Yoga is considered to bring great benefit to both physical and mental health, but more recently it has been used alongside modern medicine. It has been prescribed to some patients for the management of certain diseases and disorders. So much so, that many people that experience thyroid and autoimmune disorders have turned to Clinical Yoga Therapy (CYT) to assist in alleviating their symptoms and to learn more about how to manage them.
There are lots of types of thyroid disorders but the most common are the ones that attack the immune system; hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.
Hyperthyroid
For those who suffer with hyperthyroidism, you might be finding it difficult to sleep at night, find yourself becoming very irritable or unusually anxious with an irregular heartbeat. You might also start to experience irregular menstrual cycles in women or erectile disfunction in men. All of these will affect your daily life, and learning not only to cope with the issues but having methods in place to diminish their effects can lead to greater happiness and finding peace within yourself.
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism also is associated with elevated mental health issues including the tendency to become depressed, as well as greater fatigue, stiffness and pains in joints, muscle weakness and all over achiness.
Yoga asanas for daily peace
Many people who struggle with the symptoms of an over or underactive thyroid can ease these by setting aside 10 minutes a day to focus on Yoga Asanas. These can be of great help when it comes to the encouragement of a good thyroid function, and over time, help to relieve some of the symptoms that are felt by people who experience problems associated with their thyroid. Simple exercises like practicing Sun Salutations and a Shoulder Stand pose (for hypothyroidism patients) as part of a morning routine, to a Cat-Cow stretch just before going to bed (for hyperthyroid patients) can help to manage and minimise these symptoms. Furthering this practice by attending clinical yoga sessions to find out why these postures can work for you, promotes a healthy way to manage and resolve some of these issues.
Ayurvedic techniques for management of symptoms
Ayurvedic treatments are all about the individual, and help to treat the person rather than the disease. Aspects of these diseases can be alleviated through the practice of yoga but also correctly balanced nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. Ayurvedic techniques are very helpful in this respect. Executing the ayurvedic approach, (including which kitchen herbs to use in your diet and marma points to use), will help you learn and look at any lifestyle choices that an individual makes that may aggravate some of the symptoms and starting to treat these. This way patients are able to examine and make small changes in their daily routine which will have a great impact on many of the symptoms felt.
From an ayurvedic perspective, a practitioner will look at the patient’s balance of the doshas, and look at where there is a disruption that is affecting the overall state of the immune system. The doshas include three energies, the Vata, Pitta and Kapha which when balanced can help to maintain a healthy mental and physical state. Although, when these three energies are out of sync, this is when they can start to have a more negative effect on the body and mind.
Having a deeper understanding from an ayurvedic perspective of why the symptoms are felt by each individual can help to form a more in depth explanation and look to relieve them on a personal basis.
Clinical Yoga Therapy
It is well known that stress is one of the major factors that bring on these issues and for people who have a thyroid disorder, these kinds of daily pressures will greatly affect the function of their immune system and thus cause them to feel unwell. This is where CYT comes into play, through the practice of guided meditation and the true mastering of Ujjayi and other similar breathing techniques, the symptoms that come with some thyroid problems are kept under control and stress is managed effectively.
A CYT session will help to explore these issues further and teach you how it is possible to treat the condition through proper care of the body, from the inside out.
On June 30th a session that is dedicated to the exploration of natural remedies, yoga and meditation can help you through some of the difficulties that you encounter with an over or underactive thyroid. We are based in Upper Brookfield in Brisbane, and have been helping a variety of people overcome and manage similar issues for years. This group session will be an intimate gathering and you will be able to take away information that will help you manage thyroid and autoimmune diseases through natural remedies and yoga therapy.
Book your place now. We look forward to welcoming you to the Brookfield Retreat, and exploring together new ways of managing and coping with issues that arise when you have thyroid and autoimmune diseases.
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