About six years ago, I had my first bone density test and found out that I had low bone mineral density (osteopenia). An osteopenia diagnosis means that I had lost some bone density, but not enough to call it osteoporosis, and not enough to necessarily treat it with a bone drug.Surprised and upset, I couldn’t figure out how it happened. I was healthy, active, worked out regularly, and had a good diet. A few days later when I saw my chiropractor, I mentioned my diagnosis. She told me that another older patient of hers is keeping her bone density up by doing yoga. I raced home, got on my computer, and found Dr. Loren Fishman, who was conducting studies on yoga and osteoporosis, and who found that yoga does improve bone mineral density for most people. I immediately got in touch and enrolled in his study. In today’s post, I’m going to describe my experience practicing his program and what my personal results were. 12 Poses for OsteoporosisI started out with Dr. Fishman’s first sequence of 12 poses. That was the only sequence he had at the time. He currently has three sequences, all with 12 poses each. Three sequences work well because you can do yoga every day and avoid repetitive stress syndrome by rotating the sequences over the week and attending a yoga class once a week. I find 12 poses easy to fit into a busy day and now practice 6 days a week at home. (See below for information about where to find all three sequences.)When I started out, Dr. Fishman had one sequence. It consists of basic poses that are taught in a typical Iyengar yoga level 1-2 classes:
- Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
- Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana)
- Warrior 2 Pose (Virabhadrasana II)
- Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana)
- Revolved Triangle (Parivrtta Trikonasana)
- Locust Pose (Salabhasana)
- Bridge pose (Setu Bhandasana)
- Supine Hand to Foot 1 (Supta Padangusthasana I)
- Supine Hand to Foot 2 (Supine Hand to Foot 2)
- Marichi’s Pose 3 (Marichyasana III)
- Half Lord of the Fishes Pose (Ardha Matsyendrasana)
- Corpse Pose (Savasana)
How I StartedI hadn’t done yoga since the 70’s, and at that time only simpler and much easier poses. I tried to learn the 12 poses in the first series on my own. I did manage to learn their names, their order in the sequence, and somewhat how to do them, but I had a feeling I wasn’t truly doing them correctly. I wanted someone to tell me if I was doing them correctly, and if not, help me learn.A friend who also had bone loss and I decided to hire a yoga teacher to help us learn the poses. We would share the cost. Because Dr. Fishman’s background is in Iyengar yoga. I searched for an Iyengar studio near San Jose where my friend and I both live, and it turned out that Iyengar Yoga South Bay is very near us in Campbell, California. I emailed Linda Bostrom and she referred me to Jito Yumibe who has training in yoga therapeutics.Turns out getting private instruction to get started was a really good idea. I realized very quickly that I had a lot to learn as far as doing the poses with a healthy alignment. At the time, I did not realize that in Iyengar yoga, you can go very deeply into learning the poses. It can take a lifetime, but the benefits begin right away.After three private sessions with Jito, I attended a Yoga for Seniors class that she teaches. I went four times, and then later enrolled in a level 1-2 class with Linda Bostom. Today, I’m still studying with Linda and attend her level 2-3 class once a week, I rotate the Dr. Fishman series 1-3 on the other six days.
My Bone Density ProgressDr. Fishman uses bone density scan (DEXA scan) results to determine whether or not the yoga is working for a particular person. This scan, which your own doctor orders for you every two years, measures the density of your bones in either the spine, left hip, and left femur neck or in the lumbar spine and left femur neck. (The femur neck is the straight piece of bone that attaches the round head to the long thigh bone, as shown in the illustration above.)My measurements every two years were all done on my lumbar spine and left femur neck. A score of -1 or more indicates bone loss. A score of -2.5 or more indicates osteoporosis. I started out with -1 in my lumbar spine, and -2.3 in my left femur neck.
In the 6 years since I started yoga, my lumbar spine improved to normal bone density in the first two years (it didn’t have very far to go), but my femur neck stayed pretty much the same until it dipped into osteoporosis in December 2020.
Weight-Bearing Activity
After thinking hard and reading as much as I could about bone health, I decided to add more weight-bearing activity to my daily routine. Due to Covid-19, I hadn’t walked as much as I normally do, and the additional sitting around might have been what sent me into the osteoporosis range in my femur neck. I would be happy to get my femur neck score at least back into the osteopenia range.
I am in good health and have proper levels of the applicable nutrients and hormones. Suspecting that more muscle strength might help, I decided to keep my daily yoga routine, restart walking as much as possible, and add more weight-bearing activity, such as carrying large containers of water around the house and adding 1-pound ankle weights for walking.
I won’t know if the additional weight-bearing activity is working until my next bone scan, but I have noticed my back, arms, shoulders, legs, ankles, and hips feel much stronger. The question is, will my femur neck notice it too?
Dr. Fishman’s Sequences
- View Loren Fishman Sequence 1: Twelve Poses vs. Osteoporosis on YouTube for free.
- Purchase Dr. Fishman DVD(s) with sequence 1 and/or 2 on his website (sciatica.org) near the bottom of the page.
- Sequence 3 is out, but there is no DVD yet. On sciatica.org at the bottom, you can sign up for his newsletter to find out when he teaches sequences 1, 2, and 3 online.
Monica Pawlan has been a student of Iyengar yoga for about six years. She is currently taking yoga classes from Linda Bostrom, co-director of Iyengar Yoga South Bay, in Campbell, California. Monica lives in San Jose, California, with her husband and two cats. Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° To order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being, go to Amazon, Shambhala, Indie Bound or your local bookstore.
