Asanaverse

Phase 2 · The Full Practice

Part of the 12 Week Yoga Program for Type 2 Diabetes

45 Minute Yoga Sequence for Blood Sugar and Strength

Weeks four to nine, and the main session of the program. Standing work, back bends and twists, at a dose that matches the trials.

This is the full version of what the effective protocols contained. Standing poses that make the legs work, prone back bends across the front of the body, and twists through the middle, which is a combination that recurs in almost every yoga trial in type 2 diabetes. In the most detailed of them, HbA1c fell from 8.17 to 6.95 percent over twelve weeks while the control group on medication alone barely moved. Forty-five minutes, four or five times a week.

45 min · Level 2

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Wann hilfreich

For weeks four to nine, four or five times a week. Forty-five minutes. A mat, a wall, two blocks and your meter. This runs alongside your diabetes treatment, not instead of it. If you take insulin or a sulfonylurea, check your blood glucose before you practise and keep fast acting carbohydrate within reach.

Metabolic effect

Sustained work in the largest muscle groups, which is what pulls glucose out of the blood without insulin.

Physical effect

Legs and back under real load, plus the twists and back bends that run through the protocols in this research.

Consistency

The effect of a single session on glucose handling fades within a day or two. Four or five times a week is what keeps it there.

Breath and warm up

Six minutes before the work starts.

SchneidersitzSukhasana
01
4 min

Schneidersitz

Ujjayi breathing, sitting up. Keep it going for the whole session and use it to pace yourself.

A breath you can hear tells you when a pose has become too much. That is the gauge for this session.

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KatzenposeMarjaryasana
02
1 min

Katzenpose

Hands and knees, rounding on the out breath.

Warms the middle of the body before the twists.

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Kuh HaltungBitilasana
03
1 min

Kuh Haltung

Chest forward on the in breath. Eight rounds at the speed of the breath.

The same movement in the other direction, and a good check of how the back feels today.

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Standing and loaded

Twenty minutes of work. This is the block that does the metabolic job, and it is meant to feel like effort.

Herabschauender HundAdhomukha Shvanasana
04
45 sec, twice

Herabschauender Hund

Hands and feet down, hips back and up. Bend the knees as much as you like.

The first pose that asks for whole body effort, and a good bridge into standing.

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StuhlUtkatasana
05
45 sec, three times

Stuhl

Chair Pose in three sets with rest between them. Sit back until the thighs are working.

Sets with rest, not one long hold. That is how you get real work out of the largest muscles you have.

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SeitwinkelUtthita Parsvakonasana
06
1 min each side

Seitwinkel

Side Angle, forearm on the thigh or hand on a block.

A long, loaded hold with both legs doing different jobs.

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PyramideParshvottanasana
07
45 sec each side

Pyramide

Pyramid, both hips facing forward, hands on blocks.

The back of the front leg under load, which is a direction the other standing poses miss.

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Krieger 3Virabhadrasana 3
08
30 sec each side

Krieger 3

Warrior III with the hands on a wall or a chair back. Use the support every time.

Single leg work, and the pose where the wall matters most. Reduced sensation in the feet makes balance harder in a way you cannot feel.

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Across the front and the middle

Prone back bends and twists. This is the pattern that recurs through the protocols in this research.

BogenDhanurasana
09
30 sec, twice

Bogen

Face down, holding the ankles, lifting chest and thighs. If the back does not like it, do Cobra twice instead and skip this.

The strongest back bend in the program. It has an easier substitute for a reason.

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Hohe KobraBhujangasana
10
30 sec, twice

Hohe Kobra

Hands under the shoulders, chest lifting, breath moving throughout.

Cobra turns up in almost every protocol here, and it is the one to keep if you drop the rest.

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SchulterbrückeSetu Bandha Sarvangasana
11
45 sec, three times

Schulterbrücke

Hips lifted, feet pressing. Three sets.

The glutes and hamstrings in sets. More useful metabolically than one long hold.

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Die liegende DrehungJathara Parivartanasana
12
1 min each side

Die liegende Drehung

On your back, knees drawn in, then let them fall to one side.

A twist with the floor supporting everything, at the point where the work is done.

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Liegende TaubeSupta Kaptasana
13
1 min each side

Liegende Taube

Ankle across the opposite thigh, drawing the back thigh in.

The hips after all that standing.

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Settle

Seven minutes to finish.

Das Siegel der UmkehrViparita Karani
14
3 min

Das Siegel der Umkehr

Legs up the wall. Skip it and lie flat if you have proliferative retinopathy or have had recent eye treatment.

The best three minutes of the session after twenty minutes of standing work.

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TotenstellungSavasana
15
4 min

Totenstellung

Flat, quiet, and get up slowly afterwards.

Four minutes, and a good moment to check how you feel before standing up.

Mehr über Savasana erfahren

Integration

Four or five times a week for weeks four to nine. Do the single leg balance near a wall, always. If you have reduced sensation in your feet, that instruction is not optional.