Diabetic distress – Role of sudarshan kriya yoga in managing the emotional burden

Background: Although an alarming number of diabetes mellitus patients suffer from diabetes-related distress, little has been done to offer a solution to eliminate this unique, often hidden emotional burden. Sudarshan kriya yoga (SKY), a unique breathing technique developed by the Art of Living Organization, has been studied in persons living with diabetes (PWD). Objective: The objective of this study was to undertake a narrative review of clinical studies of SKY’s role in emotional diabetic distress and quality of life (QOL) parameters in PWD. Methods: Keyword searches of Medline and PubMed database. Results: Four clinical studies have studied the effect of SKY practice on quality-of-life parameters in PWD. Analysis of the results reveals that SKY practice can improve QOL, relieve anxiety and depression, and improve dietary practices and medication adherence in PWD. Conclusion: Diabetes distress (DD) takes a toll on motivation for self-care and increases the chances of diabetes complications and related mortality. There is an urgent need to screen, prevent, and treat DD. SKY practice is an effective and easy way to manage DD and must, therefore, be taught to PWD with the goal of optimizing health outcomes and health-related QOL.