BY: Helen Goldstein

In the next 10 years, more than 40 million North American women, and some men, will be faced with the possibility of developing osteoporosis, the progressive thinning of bones that is generally associated with postmenopause. In fact, research has demonstrated that this gradual loss of bone density can begin as early as age 25.

By menopause, estrogen is no longer plentiful enough to help in bone metabolism, and the acceleration of bone loss may seem inevitable. You might experience up to 5 per cent loss, regardless of how much calcium you take and how careful you are about diet and exercise. In healthy postmenopausal women, the bone loss levels out on its own as the body naturally adjusts to lowered hormone levels.

Some scientists believe that osteoporosis is the result of an unhealthy lifestyle and it just happens to manifest itself during middle age. Risk of developing brittle bones increases by smoking, a diet high in salt, animal protein, fats, sugar… you know the rest, all the stuff you know you should eat only in moderation. All of these pull minerals out of your bones. Witness the women in Japan and India; typically they’ve not suffered this kind of bone loss, that is, until recently, after adopting a more Western diet. As a result, you want to make sure that you are taking good care of your whole body before you move into that inevitable change.

Stress plays a large part in bone loss. When stressed, your blood becomes slightly more acidic which leaches calcium from your bones. Staying relaxed creates more alkaline blood which supports calcium.

1. De-Stressing Exercise

The following meditation will not only help slow your heart rate and help curb bone loss, but it will also reveal where in your body you are holding tension.

Mindful Meditation:

• Sit with your back straight on a chair and place your feet flat on the ground.
• Take five deep breaths, paying attention to the exhalation. See if you can extend the exhalation so it is longer than the inhalation — don’t force it, just a second or two longer is enough.
• Now focus on the top of your head and scan your entire face noticing where you are holding tension.
• Let your jaw drop, your eyes unclench and your face relax.

Keep breathing.

• Move your focus down your neck, back and chest, relaxing your shoulders as you press away from your ears for a moment, then release.
• Slowly continue your journey down your body, down your arms to the fingers, then down the rest of your torso to the legs and toes. Focus on how you release tension as you become aware of where you hold it.
• Notice how your breathing has changed.

This is a great meditation often used for people with serious illnesses. It helps you notice where in your body you hold stress. If you don’t know it’s broken, you can’t fix it. Here is your opportunity to fix it.

2. Weight-bearing Exercise

Weight-bearing exercise is also crucial to building and maintaining strong bones. Yoga is one of the only exercises where weight is borne through the arms and upper body, causing stronger and thicker bones. Yoga can also alleviate some of the height loss that you may experience as you age by keeping the disc spaces between the vertebrae more supple and open.

The Sun Salutation: This is one of the most powerful exercises you can do. Due to space limitations, we won’t outline the entire sequence, but below are two of the key postures.

Downward Facing Dog:

• Come to the floor on all fours with your hands underneath your shoulders, fingers spread and pointing forward, knees aligned with your hips. With your feet pointing forward, begin to straighten your legs while pushing down on your hands.
• Come up into an inverted V or tent position by pressing heels into the ground and lifting your buttocks up to the sky.
• Let your head relax totally, and take up to 10 deep breaths.
• Keep your weight equally distributed on the hands and feet.
• Release on an exhalation as you relax your knees and come back onto all fours. Take a moment to breathe slowly, watching your heart beat and your breath.

Upward Facing Dog:

• On all fours, begin to slowly slide your body forward between your hands and let your belly relax as it sinks.
• Relax your shoulders, open your chest, try to keep your belly off the ground and lift your chin skyward keeping your face muscles relaxed.
• Take a few breaths and then slowly move back to all fours.
• Take a moment to just be aware of any body sensations.

If you wish, you can repeat this sequence again. This is a very safe and powerful way to build your bones and strengthen your upper body. These postures will also aid in your digestion, strengthen your central nervous system and tone your entire body.

Here’s a video of the Salutation for the Sun for beginners:

Take a few moments each day to nurture yourself with these simple exercises. Combine these with a healthy diet and appropriate supplements and you can keep on truckin’ well into your eighties.

Printed with permission from B Magazine.

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