5 Yoga Practices To De-Stress Your Adrenals

Whether it’s stress from the unpredictable state of the world right now, stress from work, home life, or a general sense of underlying anxiety, the fact is that many of us experience more stress and unease than is necessary, and it can linger in our bodies and minds long after the initial experience has happened. When we don’t allow ourselves to fully process stressful events, or if we keep anxious thoughts whirling around our minds, we begin to tax the nervous system and adrenals, and if we keep pushing ourselves further into a state of stress, it can lead to burnout and even adrenal fatigue. If you tend to feel tired all the time, or no longer have the inspiration, energy and ‘mojo’ you once had, this could be a sign your adrenals have been overworked and they need some TLC. To help remedy issues with the adrenals and prevent a build-up of stress, yoga, meditation and pranayama (breathing techniques) can work wonders, but there are some specific yogic methods that can help target the adrenals, calming and soothing them, and therefore rebalancing your nervous system too. Try the following practices and bring one or two of them into your self care routine to de-stress your adrenals. Brahmari Breath The ‘Humming Bee Breath’ is a great way to activate the vagus nerve, thus helping the nervous system move into the parasympathetic (rest and digest) mode. When we breathe in this way, the exhale is naturally longer, which is also an effective and surprisingly quick way to feel relaxed too. To practice: Take a slow, long inhale through your nose. As you exhale, let out a long, low and as loud as is needed ‘hmmmmmmm’ sound. Let the sound end naturally, and repeat three to five times. To enhance the practice, cover your ears to feel and hear the vibration more. Viparita Karani (Legs up the wall) This restorative inversion stimulates the baroreceptors (blood pressure sensors) in the in the neck and chest. When this happens, it triggers a reflex that reduces nerve inputs to the adrenals, slowing heart rate, lowering blood pressure, calming the nervous system, and relaxing blood vessels. To practice: Lie on the ground with a soft blanket underneath you, and extend your legs up the wall. You can enhance this practice by placing an extra blanket or bolster underneath your hips, and a weighted sandbag on your feet (I love this variation!), or use a chair to rest your lower legs on instead of having them against the wall. Stay here for about 5 minutes. Yoga Nidra A deeply relaxing and reviving practice that works into the subconscious layers of the mind, yoga nidra is actually a phrase that describes the state of mind the practitioner enters into during the practice – which translates as ‘yogic sleep’. The ‘sleep’ state you may experience whilst practicing yoga nidra is actually the ‘hypnogogic’ brain state, which is the state of mind we move into between wakefulness and sleep. This is a very suggestible, and therapeutic place to be, and through the use of a repeated sankalpa or resolve, habits and thinking patterns can be altered. During a practice, you’ll be guided through a body scan, you’ll visualise shapes, images or colours, and you’ll repeat a specific phrase such as ‘I am relaxed’ or ‘I am well’. To practice yoga nidra, attend an online class, or find a teacher whose voice you feel soothed by online. Yin Yoga Butterfly Pose Stimulating the kidney meridian – which works on calming and strengthening the adrenals – this posture helps stretch the inner thighs and lower back. By stretching and moving along specific meridian lines we tap into the ancient Eastern wisdom of Chinese Medicine, which tells us that each organ corresponds to specific pathways of energy and emotions in the body. When we allow ourselves to relax and surrender to the postures, we begin to work not just physically on releasing tension, but we start to rebalance the nervous system too. To practice: Bring the soles of your feet together to create a diamond shape on the floor with your legs. Fold forward as far as is comfortable, as you feel a stretch through the inner thighs and lower back. Use a bolster or cushion for support, to allow you to completely let go for a few minutes. Inner Smile Meditation A traditional Taoist practice, the ‘Inner Smile’ meditation helps bring warmth, compassion and love to parts of the body that may need a little help right now. When we send a sense of relaxation and positivity to organs that have been under stress, we also send them an energetic message that says “relax”, and when practiced regularly, they tend to get the message. To practice the Inner Smile meditation: Get comfortable and close your eyes. As you inhale, imagine breathing into your lower back (where your kidneys and adrenals are), feeling this space expand, widen and lengthen. As you exhale, begin to smile, visualising the feeling and warmth of your smile spreading across the adrenal glands too. Continue for 12 rounds.

Your shopping bag

Your Bag is Empty

Your shopping bag

Our Journal

5 Yoga Practices To De-Stress Your Adrenals

Free Standard Delivery

Gift Cards

Simple Returns

Stay Connected to Us

About Us

Here to Help

Support & Guidance

Community

Country/region