Discussion: Endocrinology through a Yogic Lens (Oct 2020) for MUIH
By: Paige Lichens
Part A
I watched the recording with Dr Randy Gastwirt recorded 10/1/2020 on Endocrinology. He is a specialist in this area but also a yoga teacher. I learned a lot and also reinforced much as well. He started out going over general scientific terms, such as the endocrine system which is in control of the homeostasis. The function of this system is to be in-charge of growth & development, digestion, reproduction, metabolism, and response to stress. The gland being important to be in balance as the chemicals release and cause a biological effect; pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal glands, pancreases, hypothalamus. The chemicals are usually transported in the blood and every layer of hormones works within multiple aspects of other hormones. This is important to remember as there are many layers when you think about the endocrine system and how each gland regulates itself. The gland is there to turn ‘on and off’ all the time and is a feedback loop; negative feedback loop was then discussed in more detail and that glad is communicating to the other glands. He then went on to discuss negative feedback loop which he said helps us figure out what is ‘wrong’ with a client. He suggested when we are assessing client to observe the imbalance and help the ‘downstream disfunction’.
Additionally he said as yoga therapists we will more than likely see cases of thyroid, adrenal glands and diabetes issues. There was a lot of information and types of issues discussed; far more than what can be discussed in this discussion. For me the thyroid was the most interesting because I suffer from Hashimoto’s. As he discussed the thyroid gland does not work alone; it interacts intimately with the liver, the kidneys, the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands. He then talked about the way he focuses on plan of care of the thyroid and that healthy gut usually helps the symptoms.
Therefore an observation I would have for working with someone with thyroid issues would be to observe the symptoms they are dealing with and make sure I wasn’t doing more harm to irritate them. For me the comparison is assessing the Gunas; knowing if someones energy level with their thyroid may identify if they are overactive or under-active. Also I wouldn’t be looking to fix the thyroid but understand various ways the other parts of the body may be responding. As he suggested the gut and inflammation may be improved around ‘building digestive fire’; for me that would be similar to the ways I would design a “Pita Pacifying practice”. Furthermore I am not a nutritionist or Ayurvedic Counselor but would be able to refer the client to one if they wanted to examine food and herbs more. The yoga therapy plan of care would have some slow movement however hold positions longer. The object would be to focus on the middle body and build some mild warmth without it being too hot or cold. Some good examples are warrior 1 & 2; holding them for longer times and encouraging the client to focus on a warming breath (Ujjayi Pranayama) while lifting up from the heart. Then a standing squat pose and lifting from the hips and chests; holding for 30 to 60 seconds with the visual focus straight ahead. Finally have the client sit down and do seated floor positions; clam, pigeon and half frog (or deer pose combo). This would start the cooling down and grounding; Pita elements being fire and water - we look to balance both. Finally coming to the floor I often suggest legs up the wall; offering different leg positions such as half shoelace, butterfly and figure four. This could be a good place to do yoga nidra or simply a guided visual meditation; something that helps to lower the cortizol levels (adrenal glands) that are often overstimulated and therefore impact the thyroid. To finish if there weren’t any contraindications, such as pregnancy or heart issues, I could finish the practice with some warming bhastrika breath (seated) to help warm up the body.
PART B
One evidenced-based, peer reviewed article that I wanted to read was a scientific interview on Dr Fasano. During this lecture it was mentioned that if we wanted to know more about the ‘leaky gut” to look up this doctor. The article discusses Dr Fasano and how he discovered the role that the gut system plays specially with auto-immune diseases. He originally was focused on diarrheal diseases but found what he called the “common denominator” and has been interested in observing why some peoples bodies will lead to autoimmunity. For him he turned to observing celiacs disease since the known trigger is gluten. He is still interested in why the body can turn 'on/off' the receptors. He created a synthetic peptide to work the same way as receptors and it is still being tested; almost 1000 people are trying it. He is interested in other conditions and why some are genetically predisposed. He hopes that someday autoimmune diseases could be prevented but all of this is still being studied. Dr Fasano doesn’t like the term “leaky gut” because it has been misused and over-marketed. Also that society has determined if you have a leaky gut that you will develop disease - period. “There is absolutely nothing true about this; it is not scientifically defendable” he says. Furthermore he finishes the article by saying the discussion begins with us admitting our own ignorance about many things, including if and how people get sick. Although the article does not mention yoga or yoga therapy I think he makes a good point about how we treat illness and ways we have to change our thinking. I think yoga therapy can help us find new solutions as we can apply multiple observations. For example both the lecture and this article seem to point to ways to help the digestive system that may help the glands by observing the digestive system. As yoga therapists we don’t have to know if it solves the condition but it is important for science that those in wellness practices can observe, note and report back so we can have better answers for the future.
References
Gustafson, A, (2018). Alessio Fasano, MD: How Cholera Research Became an Expert on Autoimmune Disease, IMCJ Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6396758/