Yoga And Hormones: What Practice, Research And Open Questions Say

Yoga and hormones: the short version

Can a few poses change what your glands do? That is the question behind yoga and hormones, and the honest answer has three parts. Teachers have long taught certain poses with the glands in mind. A big review of trials found yoga linked to lower cortisol (the stress hormone). And claims about the thyroid and the sex hormones are still being studied, so we keep what we know from practice apart from what research has found.

This note in short form

• What hormones are: chemical messengers made by glands and carried in your blood.
• Known from practice: teachers sequence poses with the glands in mind, and students report feeling calmer.
• Supported by research: a 2017 review of 42 studies linked yoga to lower cortisol, with varied study quality.
• Still being studied: the thyroid and the sex hormones, where the evidence is thin or early.
• Not a treatment: keep taking your medicine and talk to your doctor first.
• Next step: try a class in the studio or LIVE online. Your first class is free if you’re new.

Back to our Menopause notes.

What are hormones, and what do your glands do?

Hormones are chemical messengers. Glands (small organs that make hormones) release them into your blood, and together they form your endocrine system (the body’s hormone network). The thyroid in your neck helps set your energy use. The adrenal glands, sitting above your kidneys, release cortisol. The pineal gland in your brain releases melatonin, which is linked to sleep.

Hormone levels change through life. Oestrogen falls around menopause, for example, and our note on yoga for menopause and perimenopause covers that. The pelvic floor note, yoga for the pelvic floor, touches it too, so we do not repeat either here.

Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered the use of props. It is sometimes called modern classical yoga, and it’s the style we teach at Flametree.

What do teachers say yoga does for the glands?

Teachers say the poses reach the glands through four “levers”. Chris Lalor uses this idea when she teaches. The levers are technique (how you do a pose), timing (how long you hold it), sequence (which poses come in which order) and repetition (how often you come back to them).

Many teachers also link poses to glands. Poses that tuck the chin towards the chest, such as Shoulder Stand (Salamba Sarvangasana), Plough Pose (Halasana) and Legs Up The Wall (Viparita Karani), are taught with the thyroid in the throat in mind. Backbends, which open the throat, are taught with the thyroid in mind too. Some teachers describe it as squeezing and releasing the glands.

This is known from practice. It is a teaching tradition and a way of picturing the poses, and in yoga and hormones the teaching has run ahead of the research. We did not find a trial that tested whether a single pose changes how a gland works. So we do not promise it.

What does research say about yoga and cortisol?

A 2017 review in Psychoneuroendocrinology (Pascoe and colleagues) pooled 42 randomised trials. They compared practices that included yoga postures, with or without mindfulness-based stress reduction (a structured stress program), against an active comparison group. The yoga groups had lower evening and waking cortisol, and lower systolic blood pressure (the top number), resting heart rate and fasting blood glucose.

The authors added that the programs in the trials were quite different from each other. These were whole programs, not single poses. So research supports a link between a regular yoga program and lower stress hormones, and it does not show which pose does the work.

What about the thyroid?

A 2025 trial in Psychoneuroendocrinology (Bhandari and colleagues) looked at 62 women with an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism, where the thyroid makes too little hormone). Half did a three-month online yoga program, five days a week for an hour, on top of their usual thyroid medicine. The authors reported better thyroid blood results, cholesterol, daytime sleepiness and low mood in the yoga group than in the control group.

That is one small trial. The program was broader than poses, and the women kept taking their medicine. The authors call yoga an add-on, not a replacement. The thyroid is therefore still being studied. If you have a thyroid condition, keep taking your medicine and talk to your doctor before you change anything.

Does yoga change sex hormones, such as oestrogen and testosterone?

We did not find a review showing that yoga changes sex hormone levels. Chris, who started yoga in her late 30s, says regular practice with the right poses in the right order helped her through the changes of midlife. That is one person’s experience and her opinion, not a promise.

Many students tell us they feel calmer and more settled after class. That is worth having, and it is a different thing from a measured change in a hormone.

Who should check first?

Talk to your yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and your doctor if you wish, if you have a thyroid condition, take hormone medicine, are pregnant, or have glaucoma or high blood pressure that is not under control. Head-down poses such as Shoulder Stand are not right for everyone, and a neck that is sore needs a different pose. If you feel pain, numbness or dizziness, come out and rest.

Practise this at Flametree

Your first class is free if you’re new to Flametree. New students, and anyone who has been away three months or more, can also get a half price 10 class pass with 2 extra classes free, to use online, in the studio, or both. We teach in the studio at Woolner in Darwin and LIVE online. For the studio, just come along. For an online class, click the class time you want and we email you the link to join.

• Beginners: see the half price 10 class pass for new and lapsed students
• Not a beginner: see the half price 10 class pass for new and lapsed students
• The timetable, including online classes

Questions people ask about yoga and hormones

Is yoga good for hormonal balance?

Research has not shown that yoga puts hormones in balance. A 2017 review of 42 trials linked yoga programs to lower cortisol, and one small 2025 trial reported better thyroid blood results in women who kept taking their medicine. Those are early, specific findings, so we do not promise more.

Can yoga lower cortisol?

Often, in trials. A 2017 review (Pascoe and colleagues, 42 randomised trials) found lower evening and waking cortisol in people doing programs that included yoga postures. The programs varied a lot, and they were whole programs, not single poses.

Can yoga help an underactive thyroid?

It may help as an add-on. In a 2025 trial of 62 women with an underactive thyroid, a three-month online yoga program was linked to better blood results than usual care alone. It was one small trial, so please keep taking your medicine and talk to your doctor.

Which yoga poses are taught for the thyroid?

Teachers often use Shoulder Stand, Plough Pose and Legs Up The Wall, where the chin tucks towards the chest, and backbends, which open the throat. That is a teaching tradition. We did not find a trial testing a single pose on the thyroid, and these poses need care if you have neck or eye problems.

Does yoga help the hormone changes of menopause?

Yoga helped overall menopause symptoms in the reviews we cover in our menopause note, but the newest review found no clear effect on hot flushes. Those reviews measured symptoms, not hormone levels. Our menopause note sets out the numbers.

Should I stop my thyroid medicine if I do yoga?

No. In the 2025 trial, the women kept taking their medicine and added yoga. Never change a dose without your doctor, and tell your teacher about your condition before class.

Does yoga change testosterone or oestrogen?

We did not find a review showing that it does. Students often say they feel calmer, which is a different thing from a measured hormone change. Chris says regular practice helped her through the changes of midlife. She offers that as one person’s experience.

Where can I do yoga for hormone health in Darwin?

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in the studio at Woolner in Darwin and LIVE online. Your first class is free if you’re new to Flametree.

Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin NT, teaching Iyengar yoga in the studio and LIVE online. This note is general information, not medical advice.

Sources

• Pascoe MC, Thompson DR, Ski CF. Yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and stress-related physiological measures: a meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2017. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.08.008
• Bhandari and others. Yogic management of hypothyroidism in females: a randomized controlled trial. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107646