THE 3-MINUTE YOGA ROUTINE THAT CAN LOWER YOUR BLOOD SUGAR AND STRESS LEVELS

Whether it’s helping you fall back to sleep in the middle of the night, improving your posture or helping to release emotions, yoga has a plethora of benefits – mentally, physically and spiritually.

A recent study has found breaking up your work day with a few minutes of yoga can have resounding impacts on our health – both inside and out.

Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University have found that three-minute bouts of yoga every hour can significantly lower blood glucose levels by around 10%, and reduce the risk of diabetes.

Although the study was only small-scale (researchers focused on just 15 adults aged 26-28 over two years), previous studies have also linked yoga with a reduction in blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

This 3-minute yoga flow can lower your blood sugar and combat diabetes

Celebrity yoga instructor Marianne O’Neil shared seven yoga poses that can be performed over three minutes to help lower blood sugar.

But she stresses the benefits go beyond cutting your risk of diabetes, too.

‘Yoga has so many benefits — not just for diabetes, but for anxiety, stress and weight. And it doesn’t need to take a long time,’ she says.

Try these for just three minutes each hour and reap the rewards…

Seated stretch

Sitting either on a chair or cross legged on the floor.
Take a deep, slow breath in through your nose, allowing your shoulders to relax on the exhale – repeat a couple of times until you feel relaxed.
On your fourth inhale, raise your arms above your head, interlocking your fingers and pushing your palms towards the ceiling.
Lengthen your torso, draw in your core, and hold.
As you exhale, lean your body to the left, feeling a stretch along the right side of your torso.
Repeat on the other side.

Spinal twist

Again on a chair or the floor, inhale as you open your arms wide.
As you exhale, twist to the right, placing your left arm on your right knee and your right fingertips on the floor or chair behind you.
Lengthen your torso and relax your shoulders — relax into the spinal twist and only go as far as is comfortable for you.
Come back to the centre as you inhale and repeat on the opposite side.

Sphinx pose

Lie flat on your stomach with your elbows placed under your shoulders, in like with your chest, and your palms flat on the mat.
Push up through your forearms and bring your upper body off the ground.
Push your chest forward and roll your shoulders back, keeping your glutes squeezed to protect your lower spine.
Take a few deep breaths and lower back down to the mat.

Downward facing dog

Start on all fours, hands on the mat shoulder-width apart.
Lift your knees off the mat and, keeping your hands flat, raise your hips and press your heels to the floor until you’re making a triangular shape, with a straight, elongated spine — keep the knees bent and heels off the ground if necessary.
Push away from your hands so you’re stretching your arms and hold for a few moments — feel free to pedal your heels to the ground one by one for an extra stretch through the backs of the legs.

Warrior II

Stand upright, with your feet hip-width apart.
Step your right foot back, and turn it outward at 90 degrees
Bend your left knee so that your knees are directly over your left ankle.
Stretch your arms out horizontally either side of you, left arm in line with your left leg, right arm over right leg, with your hips facing outwards.
Turn your head so your gaze aligns with your left fingertips, keeping your spine straight.
Take a few breaths and repeat on the other side.

Sun salutation

Sun salutations are a continuous flow of six yoga poses, which you follow in time with your breath.

INHALE: begin in mountain pose – feet together, arms by your side, and raise your arms above your head, lengthening your body and pushing away from the floor with your feet.

EXHALE: fold forward, keeping your knees bent generously, and relaxing your upper body into a forward fold.

INHALE: perform a halfway lift, bring your palms to your knees, pushing your hips back and elongating your spine.

EXHALE: place your palms on the floor and step your feet back into a plank pose.

INHALE: bend your arms and lie flat on the floor before pushing up into the sphinx pose.

EXHALE: pushing your weight into your feet and hands, move into a downward facing dog.

INHALE: walk your feet towards your hands and perform another halfway lift.

EXHALE: relax into a forward fold.

INHALE: roll back up into mountain pose – repeat the sequence as many times as you’d like.

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2024-01-29T13:09:29Z dg43tfdfdgfd