Yoga adrenal soother

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This may be good for us Fire elements... Another triple-warmer tool-- from Roger Cole:"... for Your Personal PracticeGland Opening You’ve had a stressful day, a “Dukha” kind of day, in fact. Your body and mind have interpreted the stress of the day as a kind of threat and are stuck in the “Flight or Fight” response in which your adrenal glands are pumping out stress hormones originally designed to prepare you to get away from danger (a ravenous bear, for instance) in a hurry. Now, of course, the bears of yore have been replaced by the guy who blithely cut you off in traffic and nearly ran you off the road just now, but it’s stress nonetheless and as far as your body is concerned, there’s not much difference between a bear and a bad driver. Now that you’re home at last, how can you get your adrenals to calm down and stop dumping yet more stress hormones like norepinephrine into your bloodstream? Sometimes referred to as “Legs up the Wall” pose, practicing Viparita Karani after a hard day is like inviting your adrenal glands to their own personal Happy Hour. According to author Roger Cole (writing in the Yoga Journal), elevating your legs “stimulates baroreceptors (blood pressure sensors) in the neck and upper chest, triggering reflexes that reduce nerve input into the adrenal glands, slow the heart rate, slow the brain waves, relax blood vessels and reduce the amount of norepinephine circulating in the bloodstream.” Sounds like just what the doctored ordered. Here’s how to do it: Find a wall, and pile up a few firm blankets folded in quarters to a height of about twelve inches or so and position them on the floor against the wall. (You can have another quarter-fold blanket handy to place under you head and neck once you’re in the pose, and something to cover the eyes – an eye pillow, ideally – is a nice addition.) Sit on the blanket pile with your right side facing to the wall. Placing your hands behind you, guide yourself onto your back by shifting your back onto the floor and swiveling your legs up the wall simultaneously. Finally, position the additional blanket under your head. Make sure your hips are positioned so that they’re securely supported and that you’re not so close to the wall that you feel an intense hamstring stretch: remember this is for your over-worked adrenals. Stay in the pose as long as you like, slowing your breathing down a little to encourage the Relaxation Response, which will enable your adrenals to finally call it a day. Goodbye, Dukha; hello, Sukha.  ... "Roger ColeIyengar instructor, Yoga Journal author and accomplished biomedical research scientist Roger Cole is internationally recognized for his in-depth anatomy articles and penetrating, hands-on workshopsHelen