Integrative Overview of the Endocrines Part II

by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD

To review the subject of the Endocrine System:

The endocrines are just so perfectly expressed as "everything being connected to everything else in the body" that it is pure joy to share the information.

We will discuss SEVEN aspects of the reproductive glands based on these concepts:

(1) the physical gland
(2) the seven (7) virtues
(3) organs and systems
(4) Selye's stress model
(5) the five (5) Whole Health aspects
(6) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
(7) the seven (7) "deadly sins"

The Adrenals comes next (we are working our way UP the chain from the bottom endocrine gland (reproductive glands) to the top = pineal gland)

The Adrenals, in yoga and energy circles are called the “sacral” chakra. They are specific to adaptation in our environment. They are the safety and security component of Maslow's Hierarchy and are imperative to our own personal survival as they allow us to fight, flight or adapt. We would only live for 24 hours without our Adrenal Glands. Physically they are intimately connected to the nervous and cardiac systems.

Regarding Selye’s Stress Model, the Adrenals are representative of the positive or negative emotional responses that cause either u-stress; (good stress) or distress; (the bad kind), that elicit an adrenal response. They are the emotional component of the Whole Health Five Aspects.

So far we have gone over FIVE (5) of the SEVEN (7) aspects. The last two as we saw with the reproductive gland clarify the emotional and behavioral aspects of each endocrine gland.

The VIRTUE of the Adrenal glands is BALANCE (or Justice). This means not being too over stimulated or too non-productive; it means keeping a healthy balance to the nervous system and it is this virtue that is the focus of many practices, such as yoga, meditation, visualization, chanting and other centering practices.

The DEADLY SIN of the Adrenal Glands is Avarice or GREED. It is the greed impulse, or wanting more for one self than is appropriate, that drives people to push themselves excessively and “burn out” their adrenal glands; which are like the battery of our body. When your battery runs down, you run out of the spark that starts your engine and keeps it going.

Understanding the Adrenals is truly critical to understanding how to prevent disease and maintain wellness. As with all of the endocrines, the adrenals are very important when we look at a person's physical presentation or their dis-ease state from a Whole Person perspective. What are the cause and effect factors at play that create disease? What is out of balance in the person's seven aspects that is creating problems in this particular part of the body?

It will be very exciting to understand the Adrenal Glands from a metaphorical perspective. For more details about how the Adrenals function in relationship to the whole body, and their specific effect on the nervous system, heart and immune system, put “adrenal function” into the search box at the top of the blog page, to read the Adrenal
Function blog.

With all good wishes,
G
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