This is a replay of a live session showing you some Qigong exercises for thyroid health and metabolism, taught by myself, Dr. Janice Tucker. I have been teaching Qigong for two decades and am the founder of the Space To Relax Programme of Qigong video lessons and a practitioner of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
You can join my live classes on Zoom every Thursday at 4 pm Irish time. Click here to join us (lesson replays sent out by email in case you can’t make it).
These classes are free and everyone is welcome. However, if you’d like to contribute as a thank you for the class click here. 50% of donations will go to the ICU staff in my local hospital in Co. Kerry. The other 50% goes towards the upkeep of this website.
Qigong Exercises for Thyroid Health and Metabolism – Introduction
Our thyroid gland, located in the neck, secretes hormones responsible for the regulation of our metabolism and “rate of living”. There are two main types of hormone imbalance:
- Underactive thyroid, manifesting with symptoms such as feeling cold, dry skin and hair, puffy face, constipation, weight gain, sluggishness and depression
- Overactive thyroid, manifesting with symptoms such as feeling hot, high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, sweating, tremors, increased appetite but losing weight, diarrhea, anxiety and irritability.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) thyroid imbalance is indicative of an imbalance of Yin (the cooling, moistening and nourishing functions in the body) and Yang (the warming, moving and activating functions in the body). These two broad imbalances are:
- Underactive thyroid is related to Yang deficiency
- Overactive thyroid is related to Yin deficiency
Note: These are broad indications and should not be used in place of a full TCM diagnosis from a fully qualified TCM practitioner.
The Role of Exercise In Managing Thyroid Imbalance
Any exercise which increases stress levels and exhausts the muscles and tissues of the body (e.g. cardiovascular or intense exercise) will not be of benefit to you because an already exhausted system will struggle to recover.
Helpful exercises for thyroid regulation involve those which benefit tissue building and repair, breathing and lowering of stress levels such as Qigong because they do not overtax your system.
Qigong Exercises For Thyroid Health and Metabolism – Method
- Begin sitting or standing with a few abdominal breaths.
- For overactive thyroid use the method of exhaling through the feet to rid anything you don’t want in your body/mind and inhaling into Dan Tian (lower abdomen) to draw in clean, fresh Qi to calm the mind.
- For underactive thyroid use part of the “Swimming Dragon” method to gently circulate the Qi throughout the whole body without causing exhaustion.
- Conclude with a few abdominal breaths.
Additional Video Resources
- Qigong for Yin Deficiency
- Qigong for Anxiety and Overthinking
- Kidney related issues
- Liver related issues
Many other live lesson replays can be found on my blog page. Take a look at some of them to find methods which you can easily combine with this one.
What Can I Do Next?
To sign up and attend the live online sessions please click here. Classes are free of charge and suitable if you’re a beginner or have more Qigong experience. Once you sign up I’ll send details to your email with links to the Zoom classes. Check your junk/spam folders for notifications. Please share this information with your family and friends as everyone is more than welcome.
If you’d like to take your practice to the next level with my structured, step-by-step Space To Relax Qigong programme of 50 video lessons accompanied by audio and PDF files with support from me every step of the way then click here.
To get my free part video series of 3 Qigong lessons which will be delivered to you by email over the course of one week please click here. In these lessons you’ll learn more about abdominal breathing, Qi movement and how to rid waste Qi. This will help you to feel more relaxed and energised.
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