Fire up your metabolism

Yoga’s stimulating and strengthening effect on the endocrine organs boosts metabolism to burn more calories, writes Akshar

The thyroid gland is instrumental in regulating our metabolism by releasing hormones into the bloodstream and any anomaly in this functioning can lead to weight gain/loss, lethargy and hair loss.

In most cases, people experience thyroid weight gain or weight loss problems when there is an imbalance in their hormones due to a thyroid disorder.

The thyroid gland is a major part of our metabolic health. The hormones that are released by the thyroid gland regulate the body’s functioning in many ways.

Those experiencing changes in body weight, hair loss, and lethargy invariably have an imbalanced thyroid condition.

Metabolism is the process wherein your body converts food to energy.

Practising yoga with breathing exercises helps to improve one’s oxygen intake and in warming up the body. This increases the speed of metabolism.

It also stimulates and strengthens the endocrine organs, revving up the metabolic rate further.

Here are three asanas that can help in boosting metabolism when one is suffering from a thyroid imbalance:

Marjari asana or cat stretch

This asana helps in relaxing the body and relieving the symptoms of hyper and hypothyroidism. It is a powerful posture which aids in digestion, improves metabolism and balances the endocrine system.

Urdhva Mukhi Marjari Asana

Get down on your knees, place the palms under the shoulders and knees under the hips.

Inhale deeply and arch your spine downwards to lookup.

Adho Mukhi Marjari Asana

Exhale deeply, arch your spine upwards and allow your neck to dropdown.

Focus your gaze down.

Naukasana
(boat pose)

Tone your lower body with the boat pose! This posture helps in stretching your pelvic muscles and helps in fuelling your gastrointestinal system. This asana helps in shedding extra belly fat for hypothyroid patients.

Sit in Sukhasana.

Extend your legs forward in Dandasana.

Gently tilt your upper body to the back to shift your centre of gravity.

Now lift both the legs up, knees are straight and toes are at the level of your head.

Extend both the arms forward, with palms beside your knees.

Balance this posture as long as you can.

Gently move your upper body forward to drop your legs in Dandasana and return to the starting posture.

Hasta Utanasana
(Raised arms pose)

This asana helps in increasing blood flow to the head region and the neck,
making it perfect to aid your thyroid glands function.

It helps in improving the digestion and in stretching and toning the muscles of the abdomen.

Stand in samasthiti.

Lift both your palms up straight above your head with elbows straight and aligned.

Join your palms in namaste.

Deep inhale and gently bend back along with the movement of your arms behind.

Keep your eyes open and breathe in consciousness.

Hold this posture as long as you can.

And gently return by exhaling deeply back to samasthiti.

These asanas help in stimulating the thyroid gland and tell the body to release thyroxin which develops a healthy metabolism. Do consult a physician before you start your yoga programme.

(The author is a lifestyle coach and Yoga-preneur.)