Pineal-Pituitary Relationship: the Cause of Addiction from a Yogic Perspective
The causes of addictive behavior are many. According to Yogic Science, the physiological dynamic is fascinating and has to do with a non-communication between the pineal and pituitary glands. Modern science is now discovering that the pineal does play a role in glandular coordination.
The ancients considered the pineal the “Seat of the Soul.” In the yoga tradition, the job of the pineal is to give direction to the pituitary, and is referred to as the “Master Plan.” The pituitary is known as the “Master Gland” because it seems to regulate so much of the body’s functions.
The relationship between the pineal and the pituitary glands must be understood!
When the pineal and pituitary communicate, that’s when you have the experience of Being, of True Self. The brain is telling itself how to regulate itself. It’s self-referential, inner-directed.
However, there are possible blocks in the path the kundalini energy travels to activate the pineal function. In most people, these two glands don’t talk to each other. The result is that the pituitary looks for outside stimulation to give it direction — like alcohol, caffeine, drugs, or sugar. These “outside” stimulants, through the amazing chemistry of the body, act on the pituitary and tell it what to do. However, this falls short of the body staying healthy and balanced. The Master Gland has lost its Master Plan.
So when you feel a little empty or lost and decide to eat a Twinkie or have a drink to feel better, this is what’s happening. The pituitary is looking to be directed but cannot find its partner – the pineal – because your bio-energy of Awareness is at a minimum. So the pituitary sends a signal to find something else – and that’s how addiction starts.
The nature of the addiction and its severity has to do with a combination of things: including genetics, background, and food allergies, but the root cause is the imbalance between the pituitary and pineal glands. When the pituitary and pineal DO talk to each other, the mind becomes still, one-pointed, and clear. You begin to touch the experience of Being. You experience yourself as a point, not many, fractured, antithetical impulses, just one clear point. Bindu, the yogis call it.
As Kundalini Yoga teachers or mental health counselors, you can provide the tools to access this feeling so they become inner-directed and self-reliant. But first, you need to have this powerful experience yourself: https://www.3ho.org/meditation/pineal-and-pituitary-glands-yoga-set/
