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Saturday, July 9, 2011

Adrenals and Stress

Watching my kundalini dvd with Maya Fiennes, she talks about expelling the toxins from our adrenals and our kidneys because in our western lifestyle, we are constantly overworking them with our hectic oversheduled lifestyle. I plead guilty. I want to squeeze in two errands and laundry before going to see a friend a little over an hour from now. I often wake up feeling the need for the flight reaction. Is this genetic? is this my job? is this my morning coffee habit? is this my need to do so many things to make life feel ordered and duties fulfilled?

Adrenal glands sit atop (I usually think that word should be reserved for vittles and viand, but today I make an exception since they do sit right atop of the kidneys) the kidneys and release adrenaline and cortisol.

adrenals cannot tell the difference between physical, mental or emotional stress they just keep pumping out the cortisol.

Kundalini yoga kriyas help balance chakras that are connected to endocrine glands. The main endocrine glands include the pituitary gland, pancreas, ovaries, testes, thyroid gland, and adrenal glands. The hypothalamus is a neuroendocrine organ...

What about coffee that I drink every day, what does that do to my endocrine system?

oh boy, I just learned that caffeine increases the secretion of betaendorphin (no wonder I like coffee) and yes, ding ding ding, it is said to increase cortisol levels in the blood...

I learned that exhausted adrenals result in symptoms of underactive thyroid like fatigue, which I only experience at night... sometimes at 8pm it feels like it's 1am.

The adrenals secrete hormones in a cycle with the highest value in the morning and the lowest value at night... circadian rhythm. Maybe my levels drop down faster than normal.

Though meditation and yoga are awesome for calming, the caffeine is counteracting some of the benficial effects.

I only drink coffee in the morning (before 11), but my acupuncturists can detect it in my system at 5pm, no problem. One said, 'Kathleen, caffeine is not your friend.'

Let's see what I can do this week to give my adrenals a break.

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