Author: Randeep Singh / go to all articles on Yoga cure
Yoga for Pancreas:
Yoga for pancreas – Pancreas is an organs located behind the stomach in a transverse position, with its head to the right of the abdomen, and its tail to the left side.
Pancreas are around half a foot in length and nearly resemble the shape of an ice cream cone, with its broader head towards the right and the tapering tail towards the left of the abdominal cavity.
The rounded head of the pancreas is perfectly looped around by the downward loop of the duodenum section of the small intestine. The liver is positioned above the pancreas and the4 spleen seems to be hanging out from its tail towards the upper left abdomen. The sections of pancreas located sequentially next to the head are the neck and the body.
The superior mesenteric artery, and the superior mesenteric pass vertically behind the horizontally placed pancreas. Rather both these blood vessels make a proper knot by first emerging from behind the pancreas and then looping over the transversely placed small intestine.
The portal vein and the celiac axis are the other important blood vessels positioned in the vicinity of the pancreas. About 95 % of the tissue which make the pancreas is of exocrine ( pouring its secretions out via a duct into another organ) nature. These tissue cells produce enzymes which help in the digestion of food in the small intestine.
Trypsin, and chymotrypsin for digesting proteins, Amylase for carbohydrates, and lipase for digesting fats are the main enzymes released by these cells which are carried by a web of small ducts to merge into a single pancreatic duct which receives the common bile duct coming from the liver above at a joint called ampulla of vater for jointly releasing their contents into the duodenum, the part of the small intestine right after the stomach ends.
The remaining 5 % of the tissue that makes the pancreas consist of the grape shaped cells called beta cells or the islets of Langerhans which are the part of the endocrine system as they produce and release their hormones directly into the blood stream.
The islet of Langerhans produce insulin for lowering the blood sugar level and glucagon which helps raise the sugar level in the blood whenever required. The pancreatic juice which is released in the duodenum contains bicarbonate to neutralize any acid entering here from the stomach.
Pancreas can get afflicted by pancreatitis, or the pancreatic cancer. Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas which can stay for long. Sometimes the ducts carrying the pancreatic juice get blocked by the formation of stones made of calcium and cysts.
Treat Pancreas with Yoga Asana, Pranayama
Spinal twists are the first to be listed as the yoga asanas and pranayamas to activate the pancreas. The spinal twisting asanas churns up the abdominal cavity which stretches, compresses and activates the tissues of the pancreases, stimulating their function in the process.
In the absence of any exercise the organs located in this region of the abdomen go sagging over each other due to the pull of the gravity. This plunge or dip in their location reduce their functional efficiency, yoga twists help enervate them out of slumber and twist start their functioning once again.
The excess fat around the belly gets reduced with the regular practice of yoga, especially pancreatic fat which is responsible for malfunctioning of the beta cells that produce the pancreatic juice, reaching one’s optimal body weight helps add efficiency in the working of pancreas by yoga.
Yoga relaxation technique like releasing the body to the floor in corpse pose helps establish the energy homeostasis within the body, the body systems are naturally designed to work more efficiently in a relaxed state than under stress.
The endocrine system is more sensitive to stress than any other systems of the body as these organs are more densely connected to the nerves, nerves form the part of the negative response loop which commands the endocrine glands to produce or stop producing their respective secretions, and nerves are transporters od stress across the body.
Type 2 diabetes has been found to result from the insulin resistance and malfunctioning of the beta cells within the pancreas. Sedentary lifestyle increases the insulin resistance of the individuals, Yoga exercise for pancreas problems help raise the insulin sensitivity ( thus insulin can work more efficiently on glucose present in blood) in such individuals thereby cutting down their chances of contracting type 2 diabetes.
One of the study has found the answer to the question, how to activate beta cells of pancreas by Yoga. This study has found that when the muscles get exercised with yoga they secrete a substance called interleukin 6 which increases the life of the beta cells situated within the pancreas. Yoga has been found to enhance the life and functioning of the pancreatic juice secretary cells in the patients of type1 as well as type 2 diabetes.
Yoga Asanas and Pranayama to activate Pancreas
Other Informative Articles….