A new systematic review of yoga injuries has been released, and one line from a summary of it on the website Yoga Research and Beyond (YR&B) is being quoted as evidence for something some respected yoga professionals have argued for years: that older adults with......
My diagnosis of osteopenia came almost ten years ago. It’s what sent me down this path of learning how to move appropriately and wisely, not out of fear, but out of genuine understanding: about bones, about yoga, and about aging. Let’s consider this: What are......
I came across this quote recently and I keep coming back to it in the context of our bones. So many of us received a DXA result and immediately wanted to reverse it—to get back to who we were before the diagnosis, before the......
You may already know that what you do on the mat matters far beyond flexibility and stress relief. A 2024 randomized controlled trial published in the journal GeroScience gives us some of the strongest evidence yet that a consistent yoga practice can meaningfully support healthy......
If we take as a premise that bones transmit weight and force, then there must be a structural pathway from our extremities to the spine....
When you have osteoporosis, there is a lot of emphasis put on “hip hinging” when you bend over. A forward bend turns into a swan dive as you tip the pelvis over the femur and simply move the whole torso through space as one unit.......
This is a perpetual question: “What yoga poses should I do or not do since I have osteoporosis?” When you seek an answer from different bone health experts you get conflicting responses. This causes so much confusion and frustration. Here are just a few examples......
I tend to use the orange carrots for an accent color to brighten up a dish. The other carrot colors aren’t quite as appealing to the eye in many dishes, though roasting a variety of them is simply gorgeous, and tasty. Nevertheless, carrots of any......
When we have low bone density, we hear all the time “don’t round your spine!” But while this message has good intent, somewhere along the line many people seem to have lost the understanding that a neutral spine is a multi-curved spine! And they might......
In the before times, when I taught in person, I would provide gentle, hands-on “adjustments”. My intention was always to offer students an external reference to what their body and mind were doing at that moment. Light touch provided little reminders to keep all the......
Mudras are yoga positions for your hands and fingers. They can be practiced seated, standing, lying down, or walking. They are symbols of connection, and engage certain areas of the brain. For today’s practice, try this simple mudra: Place the thumb pad and index finger......
Exploring yoga as a practice of breathing that supports our spine is a passion of mine. The nuanced approach of Viniyoga breath-centered yoga practices recognizes that the breath is intimately connected to the spine. With the repetition of simple movements with the breath, exploration of......
This is a very common question: is cat-cow safe if you have osteoporosis? The fear is that you are “rounding” the upper spine and that this would put pressure on the front part of the vertebrae, potentially causing compression fractures. But let’s take a closer look.......
What I’ve noticed over the years since my diagnosis with low bone density is that there is a lot of confusion out there about the condition itself and what to do about it. I’ve also noticed, as a long-time yoga practitioner, teacher, and now yoga......
It’s a puzzle. And it’s going to take a little work on your part to figure it out but you’re in the driver’s seat!...
This might be a controversial statement but I believe everyone should take a 200 hour yoga teacher training (YTT) program! ...
Recently, a popular exercise coach declared that “yoga is not enough” when it comes to building bone. I wanted to take a moment to give you an alternate perspective. On the one hand, I agree with her because the truth is there is not one......
In my yoga classes we’ve been talking about forward folds as bowing rather than hinging. This is a subtle difference from a mechanical standpoint but, once you tease this out with practice, it’s a profound way to engage the spine in a meaningful way, which......
What does “reversing” osteoporosis even mean? I think we have to be careful about using the word “reverse” when it comes to osteoporosis. Some folks interpret that to mean they would gain back all the bone they lost and have a skeleton that is just......
A yoga practice is holistic and replenishes the wisdom of our human system - on all levels....
In his book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, James Nestor made this intriguing statement about the relationship between breath and osteoporosis: "It's possible to overbreathe yourself into osteoporosis and increased risk of bone fractures." This piqued my curiosity since breath is so integral to our yoga practice! The chemistry behind this statement can be somewhat complicated - but I did a little research. Let me try to simplify it. ...
Choose your yoga wisely for the health of your bones!...
Tips on preparing your space for doing yoga at home via Zoom ...
And so my journey into this wiley and contradictory world of osteoporosis screening protocols and treatment variations began....
You can create them in a “jiffy” and they are Good For You! ...
There was a time, about 30 years ago, I think everyone and their mother owned a VHS tape or DVD to practice yoga in the privacy of their own home. We could take a class in the comfort of our living room with a celebrity......
I’m a huge fan of Samin Nosrat, the author of Salt Fat Acid Heat. I am inspired by her fearless and creative ways of deconstructing and reconstructing recipes. ...
When did your summer begin? It seems our cultural clocks have shifted to account for summer more or less on a school schedule and some let the kids out in early May! It’s kind of like seeing Christmas decorations show up in the stores in......
In India, I noticed how much feet are revered. One touches the feet of their guru or elder to symbolically show deep respect. There is much to learn from the person who has trekked along the path of knowledge. Their feet are symbols of grounding,......
A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with osteopenia (the precursor to osteoporosis.) It’s sort of a fluke that I found out this early – at the age of 53 – but I’m so glad I did! When my late father was in his......
I guess the phrase “pencil it in” is a bit anachronistic. Sadly, it seems not as many people use a paper calendar these days. Do you? I do! I like the tactile experience of using pencils. Though I have to say that the only pencil......
Did you ever watch Schoolhouse Rock? Remember “3 is a Magic Number”? “The past and the present and the future The faith and hope and charity The heart and the brain and the body Give you three as a magic number” And 3 is a......
Maybe you’ve experienced something like this: You aren’t feeling 100% well but you haven’t been “diagnosed” with anything so you attribute your symptoms to this or that and just live with it. It took me a long time to figure out what was going on......
