The endocrine glands are the guardians of your health.
Optimal functioning of these organs gives you access to many of the subtleties of life.
These glands produce powerful chemical transmitters called hormones.
Despite their relatively small size and quantity, these glands exert a great influence on the growth, development, and maintenance of your body.
They aid your nervous system in regulating many bodily processes. Similar in function to nerve impulses, hormones transmit information with a daily rhythm in a pulsing fashion. The functions of the various glands are intimately intertwined.
Below is a diagram of where the different glands are located within your body and descriptions of what they are responsible for and why they are important.
What is the Glandular System and why is it important for your overall health?
Pineal Gland
The pineal gland is located near the centre of the brain and is highly sensitive to light. Until recently, almost nothing was known about the pineal gland. Darkness signals the pineal gland to release melatonin. This important hormone has been found to play a role in sexual function, controlling the sleep cycle and energy levels in general. It is also a powerful antioxidant protecting the body from age-causing free radicals.
Pituitary Gland
Located near the centre of the skull just beneath your hypothalamus gland in the middle of your brain, the pituitary gland is often called the master gland because it secretes hormones that regulate virtually every other gland in your body especially your thyroid, adrenal and reproductive glands.
The pituitary gland produces hormones that influence blood pressure, milk (female), contraction of your uterus (female), ovulation (female), bone maturation and growth, protein synthesis and the use of fat reserves. Some hormones are the basis for feelings of connectedness and social bonding. A well-functioning pituitary gland helps us bond during sex.
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus is the main intermediary between your nervous system and your endocrine system, the two major control systems of your body. It is the center of the mind-body phenomena.
Located in the middle of your brain just above your pituitary gland and no bigger than a walnut, this tiny cluster of nerve cells secretes hormones that stimulate or suppress the release of hormones in the pituitary gland and serves as a link between the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system and receives information throughout your body in the form of chemical messengers that trigger emotions, metabolic activity and actions in a nonlinear wavelike manner.
In addition, it regulates hunger, thirst, sleep, water balance and blood pressure. It also plays an important role in the regulation of most of the involuntary mechanisms of your body including body temperature, sexual drive and the female menstrual cycle.
Thyroid Gland
The thyroid gland consists of two lobes on either side of the windpipe in the neck just above the sternum. Through the synthesis of many proteins, the thyroid controls body metabolism (rate at which your body produces energy from nutrients), emotions, intellectual ability, physical vitality, growth and the development of your nervous system.
Too little of the principle hormone produced by the thyroid gland can lead to thickening of the skin, lethargy, obesity and heart failure.
Too much can lead to nervousness, anxiety, excessive weight loss and heart palpitations.
That’s why it is a good place to look when a person is either over or underweight.
Depression and menstrual abnormalities are often caused by either too much or too little thyroid activity.
Parathyroid Gland
The parathyroid glands are attached to the back of the thyroid gland and control absorption, retention and metabolism of calcium and phosphates.
Calcium plays an important role in many metabolic processes. Too much calcium may cause a weakening of muscle tone and kidney stones. Too little can disrupt the normal function of the nerves and muscles causing twitching or spasms.
Adrenals
The adrenal glands sit on top of your kidneys and work hand-in-hand with your hypothalamus and pituitary gland producing hormones that effect metabolism, blood pressure and the adrenal medulla which helps cope with physical and emotional stress.
The adrenals produce essential hormones: cortisol and aldosterone.
Cortisol is the major controller of carbohydrate metabolism and it helps your body respond to stress and illness.
Aldosterone is a hormone produced by the cortex of the adrenal gland, instrumental in the regulation of sodium and potassium reabsorption by the cells of the tubular portion of the kidney.
The adrenals also produce hormones that promote muscle growth and adrenaline, which is responsible for the “fight-or-flight” response.
Thymus Gland
The thymus gland is high in the chest behind the sternum (breast bone) above your heart. Formed mostly of lymphatic tissue, it plays a key role in producing the immune system’s T-cells (white blood cells), which help support your immune system in fighting illness and dis-ease. These T-cells circulate in the blood and lymph to help protect the body from infections or malignant cells.
Pancreas Gland
The Pancreas produces insulin and glucagon.
Insulin permits glucose to pass through cell walls to be used for energy and storage.
Glucagon is a hormone secreted by the pancreas that acts in opposition to insulin in the regulation of blood glucose levels (inhibits glucose absorption).
Together they balance glucose levels. The pancreas also helps to control carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism.
Gonads
The gonads (ovaries and testes) control secondary sex characteristics and ovulation, placenta formation, milk production in women and sperm production in men.
Ovaries
The ovaries contain the eggs and produce estrogen and progesterone, the hormones that control the maturation and development of the eggs. These hormones also control the thickening of the uterine wall during pregnancy and its sloughing off during menstruation.
Testes
The testes produce the hormone testosterone as well as sperm. The adrenal glands provide a small amount of testosterone in women. Testosterone levels affect the sex drive in both men and women.
Relationships to Other Systems
The nervous system, brain, and glands are intricately linked with the endocrine system.
Negative Influences & Other Risk Factors
- Chronic Stress
- Exposure to pesticides and mimic hormones
Some Good Foods for this System
- Onions, Garlic, Ginger
How Yoga Helps
- Working on the chakras through stimulation of the kundalini energy positively affects the health and balance of the glands, which creates a sense of well-being, allowing the individual to feel connected to all life.
- Focusing on the pituitary point – The Third Eye Point at the brow activates the pituitary gland.
- Kundalini Yoga, particularly breath control, can greatly enhance the activity of the pineal gland.
- The breath strongly affects the function of the pineal and pituitary glands and the hypothalamus.
- Sound and mantra have a powerful positive effect on the glands, particularly the endocrine centers of the hypothalamus and the pituitary and pineal glands.
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