Organic Yoga – Yoga for your organs

Our organs are influencing all the (physical, emotional and spiritual) processes happening in our body. In ORGANIC YOGA we are supporting our organs in their constant work through movement, stillness, stretching, compression, breath and mindfulness, so our body and mind can function on their best and our vital energy can flow effortlessly through the entire organism.  

TIRED? ANXIOUS? STRESSED OUT?

Feeling constantly tired and experiencing anxieties or chronic stress in daily life is not an unusual condition in today’s society with increasing numbers of burnouts and breakdowns. But it is definitely a condition to take care of, a condition called adrenal fatigue. In fact it means literally that: your adrenal glands are exhausted from constantly producing stress hormones. What an inflamed situation for your body! Endocrine system out of balance, hormones all over the place, the body overwhelmed, because your adrenal glands make no difference between the kinds of stress you are facing throughout the day, whether it is a life-threatening situation or (most of the time) not. The adrenal glands are tiny – and still so powerful.

Now, what I find interesting is their location: they’re basically sitting on your kidneys and are relying on them.

TAKING CARE OF FLUIDS

So what are the kidneys actually doing? These two organs located on either side of your spine just beneath your last ribs are an essential part of the urinary system. They filter your blood and eliminate the extracted waste via bladder and urine. Furthermore they stabilize the balance of water and electrolytes.

The adrenal glands are smaller but their job is rather more complex. They are part of the endocrine system, which is a group of small organs responsible for hormone secretion into your bloodstream (your hormones regulate growth, development, metabolism, tissue function, mood, energy levels, sex drive and many other things). Together with the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland the adrenal glands are responding to stress and release stress-related hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones put your body into a state of readiness to react to extreme dangers – being confronted with a furious grizzly bear for example – by raising blood pressure and heart rate. A mechanism which can be lifesaving, but is contra-productive, if it turns into a constant condition, because your body can’t make the distinction between the threat of a grizzly bear and the threat of a deadline at work you’re struggling with. A condition, which cannot only lead to insomnia, weight gain and chronic fatigue, but can also be the cause for heart disease or even a stroke.

Apart from the general stress you might have, mismanaged blood sugar, inadequate sleep and lack of physical activity or muscle tightness are also stressors for your adrenal glands.

ENERGETIC CONNECTIONS

When looking at the energetic connections within the human body, I like to lean on the teachings of ancient medicines such as TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). Your kidneys are connected to your bladder meridian (meridians are energetic channels running through your body, through which our vital energy is flowing). The energy is flowing down your backside through the bladder meridian along your spinal cord, all the way to your feet and then back up on your frontside through the kidney meridian. The bladder meridian is the ‘psychological connection to the organs’ and runs through the sacrum bone, which is the home of your vital energy, your battery. Imagine the flow of your vital energy while trying out the yoga poses below! Visualisation, attention and mindfulness are helpful tools for energetic work.

Furthermore the kidneys are connected to the tissues of bones and teeth.

Symptoms indicating an imbalance in your kidneys or kidney energy are swelling/digestive problems (lack of nutrients), back pain, ear problems, restlessness, sleeping issues, lack of energy, anxiety, pain along the spine or inner thighs, immobile legs/feet, feeling cold, lethargy or pain on the soles of your feet.

SUPPORT YOUR KIDNEYS AND ADRENALS

So what can you do to take better care of your kidneys and adrenal glands?

- get proper sleep and try to stick to regular sleeping patterns, do anything to get into a relaxed state before going to bed

- take breaks and make them real breaks, take time off your phone/computer/TV

- keep warm, especially on your feet and lower back area

- avoid extreme things, which provoke further production of stress hormones (adrenaline sports)

- stabilise blood sugar

- eat for your kidneys: black and dark foods such as black sesame, seaweed, dark root vegetables, raw cacao products, get enough healthy salt, use ginseng and goji berries

- reduce caffeine and sugar to a minimum to avoid extreme highs followed by extreme lows

YOGA FOR YOUR KIDNEYS

A yoga practice for your kidneys should be calm, restorative and comforting. Create a space for yourself, which makes you feel safe, stay in the following postures for several minutes, breathe deeply into your kidney area and try to completely let go. Slow breathing can have a tremendous effect on our nervous system, signalling our whole organism to calm down and release any stress, tension or worries. 

Finish your session by spreading legs and arms on the floor and relaxing in Savasana – Dead Body Pose, try to find complete stillness for 10 minutes or longer. This is the moment, when your heart can pump the blood effortlessly through the body and all the postures done before are having their effects.