Sometimes in a regular yoga class, my instructors would say something vague and abstract in the middle of a pose, for example in fish pose- “this activates your thyroid gland”. I always had doubts if their claims were valid until I began learning about the effect of yoga on our endocrine system.<\/p>\n
It all begins with pranayama. When we inhale, we supply oxygen from the lungs which is carried to the blood, improving the circulation between our brain and hypothalamus-pituitary glands- which forms the control centre for all the glands that work throughout the body. No wonder “pranayama” literally translates to “energy” and “expansion”.<\/p>\n
Largely speaking, there are 7 hormone producing glands in the body- adrenal cortex, pituitary gland, hypothalamus, pancreas, thyroid, parathyroid, testes\/ovaries. The function of each gland is to regulate bodily functions such and growth, metabolism and sexual responses.<\/p>\n
So the benefits of yoga are not just limited to stretching and strengthening. For every gland, there are various asanas that will work to stimulate them. Some examples are:<\/p>\n
1. Shoulder stands and plough pose will be beneficial if done at bedtime because these activate the pineal gland which produces melatonin, the hormone that makes us drowsy.<\/p>\n
2. Fish, wheel and shoulder stands stimulate the thyroid gland which is just under the throat. The functions of the thyroid hormone are quite numerous- brain development, reproductive tract and regulation of metabolic rate.<\/p>\n
3. Shalabasana, child pose and cobra are especially beneficial for ladies as these asanas stimulate the ovaries which release estrogen and progesterone, among other hormones. These are imperative for a healthy pregnancy, promotes growth, preserving bone mass and elasticity of connective tissues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sometimes in a regular yoga class, my instructors would say something vague and abstract in the middle of a pose, for example in fish pose- “this activates your thyroid gland”. I always had doubts if their claims were valid until I began learning about the effect of yoga on our endocrine system. It all begins […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n