:

1. You can maintain the proportion of glucose and fat in your blood.

2. You can reduce the need for medicine and insulin.

3. The capacity of the heart and lungs will increase.

4.  Reduction of weight helps the patient in cure of disease.

5.  One gets mental peace and gets sound sleep.

PRECAUTION NECESSARY BEFORE PERFORMING OF  EXERCISES:

Exercises carried out in a haphazard manner are likely to result in harmful results. It is essential to get a thorough medical examination by an expert doctor before beginning a programme of exercises specially after 40 years of age. It is especially necessary to get examination carried out for disease of the heart, high blood pressure, disease of kidneys and retina.

MEDICINES:

Only those diabetics having Type II diabetes can be treated by oral medicines. Medicines help in production of insulin and adds to its working capacity. When a patient controls food intake and exercises regularly; even after this precaution if diabetes cannot be controlled, medicines of this type are recommended. If such patient maintains a higher proportion of glucose in the blood even after consumption of medicine, patient is advised to take insulin. If obese patients reduce their weight by restriction on diet and by exercises, diabetes can be controlled even without use of medicine.

INSULIN:

Normally those patients who suffer from type-I diabetes or those whose type-II diabetes cannot be controlled by medicine are advised to take insulin injection. Doctor only can decide the quality of insulin and its quantity. Therefore, follow his advice. Never make a change in the dose of Insulin even though you may feel well.

Dr. Mayur Patel advises young or old diabetic patients who have perverted mentality to take recourse to method of contemplation on Yoga as recommended by us. One 12 years young sindhi boy was habituated to get insulin injected, 2-4 or 6 times a day depending on his whims. He was brought to Ashram and to Yoga class for consultation, but it was found difficult to control his wanton mentality. It is essential to keep insulin under lock and key so that such patients do not inject insulin themselves or if they do they do so in the presence of near relatives. As otherwise this ambrosia type life saving medicines could prove a poison which will snatch away life.

PATIENTS TAKING INSULIN INJECTIONS MUST  KNOW THIS:

1. Preserve insulin if possible in a fridge.

2. Do not store insulin in the freezer but store it in the side of the door.

3. If it is not possible to preserve insulin in a fridge, store it where the atmosphere is cool, direct sunshine    does not get in, for instance, in a water room or in a closed cupboard.

4.  Be careful to see that the insulin syringe is for the same capacity that is mentioned on insulin bulb, e.g. you need an insulin syringe of 40 I.U. mark.

5. When you fall ill, proportion of sugar in the blood increases whether you consume food or not. One has to even increase the amount of intake of insulin. Therefore, get the blood tested. Test for acetone in the urine should also be undertaken. Thereafter the quantity of insulin should be suitably adjusted by doctor.

6.  Carry the insulin in a small bag along   with you while traveling.

7.  Eat regularly and be regular to inject insulin. It is not advisable to observe fast 

PERSONAL ADVICE SPECIALLY FOR YOU:

Implement the following suggestions in order to control diabetes and avert side effects:

1. Take regular meals as planned.

2. Take medicine in fixed quantity and at fixed time.

3. Be regular in exercise / Yoga-abhyasa.

4. Do not make any change in the medicine unless proper advice is taken.

5. Even though you notice no trouble, get your physical examination regularly carried out. In the beginning let this examination be monthly When you get a control over quantity of glucose in the blood you should get the examination every three months.

6. Get blood examined for glucose as advised by your physician.

7. Get the examination carried out for glycosylated hemo­globin (Hb Aic). One can find out by this test whether diabetes was under control all throughout the past three months.

8. Get your blood pressure and blood lipids tested regularly

9. Get the blood and urine examined annually to establish that there is no defect in the kidney

10. Get fundoscopy of the eyes carried out annually and get teeth cleaned and examined annually

11. Daily examine your feet and skin regularly If you have got hurt and if it has got septic, contact the doctor immediately.

12. Do not smoke.

13. Do not drink alcohol.It is definitely possible to control diabetes by triple action of proper medical advice, proper diet and necessary exercise. But all these three occupy their special importance. So far as the Yoga-abhyasa is concerned if one practise all the Yogasanas that one knows, it is helpful to control the insulin and maintain the glucose level to a certain extent. Even then it is essential that novice should start practice of Asanas under direct supervision of a Yoga tea

YOGA-ABHYASA:

cher who has medical knowledge as well as knowledge of science of Yoga. Diabetes can be cured by Asanas, process of Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha etc. properly practised.

To begin with, one should start flexibility exercise, Trikonasana and Suryanamaskara. Gradually and in proper order one should practise main asanas viz. Sarvanga, Matsya, Hala, Paschimottana etc. Shitali and Shitkari Pranayamas have good effects on. internal secreting glands. A habit of daily drinking water in the morning can have long telling effects. Morning water should be taken on empty stomach. Water need not be too cold or too hot. Drinking four or more glasses of potable water and then performing Surya­namaskara for four or six repetitions will render blood purified.

In addition if one can drink tepid slightly salted water seven to ten glasses quickly i.e if one performs Kunjal kriya by vomitting out all the water in a stream, it can give best result. The topmost quality purification work is performed by Shanich prakshalana. In this process water is to be drunk and some light exercise should be continued, one should continue performing light exercise and thereafter one should take out all the water through intestines and the colon whereby perfect cleanliness of the intestines is ensured. Diabetic patient can be highly benefited and diabetes can even get cured. In this process one has to perform Tadasana, Tiryaka Tadasana, Kati-chakrasana, Ashva-sanchalana Mudra and Udar-akarshana.

In my tour through America, this Shankha-prakshalana process was exhibited very often at Los-Angeles, California, Texas and North Carolina States. In those demonstrations so many doctors and Shri Thomas Kao, the well-known anchor of NBC and ABC television programme, who is also a joint director of the international China Yoga association had also participated. It is necessary that the very first process of Shankha-prakshalana should be carried out only under an adept and experienced Yogacharya. This exercise can be performed by diabetic patient without any fear at every two months interval i.e five to six times in a year. Kunjal knya every day in the morning and practice of Shankh-Prakshalan have been found to be a panacea for a diabetic patient.   

Tadasana (Fig—46a)	Tiryaka-tadasana (Fig—46b)
Ashva-sanchalanamudra    (Fig—46c)	Kati-chakrasana (Fig—46d)
Udarakarshana kriya (Fig—46e)
FIVE SHANKHA-PRAKSHALANA PROCESSES

Normally Yaugic treatment centres specify Maha mudra, Viprita-paschimottanasana, Ardha-matsyendrasana, Akarna­dhanurasana, Mayoorasana and Kakasana (Bakasana or Padmabakasana) for the purposes of relief in diabetes. It is possible to help the working capacity of pancreas and the working method of the kidneys by a regular practice of these asanas.

Janushirasana, Mahamudra, Paschimottanasana, and Viprita-paschimottanasana, Shir-angushthasana or Hastapadasana are all Asanas of the same family wherein pancreas gets massaged and its working capacity can be improved.

JANU-SHIRASANA:  

Sit on the ground with the legs extended in front. Widen both the legs. Put the heel of the left leg at perineumand with both the  i.e at the joining line between the two legs. The right extended leg should not be allowed to bend at the knee and with both the hands hold the thumb of the right leg and touch your forehead on the right knee. 

When you begin performing this Asana, it is quite possible that you may not be able to perform this Asana perfectly, in which case you may instead of right leg thumb, catch hold of the heel or even the knee. Initially, remain in Janushirasana for 30 to 60 seconds and increase the period from one and a half minute to five minutes.

PASCHIMOTTAN-ASANA:

Sit on the ground with both the legs extending in the front. Raise both the hands while taking a deep breath. Now exhale and bend forward. Hold the thumb of both the legs with both the hands. Keep the knees straight. Let the head touch the knee.

This is called a ‘Head Knee Posture’.

Head is to be brought down to the knee. The knee has not to be raised to the head.

After sitting with the legs extended in front, keep the left leg on the right thigh. The left hand should go round the waist and should hold the thumb of the left leg. Extend the right hand, hold the thumb of the right leg and bring the head down on the knee. This position is called Baddha­paschimottanasana.

Sit in the position for Mahamudra. The right hand should be taken from the front of the leg and left hand should go over the head and hold the paw of the leg from behind the head. This posture is called Viparita­paschimottanasana.

PAD-HASTASANA OR HASTAPADASANA:

Stand erect. Keep both the legs touching each other. Take a deep breath and keep both the hands up. Now go on exhaling. Bend in the front. Place both the hands on the ground on both the sides of the legs. Touch the head on the knees. Do not bend the knees. Hold the breath outside. Stand steadily in this bent position.

Padahastasana (Fig—52)

SHIR-ANGUSHTHASANA:

Stand with both the legs kept 2.5’ to 3.0’ wide. Hold both the hands on the back side of the waist. Now bend the right knee in the front. Bend down on the right. Bring the forehead or the head right upto the thumb of the right leg. Extend the left leg on the left back side. Do not bend from the knee. This posture can be repeated bending on the left also.

(Fig—53)Shir­angushthasana   

MAYURASANA:

Sit in Vajrasana. Keep both the hands on the ground. Keep them so that both the palms remain on the ground and fingers of hands point towards the knees. Now bring both the elbows to touch the belly Extend both the legs   behind. Knees should remain straight. The· whole body will be now balanced on the paws of the leg, palms of the hands with elbows under the belly. Keep the whole body absolutely horizontal.

Now push the whole body slowly on the front side. As the head continues going forward, the body will balance on the elbows and upper hands. Raise both the legs together slowly The body will get balanced on palms of the two hands. Maintain steadiness in this Asana from 30 seconds to 5 minutes.  

Mayurasana (Fig—54)

ARDHA-MATSYENDRASANA:

Sit on the floor with legs stretched out. Bend the right leg at the knee and set the heel firmly against perineum. Bend the left leg at the knee and lifting it with the support of the hands, place the left foot by the side of right thigh so that left outer ankle touches the outer right thigh. Keep the shin of left leg perpendicnlar to the floor. Now turn the trunk 9Q0 to the left. Pass the right hand over the left knee, firmly catch hold the left foot with right hand. Move the left hand back and rotate the waist. Turn the head over the left shoulder. Give full twist to the spine. Remain in this posture for 30 seconds to one minute and gradually increase to three minutes.Repeat the same process on opposite side also.

Ardha­matsyendrasana    (Fig.-55)  

The practice of Mayurasana and Ardha-matsyendrasana is found to be very convenient and a cure for the disease of diabetes. Science is vast. There are many details. Even if a little is practised regularly success in care of the disease can be achieved to a very great extent.

OM SHANTIH!  

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