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What Is Low TSH? The Best Yoga Postures for Balancing Hormones

by Linda Kaban 
Your endocrine system consists of a number of glands that regulate the secretion of hormones that affect your growth, metabolism and nervous system, among many other functions. While most of your body's systems work well without intervention, practicing yoga postures to maximize your endocrine system’s operations goes a long way toward helping to balance your hormones.

The Master Gland

The small pea-shaped pituitary gland, also known as your master gland, lies at the base of your skull and secretes its own hormones or signals the release of hormones from some of your other glands like the thyroid and adrenals. Responsible for your growth from infancy to childhood, the human growth hormone or HGH secreted by your pituitary gland still factors largely through your adulthood by nurturing your tissues and organs.

Poses to Balance HGH

It has been postulated that inverted poses such as Supported Shoulderstand and Headstand stimulate your pituitary gland by bathing the area in a fresh supply of oxygenated blood. Inverted poses are not for everyone, however, due to conditions such as high blood pressure or neck problems. In that case your best and safest route would be to mimic the conditions during which the pituitary gland functions optimally, which is at night during rest. Restorative poses such as Supported Sukhasana, during which you sit in a loose cross-legged pose on the floor and rest your forearms and forehead on a chair, are best practiced in a warm, darkened room.

Catabolic Hormones

If you’re stressed, your adrenal glands are working overtime. Made up of two parts -- the medula and cortex -- the adrenals secrete epinephrine or adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol. Too much of these hormones will deplete your energy, compromise your immune system and raise your blood sugar level. Practice restorative yoga postures like Legs-Up-the-Wall pose, Childs pose and Reclined Bound-Angle pose on a daily basis to counteract the effects of these "stress" hormones.

Poses to Balance the Thyroid

Your thyroid is tricky because it performs its own balancing act, trying to function optimally without slipping into either under or over activity. The thyroid sits at the base of your neck and produces a hormone called TSH, which is responsible for regulating your metabolism. Practice yoga poses that alternately compress and expand your throat to help balance the production of TSH. The Ruddy Goose involves making a humming sound while lowering your chin toward your chest and your upper torso toward your thighs. You can complement this compressing pose with the Camel pose during which you drop your head and elongate the front of your neck.




