This entry was posted on Oct 13, 2025 by Charlotte Bell.
Photos of witches, ghosts, black cats, zombies and skeletons abound this month. These iconic pictures are supposed to be scary, and a few of them are—though I’ve to say that having lived with a couple of black cats in my life, they’re in no way scary. Halloween pictures are nonetheless meant to evoke a little bit of concern and apprehension.
If you see a picture of a skeleton, the very first thing that involves thoughts might be not osteoporosis. Nonetheless, in accordance with the Nationwide Osteoporosis Basis, 10 million of us are at present dwelling with osteoporosis, and 34 million are at present in danger for the illness.
How Can Yoga Assist?
There are various easy issues you can begin doing now, at any age, to stop the illness: Eat loads of fruit and veggies, get common train, improve your Vitamin D and Calcium/Magnesium consumption. However in case you’re studying this weblog in any respect, you in all probability apply yoga. Does yoga rely as an train that may assist maintain your bones sturdy?
Dr. Loren Fishman says sure. On this interview (learn the entire thing—it’s very informative), he explains why yoga helps maintain our bones sturdy:
“Yoga helps develop bone mass, however as a result of yoga poses pull and stretch the bones from each conceivable angle, yoga additionally might stimulate the formation of a bone construction that’s in a position to withstand larger quantities of stress, in addition to many various kinds of challenges.
“…there are quite a few different vital methods wherein yoga advantages folks with osteoporosis, similar to bettering steadiness, muscular energy, vary of movement and coordination, whereas lessening anxiousness. These are different vital advantages of yoga for folks with osteoporosis as a result of they every assist cut back the danger of falling.”
Yoga for Osteoporosis
Listed below are my concepts about yoga for osteoporosis, particularly, how completely different lessons of poses assist maintain your bones wholesome:
Standing Poses and Steadiness Poses: Promote steadiness, use weight bearing to strengthen bones, stretching leg muscle tissue alongside bones pulls and stretches the bones.
Backbends: Counteract the tendency to hunch ahead as your bones weaken.
Twists and Lateral Stretches: Preserve the thoracic area (higher again) cell.
Ahead Bends: Cut back stress, stretching muscle tissue alongside bones pulls and stretches the bones. Make certain once you bend ahead that you just at all times bend out of your hip joints, and never out of your waist. If obligatory, bend your knees in an effort to accomplish this.
So don’t let your individual skeleton scare you. Dive into your apply, figuring out that not solely does yoga make you’re feeling good now, it would doubtless make your life happier—and far much less scary—sooner or later.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and started instructing in 1986. Charlotte is the writer of Aware Yoga, Aware Life: A Information for On a regular basis Apply and Yoga for Meditators, each revealed by Rodmell Press. Her third guide is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and folks sextet Pink Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards.