Thymus and the immune system
I recently ran across an article in the social media and thought it might be worth passing on to my readers.
Most of us have probably never heard of the thymus, which is a small glandular organ that is situated behind the top of the breastbone, consisting mostly of lymphatic tissue and serving as a site of T cell differentiation. The thymus increases in size until puberty, after which it begins to atrophy.
Some say that the thymus is the center of our immune system. It is, no doubt, a very important organ but let’s not get carried away.
The fact that our thymus produces T cells makes it a very important organ, as these T cells are lymphocytes that attack invading pathogens and thus play a key role in our immune system.
Thymus and happiness
As we have put forth previously, hormones play a key role in our happiness. Take a look at last week’s post.
Well, guess what? The thymus also produces these “happiness hormones”.
When the thymus is activated, it causes changes in the body’s chemistry, which results in feelings of happiness and satisfaction.
Sir MacFarlane Burnet, an Australian Nobel laureate and cancer researcher, goes as far as saying that activating the thymus can give people the ability to protect themselves from cancer.
SO HOW DO WE ACTIVATE THE THYMUS
In order to activate the thymus we have to get it to vibrate.
Given that it starts getting smaller after puberty, it is more important to those of us whose birth certificates are getting a bit old (Turkish saying).
There are three suggested methods of getting the thymus to vibrate so that you can give a boost to your immune system AND get those “happiness hormones” flowing.
1* Tapping on the thymus with your fingertips. Have you ever noticed grieving women at Turkish funerals hitting the exact spot with their fists? It enables them to cope with their sorrow by the body’s secretion of hormones and boosting their immune system, negatively effected by sorrow.
2* Laughing is another way to activate the thymus. When you are laughing out loud your chest moves and this causes the thymus to vibrate.
3* To place your tongue on your palate, right behind your teeth. Dr. John Diamond and his team have determined that when you do this the right and left lobes of the brain are balanced and this helps people feel better. It is curious that this exact placement of the tongue is suggested to people meditating and practicing yoga breathing.
Do one of the three, or all three, thymus activating exercises whenever the urge hits you. You’ve got nothing to lose; only to benefit from the results.
See you all next week.
