|
Tirisula Yoga - providing Yoga
Teacher Training Courses in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia, Brunei, Southeast Asia, Asia |
|
TIRISULA YOGA
HOME
ABOUT US
CONTACT US
REIKI
YOGA TEACHER TRAINING DIPLOMA
INTRODUCTION
CURRICULUM
EXAMINATION
REQUIREMENTS
MASTERS PROFILE
SCHEDULE
HOSTING
YOGA SPECIALISTS COURSE
KIDS YOGA
YOGA THERAPY
PRE-POST-NATAL YOGA
YOGA WORKSHOPS
OVERVIEW
YOGA RETREAT
INDIA
MALAYSIA
REGISTRATION
FORMS
YOGA STORE
YOGA MATS AND BAGS
YOGA ACCESSORIES
YOGA APPARELS
YOGA BOOKS
RECOMMENDED
READINGS
LINKS
BOOK REVIEWS
PHOTOS
PHOTO GALLERY
OTHER LINKS
YOGA ALLIANCE
WHAT IS YOGA
OVERVIEW
|
Yoga
for Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis affects some 10 million American women and 34 million
more have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for this
disease. Losing bone density is a natural part of the aging
process, but when too much bone is lost the bones become weakened
and susceptible to fracturing and breaking. Osteoporosis is
considered a “silent disease” with no symptoms or warnings signs,
but can be prevented and treated through regular weight bearing
exercise with proper diet and lifestyle habits. Weight bearing
exercise is any movement that requires your muscles to work
against gravity. Yoga is an excellent weight bearing exercise as
it stimulates bone building for both the upper and lower body
while being low-impact.
Weight-bearing Yoga
All standing poses will bear weight on the bones in the lower
spine, the hips and the legs, encouraging them to strengthen.
Lunging poses, such as Warrior 1 and 2, will be the most
strengthening to the bones and muscles of the legs. While
standing balancing poses will not only build bone but improve
balance to reduce the risk of falls, these poses should be
practiced with caution and utilize a chair or wall for support if
necessary. Simple back bending poses, like sphinx, cobra and
bridge help to strengthen the spine as well as help prevent and
correct kyphosis (excessive curvature of the upper spine).
Practicing bridge pose, full and half shoulderstand will not only
help strengthen the spine, but also stimulate the thyroid gland to
balance the endocrine system and affect its ability to encourage
bone growth. To strengthen the upper body use poses such as
downward facing dog, plank, crab, and balancing table.
Increasing Intensity
Builds Stronger Bones
If you have been diagnosis with Osteoporosis or Osteopenia (decreased
bone density) talk to your doctor before starting a yoga or other
exercise routine. To build bone mass with yoga and other
exercise, it must be done consistently—at least 30 minutes a day,
five days a week. Obviously, more would be better, but too much
can also be damaging. The best course of action is to start slow
with simple yoga poses and gradually build up the length and
difficulty of both the postures and your practice. Increasing the
intensity of your yoga practice will build stronger bones, but
never push yourself past your edge to reduce any risk of injury.
When you feel ready to crank your practice up a notch you can
experiment with advanced strengthening poses such as inclined
plane, crane, half downward dog, dancer, warrior 3, bow and wheel.
Cautions and
Contraindications
If the spine has developed kyphosis, deep backbends like camel,
bow and wheel can be painful and even cause injury and should be
avoided or approached with caution. All forward bends, twists and
side bending poses are contraindicated for anyone with
osteoporosis and thus these poses should be approached with
caution with osteopenia. With osteoporosis the bones are
vulnerable to sudden movements and strong pounding, so use caution
when moving in and out of poses and avoid jumping in and out of
poses as in a vinyasa or ashtanga practice .
Yogic Diet for
Osteoporosis
A yogic diet of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and high
protein foods with moderate amounts of dairy will provide the
calcium and other important minerals to both prevent and reduce
the development of osteoporosis. In particular, add fruits that
are high in Vitamin C and dark green vegetables in your diet, and
use small amounts of low-fat dairy products, and omega-3 and
Vitamin E rich nuts, seeds and fish. Beware of consuming too much
salt and animal protein as these can both leach calcium from your
bones. Caffeine, alcohol, carbonated soft drinks and nicotine can
also deplete your body’s calcium supply and a diet high in sugar
has also been linked to low bone density. Make sure you get
outdoors for your daily dose of Vitamin D from the sun. While
supplementing your diet with calcium and other vitamins and
minerals is important to help meet your daily intake requirements,
these vitamins and minerals, especially calcium, are much readily
absorbed and utilized when they are obtained from the food you
eat.
Combining effective weight bearing exercise with proper high
nutrient nutrition is the key for both prevention and treatment of
osteoporosis. Both are required to build strong, dense and
healthy bones. Yoga is a naturally effective treatment as it
encourages both a whole body weight bearing exercise and a healthy
and high nutrient diet.
back to
other articles
|
|
