The Best Yoga Postures for Osteoporosis
Regardless of which type of yoga you decide on, focus on these types of movements to build up your bones:
Jumping Transitions
Plenty of poses call for a hop or jump to get into the next posture, and those are especially healthy for your skeleton.
Bumping your feet forward to a squat from Downward Dog, snapping them together from a straddle stance to Mountain Pose, or kicking one leg through your arms from Plank to a hamstring stretch are all good options.
These movements can be challenging and depend on muscle strength, so they’re generally reserved for those who are already fairly fit.
Weight-Bearing Postures
Stillness breeds strength – in the right circumstances. Sitting in a chair may not do much for your body, but weight-bearing exercises like stretching out in Plank position or holding your body up in Table Pose for as little as a minute are excellent ways to tone your abdomen and the muscles around your spine.
Holding the pose with good form and as little movement as possible is the key to improvement, but anyone at any fitness level can take on the challenge.
Resistance Moves
These are the strengthening postures that lie somewhere between springing into the air and remaining motionless. Push-ups, and their many variations, are integral to many sorts of yoga, and they can be one of the quickest and most effective ways to build important shoulder and back muscles that you need for good posture and spinal alignment.
These should be slow, conscious movements, but if you’re new to the push-up, you don’t have to start on the ground: using a wall for resistance, you can ease yourself into the motion without straining yours muscles.
Postures to Avoid
As for the worst postures for brittle bones, many doctors and yoga instructors agree that convex movement of the spine – that is, rounding your back – brings the most risk.
There are yoga poses that involve arching your back, then rounding your back, which may seem relatively easy on your bones, but could actually lead to tiny fractures in the vertebrae.
Spinal twists could also cause problems, but on the other hand they can be very strengthening as well. Speak with your doctor and yoga instructor about how far to take these sorts of poses.
