You can get audio or video tapes that give breathing instruction and teach relaxation techniques at health food stores, bookstores, and by mail order. It's probably fine to learn breath and relaxation from a tape or booklet, but don't try the yoga exercises without a skilled teacher. He or she can make corrections, caution you when necessary, and help you to adapt poses, if you need to.
It will be worth it to you to spend a
little time finding an instructor who is right for you. Your diabetes nurse
educator or other health care professional may be able to recommend a yoga
instructor. Get referrals for a yoga instructor as you would for any
professional you might wish to consult.
Yoga instructors aren't required to be
certified, but many are, through many different programs. Ask prospective
teachers if they are certified. A certified teacher isn't necessarily better
than someone who isn't certified, but it's something to consider.
Yoga is fun, healthy, and calming. It's a
wise way handed down over several thousands of years. There is little danger in
yoga, and even a little progress brings with it freedom and peace of mind.
Although most people with diabetes can
exercise safely, exercise involves some risks. To shift the benefit-to-risk
ratio in your favor, take these precautions:
- Have a medical
exam before you begin your exercise program, including an exercise test
with EKG monitoring, especially if you have cardiovascular disease, you
are over 35, you have high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol levels,
you smoke, or you have a family history of heart disease.
- Discuss with
your doctor any unusual symptoms that you experience during or after
exercise such as discomfort in your chest, neck, jaw, or arms; nausea,
dizziness, fainting, or excessive shortness of breath; or short-term
changes in vision.
- If you have
diabetes-related complications, check with your healthcare team about
special precautions. Consider exercising in a medically supervised
program, at least initially, if you have peripheral vascular disease,
retinopathy, autonomic neuropathy, or kidney problems.
- Learn how to
prevent and treat low blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia). If you take
oral agents or insulin, monitor your blood glucose levels before, during,
and after exercise.
- If you have
type I, and your blood glucose is above 250 milligrams per deciliter,
check your urine for ketones. Don't exercise if ketones are present,
because exercise will increase your risk of ketoacidosis and coma.
- Always
warm up and cool down.
- Don't exercise
outdoors when the weather is too hot and humid, or too cold.
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