The findings of a study conducted on 123 middle-aged and older adults, who added yoga classes to their standard diabetic care, yielded favourable results.

In a report released in the journal Diabetes Care, yoga classes appears to help individuals with Type 2 diabetes shed handful of pounds and held blood sugar level steady compared to the non-yoga-practicing "control" group, whose blood sugar levels rose.

Despite the benefits achieved through yoga , the findings does not recommend yoga replacing other forms of exercise for people with Type 2 diabetes.

To achieve considerable weight loss and efficient control of blood sugar, a more vigorous exercise would work better according to Shreelaxmi V. Hegde of the Srinivas Institute of Medical Science and Research Center in Mangalore, India, the New York Times reports.

The study found that among 60 yoga participants their average BMI fell from 25.9 to 25.4 . A BMI (Body Max Index) is a measure of weight in relation to height, with 25 to 30 considered as overweight.

Study also revealed a decline in oxidative stress in the yoga group. Oxidative stress is a condition of increased oxidant production in cells characterized by the release of free radicals and resulting in cellular degeneration. Long-term oxidative stress may be a contributory factor to a host of chronic diseases.