What a wonderful way to understand yoga and start the day? Anyone who has practiced yoga regularly will understand how the Asanas build strength, improve flexibility, increase mobility and harmonies in the body and mind, relieving stress and aiding relaxation. However, sometimes the reasons behind our enhanced levels of health are less understood.
Most of us feel better: our digestion improves, we are less prone to illness, we have more energy and our bodies seem to function more efficiently. This is due to the effects that yoga has on our glands and internal organs, it is not just about what we can readily see but what is going on inside us. We move all different parts of the body, from our heads down to ours feet. Yoga is the only activity able to massage all the internal organs and glands of the body thoroughly and in a balanced way.
Different yoga postures work on different glands by increasing the blood supply to them, squeezing out the toxin-filled blood and then allowing fresh blood to flood back in on release of the posture. The activities bring oxygen and nutrients to the glands that are vital for healthy operation.
The entire human organism is controlled by the hormones. Every system, every organ, every tissue, every cell is guided in its functioning by hormones. The twisting and bending postures of the Asanas, held for specific period of time, place continued and specific pressure on the various glands of the body, thus stimulating them in various ways and regulating their secretions.
For example, in Shoulder Stand, the contraction of the neck muscles combined with the pressure of the chin on the chest squeezes blood out of the thyroid and parathyroid glands. And in the Fish Pose, the glands are stretched and flooded with blood. The combination of these two poses effectively massages and stimulates these two glands, thus greatly improving their functions. When the glands and internal organs function properly, then all the systems of the body work as they should.
Thanks to the various “energizing” yoga postures and activities, I never felt so much better for a long time.
Nicole (YTT 200hrs Nov)
