Yoga Therapy for Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism- Part 2

Multiple studies prove the amazing benefits of yoga therapy for managing thyroid disorders. Yogic lifestyle modifications can be a great complimentary treatment to help healing your glands naturally. Additionally, the twisting, stretching and compressing yoga poses helps to massage the thyroid gland and thereby release of the thyroid hormone is regulated.

In this Part 2 of the series of articles "Yoga Therapy for Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism" we will review the emotional causes behind thyroid problems. In Part 3 we will go through the recommended yoga therapy for hypothyroidism, and the last Part 4 is for the yoga therapy of hyperthyroidism. In Part 1 we described the thyroid function, the common problems of the thyroid gland and the symptoms one may experience if having hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism or thyroid nodules.

Emotional Root Causes of Hyperthyroidism

HYP 1.15 Atyāhārah prayāsaścha prajalpo niyamāghrahah janasangaścha laulyam cha shadbhiryogo vinaśyati

Yoga is destroyed by the following six causes: Overeating, overexertion, talkativeness, adhering to rules, i.e., cold bath in the morning, eating at night, or eating fruits only, company of men, and unsteadiness.

There are few different types of hyperthyroidism, but the most common kind is caused overproduction of thyroid hormone by the entire thyroid gland. The other type is caused by nodules or lumps in the thyroid gland increasing its activity. Additionally, one may temporarily have symptoms of hyperthyroidism if thyroiditis is caused by an immune system disorder or infections. We spoke about all this in Part 1. The overproduction of thyroid hormones speeds up your metabolism, together with every other function of your body. It is obvious that some common symptoms of hyperthyroidism are- anger, nervousness, irritability, increased sweating, heart palpitations and faster heart rate, hand tremors, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, thinning of your skin, fine brittle hair and nails and weakness and fatigue.

In all thyroid problems we see inability to cope up with stress and body's energy requirement.

For example, when you are constantly in a rush or under stress but your body is telling you “Slow down because I’m tired.”-turns into hypothyroidism. The opposite is happening too- when you are not reacting in situations when you should react, suppressing your emotions and actions. Then the brain keeps telling you: “You should act, hurry up. We are in danger now.” but you are not reacting, because you are not able to do so- observed in hyperthyroidism. Your brain tells your thyroid to speed up so your body has enough energy to face the danger. Usually the ones who are slow (hypo) are required to do things at a faster pace and not remain slow. But they are unable to do so.

Simply said, under stressful situations your body systems may react by overloading you or slowing you down, resulting into either hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism.

The emotional problem with hyperthyroidism is the speeding up and the feeling that you must do everything quick, pressed by the time. There’s the sense that you’re always in a hurry to do something.

For example: Every morning a little girl wants to go to school on time, but her daddy is oversleeping and she is often late. In the same time, the little girl is afraid that the teacher will blame her for being late and her body starts releasing more thyroid hormones to make her hurry up, due to the fear of being late but she can’t do nothing about it. Now, she is hyper acting, therefore unlocking hyperthyroidism symptoms.

Another example: A teenage girl is separated from her mother, because the mother started working abroad. The girl feels abandoned and wants to grow up quickly so she can go to live with mother. She is trying to speed up time because she doesn’t want to wait for her mother. She needs her now, especially during the challenging teenage years. So, the girl becomes impatient and stressed with many suppressed emotions and feelings of abandonment, leading again to predisposition to hyperthyroidism in her life.

Hypothyroidism, Adrenal Fatigue & Emotional Root Causes

1.16 Utsāhātsāhasāddhairyāttattvajñānāścha niśchayāt janasangghaparityāghātshadbhiryogah prasiddhyati

The following six bring speedy success: Courage, daring, perseverance, discriminative knowledge, faith, aloofness from company.

Similarly, hypothyroidism ties to conflicts associated with timing, but here everything slows down. It could be that while we are living in a fast world, filled with stressful situations in which time seems to be passing too quickly, and our brain tells us that it is important to slow down to help you survive. All your body systems feel exhausted from the constant stressors, e.g., adrenal fatigue is present.

In Hashimoto (an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid gland), from the other hand, we can observe self-destruction patterns.

Example: An older brother constantly tells his sister to wait for him and if she doesn’t, he starts insulting her. But she’s a kid of fast nature and she don’t want to wait for her brother. Then she starts believing that in order to be loved, the fast part of her nature needs to be eliminated. The brain’s solution is to destroy the thyroid gland responsible for her speed and extra energy.

Vishuddhi Chakra & Thyroid

The energy center, situated in the throat, around the thyroid gland, guiding our ability to speak, listen and express ourselves is Vishuddhi chakra. When the throat chakra is imbalanced, it can cause stress on your emotional and physical health. While working on Vishuddhi chakra imbalances, staying true to yourself, or improving your communication and listening skills, is important part of the healing steps so that you open up and balance your throat chakra.

Underactive Throat Chakra —

When a chakra is underactive, it means that the chakra is experiencing a blockage or is not distributing the flow of energy. It may be caused by blockage of one or more of the other chakras. This can contribute to feelings of insecurity, shyness, and introversion. It often detaches you from your authentic and true self.

Overactive Throat Chakra —

When a chakra is overactive, it means that the chakra is filled with too much energy. This, usually, happens when there is a blockage in your Anahata chakra (heart chakra) or Ajna (3rd Eye) chakra. The energy is unable to flow towards those blocked passages, resulting in overwhelming the Vishuddhi chakra. If your throat chakra is overactive, you may be experiencing a lack of control over your speech, and talking too much or without a filter. It can lead you to become your own and others’ worst critic. You may experience struggles in your relationships because of the harmful way you communicate. The symptoms include- gossiping, criticism, arrogance, rudeness, inability to listen, speaking excessively, hyperthyroidism, impatience, gut problems, frequent ear and throat issues and more.

A proper combination of yoga, lifestyle changes, diet and mindful practices will keep all the chakras balanced.

Stay with us in Part 3 where we will discuss the recommended yoga therapy for hypothyroidism.