Adrenal Glands

Today I am going to share with you one of my favourite Harmonic Arts Botanical Dispensary Teas, called Adapting Gems along with some yoga poses to help your adrenal glands. Adapting Gems is a herbal tea that fortifies and restores all the major energy centres in your body.

What are adaptogens? Adaptogens are a unique group of herbal ingredients used to improve the health of your adrenal system, the system that’s in charge of managing your body’s hormonal response to stress.

How do adaptogens work? When you are under stress, the adaptogens generate “a degree of generalised adaptation” that allows your body to handle the stress in a more resourceful way. The adaptogens are believed to work by increasing the ability of your cells to manufacture and use cell fuel more efficiently.

Before I share with you some yoga poses to support your adrenal glands and reduce adrenal fatigue let’s talk about what is in Adapting Gems herbal tea.

Here is what is in Adapting Gems herbal tea

Ashwagandha is restorative and rejuvenating. This herb is used to treat stress, fatigue, lack of energy and difficulty concentrating. This herb helps combat the effects of stress, reduces anxiety and depression and protects your immune system.

Eleuthero, also known as Siberian Ginseng, is another adaptogen that works subtly with your body over time to help your body adapt to its environment (and can be used safely over time). This herb will help you adapt and respond to stress more efficiently. It will strengthen your memory and help you stay clear headed, even under pressure. It gives you sustained energy over the long term without the ups and downs of stimulants like caffeine and sugar.

(By the way, this is where I stopped, boiled the kettle and steeped a cup of this tea for myself. I think I should be drinking this tea every day, all day!)

Rhodiola is another adaptogen that strengthens your nervous system, reduces stress, helps muscle recovery, enhances memory and concentration, protects your immune system, fights depression, enhances immunity, aids in weight reduction, increases sexual function and improves your energy levels.

Fo-Ti – is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to nourish your heart and calm your spirit. Fo-Ti is believed to unblock the meridians where an energy blockage may cause weakness, soreness, pain and fatigue.

Licorice boosts your immune system and relieves pain and stress. By increasing cortisol activity, licorice helps to increase energy, ease stress and reduce symptoms of ailments sensitive to cortisol levels such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

Sarsaparilla is an herb used for many reasons, but the reason why it is probably included in this tea is for fatigue.

Schisandra is a Traditional Chinese Medicine adaptogenic medicinal berry for longevity and vitality. It increases energy, fights fatigue, and slows aging. Schisandra will improve your concentration, help prevent mental fatigue and improve the accuracy and quality of your work.

Holy Basil is known to naturally reduce stress and anxiety. Did you know that Holy Basil, also known as Tulsi, symbolizes the Goddess Lakshmi? This is the Goddess of abundance and in our culture of anxiety and stress, this herb brings an abundance of stress relief and relaxation.

I will link to my series of 9 yoga classes with Lakshmi, the Goddess of Abundance.

Reishi is another adaptogen, a mushroom used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It helps to treat anxiety, high blood pressure and insomnia. It also regulates your immune system.

So let’s get right to some yoga poses that will nourish your adrenal glands and reduce adrenal fatigue.

If you activate the adrenal glands over and over again without sufficient recovery in between, your body becomes depleted and exhausted. Adrenal fatigue comes from being under chronic stress without sufficient recovery, so all these poses focus on allowing your body time to recover.

Legs up the wall and supported bridge pose stimulate your baroreceptors in your neck and upper chest which are blood pressure sensors that trigger reflexes to reduce nerve input to your adrenal glands, slow your heart rate, slow your brain waves, relax blood vessels, and reduce the amount of norepinephrine circulating in the bloodstream.

Sphinx Pose Stimulates the adrenal glands

Child’s Pose relieves stress and fatigue, calming and therefore gives a break from activating your adrenal glands over and over again without sufficient recovery in between so that your body doesn’t become depleted and exhausted.

Here is a blog post I did on the best yoga for adrenal fatigue: