Two Simple Practices That Support Diabetes Care

Doing breath-work, or controlled breathing can make a tremendous difference in our sense of well-being, and elevate our energy for managing diabetes, and other life challenges.

Breath-work also reduces the chronic stress that elevates blood sugar, and compromises the health of our cardiovascular system.

Controlled breathing calms the nerves, slows our heart rate, and relaxes muscles. It increases levels of mood-lifting endorphins. Breathing consciously strengthens our immune system, lowers blood pressure, releases toxins from the body, and promotes restful sleep.

So, here are two simple breathing practices that can enhance the quality of our lives. One is designed to generate calm, the other clears and enlivens body and mind.

Box Breathing For Calm

The beauty of Box Breathing is its symmetry, and simplicity. If we draw a box on a piece of paper it has four sides, and each side is equal. In Box Breathing, we breathe to the count of four so each part of the breath cycle is equally long:


  1. Sit comfortably, resting your palms on your thighs, or lay down; take a few relaxed, deep breaths to center yourself.
  2. With mouth closed, inhale to the silent count of four, then hold your breath in as you count to four.
  3. Exhale while counting to four, then hold your breath out to the count of four.
  4. Repeat steps #2 and #3 as many times as you wish. Remember to keep the counting pace steady.

Box Breathing is a great way to settle mind and body during the day, or relax into a good night’s sleep.

The Stimulating Kapalabhati Breath

Kapalabhati (ka pall a bah tee) is a Sanskrit word that means “to shine the brain.” The Kapalabhati Breath is an effective way to warm and wake up the body, stimulate the immune system, and clear the cobwebs from our mind:


  1. Sit comfortably, resting your palms on your thighs; take a few relaxed, deep breaths to center yourself.
  2. Keeping the mouth closed, inhale briefly, and then begin a series of very short exhales through the nose. To exhale, forcefully push air out of the lungs by sharply pulling the abdomen (diaphragm) in.
  3. After each exhale, relax the abdomen and inhalation will occur naturally, without effort. Each breath cycle (one exhale and inhale) takes only about a second. Continue for 10 to 20 breath cycles, then inhale fully through the nose, and exhale through the mouth. Observe how you feel.
  4. Repeat steps #2 and #3 a few times.

For a brief, clear demonstration of Kapalabhati Breath watch Namaste TV’s tutorial on Youtube (link provided below).

“The practice is simply this: keep coming back to your breath during the day. This will give your mind a steadiness and your breath a gracefulness….” ~ Rodney Yee, Yoga: The Poetry of the Body


Sources: Lena Schmidt/Chopra; Kapalabhati Breath turorial/YouTube; Mercola
Photo credit: kim


More Articles

With its slightly nutty flavor, chewy texture, and nutritional punch farro is an ancient whole grain worth a place in our pantry.

Farro...

Having diabetes is cause for concern, however it doesn’t mean that you need to eliminate all of your favorite foods from your diet completely....

With diabetes becoming more of an epidemic each and every day, being knowledgeable about the disease, its effects on the body as well as ways to...

If you’re a diabetic or live with one, it can be tough trying to figure out the best foods to eat because your priority is to control your blood...

In this post, I will show you the 10 best ice creams for diabetics.

When you think of sweetened foods that a diabetic shouldn’t consume,...

More Articles

If you’re living with diabetes, snacking is a necessity because going for more than 3-4 hours without eating can be detrimental to your health....

For diabetics, choosing healthy snacks can be a daunting task.

A good rule of thumb is to pick out snacks that are rich in protein, fiber,...

According to information available through the National Institutes of Health, there’s an estimated 462 million people in the world who are...

Eleven Clinical Studies

After eleven clinical studies and 300,000 participants, researcher Vasanti Malik and her team of researchers...

Diabetic women often have a harder time losing weight than non-diabetic women. A study funded by Jenny Craig proved that diabetic women have an...

Many recent studies have proved that magnesium levels are lower in patients with diabetes than in non-diabetics. This magnesium...

Fluid retention, also known as edema, is a problem that affects many diabetics, especially those with type 2 diabetes...

Some of us might be thrilled if we could manage our blood sugar by sitting in a hot tub or sauna, instead of working up a sweat biking, or using...

Cooking and baking with the ancient cereal grain sorghum has health benefits for people with diabetes, and those with weight control issues....

When it comes to certain foods, there are always questions as to whether or not a diabetic can have them without...

Matcha tea is a rich, creamy, full-bodied beverage with amazing nutritional properties that address several diabetes health concerns.

The...

Salads are good example of foods that type 2 diabetics can enjoy with relatively low guilt. With the right greens and other elements added, salad...

Remaining gainfully employed is important to many people. Those who live with any form of diabetes may find that some lines of work are more...

Learning that you have diabetes does mean making some lifestyle changes. One of the areas that needs attention is your diet. Most people find that...

One of the more challenging aspects of life as a type 2 diabetic is managing your diet. There’s often the temptation to avoid certain foods...