We’re continuing our new series called “This is Your Body on Yoga” where we consider the vital systems of the body and how they are strengthened, brought into balance and even healed through the practice of Yoga. And this week we are really emphasizing the healing part because Yoga heals weaknesses in the skeletal system.

The skeletal system includes the spine and all the bones of the body. As a system, it is affected by a game called “Osteoblasts vs. Osteoclasts.” Osteoblasts are cells in the bones that build up new bone material, while osteoclasts are cells in the bones that break down old or damaged bone material. Honestly, it’s unfair to use the term versus because the two types of cells are not working against each other as much as working together to support the living tissues that make up the skeletal system.  

Over time, however, the osteoclasts get too good at breaking things down and the osteoblasts are unable to build things up at the same pace. And it happens more quickly than we can imagine: humans have the strongest bone mass between the ages of 25 and 30. As bone mass lessens, the risk of osteopenia (weak bones) and osteoporosis (brittle bones) increases, especially for women over 50. 

Yoga to the rescue!!

My favorite doctor who is also a Certified Yoga Teacher is Dr. Loren Fishman. He has done extensive studies on yoga for osteoporosis and even co-authored a book on the subject with Carol Ardman. His studies demonstrate that weight-bearing yoga increases bone mass. In other words, yoga supports the work of the osteoblasts to build up bone tissue. The vast majority of people who practice yoga reverse their osteoporosis. Now that’s exciting!

Here's a link to Dr. Fishman's website

You’ll notice that I said “weight-bearing yoga.” As much as we love restorative yoga, yoga nidra and yin yoga, these are not weight-bearing exercises and do not strengthen bones. You’ll also notice that I did not say yoga had to be vigorous, gymnastic or ballistic in order to be effective. In fact, the best yoga to strengthen bones is slow flow yoga with regular breathing, attention to how the body feels, and longer held strength postures.

Here are the best postures to support the strength of the skeletal system:
Tree pose and all one-leg balances, Lunging poses like Warriors, Side bending poses like Triangle and Side angle, weight-bearing on the wrists like Downward-Facing Dog and Plank, and advanced poses for the spine like Headstand and Shoulderstand. 

Yoga proves once again that it heals the body at every stage of life, even as we move into our later years, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and beyond.

I created a video for you that includes two stretches you can do to lengthen and release tension in the nerves of the arms. You'll like this if you have pain in your shoulders, arms, elbows, wrists or hands. You can find it on Dropbox. You can sign up for a free account and even download the video to your own account or device. 

Link to the video

If you enjoy this video and would like to see more, please send me a message. I love to share practices from all things yoga-related, especially yoga therapy and Ayurveda. Namaste

This post is the first in our new series called “This is Your Body on Yoga.” We’ll be looking at all the systems of our body, pulling them out one-by-one, to see how they are affected by Yoga and how we can maximize the benefits of Yoga by bringing our attention there. Of course, it’s hard to look at just one system since we are an interconnected being. But that’s the beauty of Yoga: Because Yoga is union, we foster overall good health and happiness in body, mind and spirit whenever we practice!

This first post is on the most important system, but one so obvious we often overlook it—our nervous system. The core of the nervous system is our brain and spine, called the “central nervous system.” Nerves then travel from our brain and spine to every part of our body; this is called the “peripheral nervous system.” More than anything else, our nervous system is a communication system.

Our nervous system carries impulses throughout the body with lightning speed. You’ve experienced this if you’ve ever had to move quickly in response to a stimulus, like catching a ball that’s unexpectedly flying toward you or suddenly had to maneuver your car out of the way of a speeding object.

This shows up in yoga class when you hear or see how your teacher’s cue and your body just moves that way even without you thinking about it. This response can become even more refined over time when your body just knows how to move. This movement is intuitive and completely in tune with what you need in the present moment. 

Here are two other interesting ways we engage the nervous system when practicing yoga: The first has to do with pain response. There’s a reason why we say in class “no pain, no pain.” Pain is the body’s way of saying something is amiss and should not be ignored. If we continue to ignore pain, our brain begins to accept the pain as normal. Pain will even continue if there is no physical reason for it to continue. The good news of Yoga is that it helps us to look at the pain more objectively, even befriend the pain, so that it can be dealt with more skillfully. And yes, practicing yoga does help people reduce and even end pain.

Second, yoga brings balance to the nervous system which brings more balance to our life. Our nervous system is connected to our energy because nerves are electrical impulses. And Yoga is all about energy flow, right? This is why yoga sessions start with awareness (how is my energy flow right now?), move into active breathing, strength building and balance (raising the energy) and finish with slow stretching, relaxation and meditation (calming the energy). This cycle is genius for training the body to be alert for the daily challenges that arise while also being able to wind down to re-group during the day and sleep well at night.

This week:
• Be alert to your reaction time as body and brain communicate through your nervous system
• Listen to your pain responses and accept the valuable information they provide
• Honor the cycle of energy—awareness, ramping up, slowing down—to bring overall balance to your nervous system

Intra means “inside or within”
Inter means “between”

I’m excited to start a new series about how our practice of yoga works with all the systems of the body. Remember the old commercial frying an egg with the slogan “this is your brain on drugs”? My series will have a similar title:

“This is your body on Yoga.”

Not long ago I started meditating on my physical body, aware of the many systems that are working together to support resilience and good health. “Bless my nervous system, my skeleton, my muscles, my respiratory and circulatory systems, my digestion and elimination, my lymphatic and endocrine systems.” I am aware of how certain foods support the different systems and how exercise can be the fountain of youth for our aging bodies. But how does Yoga fit into the scheme?

Most people today were introduced to yoga as primarily a physical practice, usually as just one more exercise offering at the fitness center. I am fortunate that when I first studied Yoga over 30 years ago I did so with a teacher who was well-versed in the physical, mental/emotional and spiritual aspects of Yoga. In the 1990s I was a doctoral student who was too much in my head sitting for long hours in the library or at my computer. Since I was living in southern California at the time I could go out for a walk every day of the year because the weather was so agreeable. Unfortunately, my lower back and hip were not agreeable because of a lingering injury. Finding that yoga teacher was just what I needed to soothe my back, calm my nervous system and bring balance to my mind. 

I am thrilled to come full circle as I return to exploring what we can learn about “Your Body on Yoga.” Here are some questions to consider as we begin:

• Which of your bodily systems are you most aware of right now and why? 
• Which ones have you forgotten about? 
• How might bringing them into intra-body interconnection positively affect your well-being and happiness? 

It’s going to be an interesting journey.