Binode Kumar Sahay.
Former Professor & Head, Department of Medicine,Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, India.
sahaybk@nettlinx.com

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Abstract

The science of yoga is an ancient one. It is a rich heritage of our culture. Several older books make a mention of the usefulness of yoga in the treatment of certain diseases and preservation of health in normal individuals.
We carried out several well designed studies to assess the effect of yogic practices in normal healthy volunteers, patients with diabetes, hypertension, asthma and obese individuals at the Vemana Yoga Research Institute in Secunderabad between 1978-1996.
The following conclusions were drawn by us from our studies done on several groups of patients:
With practice of Pranayama control of diabetes is achieved in both type 1 and type 2 diabetics. It is particularly useful in patients with ‘Brittle Diabetes’.
We were able to identify asanas which were useful in controlling diabetes. By following yogic practices there is an increase in lean body mass and decrease in body fat percentage. There is an improvement in insulin/glucose ratio with correction of peak time of insulin secretion. There is an improvement in insulin receptors, a decrease in free fatty acids, triglycerides, VLDL and increase in HDL levels. All these lead to a decrease in insulin resistance, an important pathogenic mechanism for the development of type 2 diabetes. Our data on the long term follow up of elderly diabetics practising yoga, suggest that yogic practices may preserve beta cell function.
There is an improvement in cell mediated immunity and reduction of stress by the practice of Shavasana. Along with the beneficial effect on glycemic control, similar beneficial effects were shown on control of hypertension and dyslipidemia. All these will contribute to the prevention of long term complications of diabetes. We were also able to demonstrate the potential role of yogic practices in the prevention of type 2 diabetes.