Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis (as well as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity) are chronic conditions that put limits on one’s life expectancy, employment opportunities, and quality of life.1 Medications and hormone replacement therapies are rarely a realistic option for the 200 million sufferers. For that reason, this book supports research in yoga for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
We are encouraged by our observations of those who are reaping the benefits of yoga therapy, and we’d be interested in hearing about your experience. Joining our study is easy: Simply get a DEXA scan around the time you start practicing yoga and send it to us. If your DEXA scan indicates that you have osteopenia or osteoporosis, there are some additional tests we recommend. (If you are anywhere within the normal range, and wish to do yoga for prevention, you do not need the additional tests.) Once we have the DEXA scan and any other results that were necessary, we’ll send you a DVD with a 10- to 12-minute program that demonstrates the categories of poses you’ve seen in this book: Osteoporosis, Osteopenia, and Preventive. Do the poses faithfully and get another DEXA scan after two years. Even though we’d like you to do yoga every day, your data will be useful to us regardless of how rarely or often you do it. The DVD is provided without cost; your only obligation is to yourself.
For more information, go to sciatica.org, where you’ll find an induction form, a newsletter, a bulletin board for those in the study, and contact information.
Now that you’ve read this book, it’s time to actually do the yoga! We hope that we have encouraged those readers who are new to yoga to try it out and experience yoga’s many blessings. No one is too old to do yoga, and the earlier in life you start, the better it is for your bones. If you already practice yoga, you may find some new poses here which will enhance your practice and provide you with more variety and benefit.
We hope the book will give you ways to think about yoga and intelligently assess what you’re doing, rather than blindly obeying the words of others. That’s not what yoga is about!
Follow the directions mindfully, proceeding with caution but also confidence and courage. Listen to your body’s signals. You may feel soreness at first, as the muscles get used to working and stretching. With practice, you can distinguish between the heaviness of lethargy that will dissipate as you move and a different kind of fatigue that tells you to stop and rest. You may be surprised: Many students say that as they begin to practice, the pleasure of moving inspires them to do more than they thought they could. Every effort you make will pay off, strengthening your bones as well as improving your overall health.
Yoga is nontoxic and free, vigorous yet peaceful and relaxing. It is good for your heart, your lungs, your brain, your circulation, your bones and joints, and your muscles. Yoga does nothing to injure the environment. In fact, you, dear reader, are part of the environment. Don’t you want to improve the environment?