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Tag: Bones

Want Strong Bones? Do Yoga

Written by Todd on . Posted in Articles, Yoga.

A Pose Series Proven to Increase Bone Density

Feeling great is reason enough to do yoga, but happily this activity also comes with myriad health benefits.1 One of these is bone health. How does yoga strengthen your bones? Yoga poses strengthen muscles. This puts stress on bones which stimulates extra calcium deposits, and enhances the action of bone-forming cells. The result is stronger denser bones.

Maintaining bone health is important for every stage of life, however the older you are the more important it is to take part in activities that keep bones strong. Both men and women experience lower bone density as they age. After 50, over 55% of people have low bone density.2 Women have the added impact of lowering estrogen levels which impact on bone density.

Standing yoga poses like Warrior One and Two strengthen the legs and hips. Upper body weight bearing poses like Downward Dog and others impact on the muscles and bones of the wrists, arms and shoulders. Back bends like Cobra and Locust pose are accessible to most and impact on the bones of the spine. An additional benefit of yoga is the balance and co-ordination that it develops. This helps prevent falls that may be the cause of fractures, especially in older adults.

Ideally we do yoga to prevent bone loss but what if you have already experienced bone density loss? Can yoga help you regain it? Yes! Studies indicate that a daily yoga practice can help regain lost bone density. One such study found that 12 minutes of yoga daily can reverse bone loss, specifically in the spine and femurs.3 Another study demonstrated that yoga can effectively build bone mineral density after menopause.4 These benefits did not require rigorous training. Both studies had participants hold ten to twelve common yoga poses for about 30 seconds each daily. This means that you can maintain or improve the health of your bones with less than 15 minutes of yoga daily.

I have personally had students with bone loss connect with me after visiting their doctors and learning their bone density had increased after starting our yoga sessions. Here is one such letter I received from a student in my mixed level hatha yoga class.

Hi Bobby, My tests have shown that my bone density has increased at an amazing rate since I started yoga. I don’t know if it is coincidence as there are other factors to consider but my results have moved from osteopenia to normal in my hip, and from osteoporosis to ‎osteopenic in my spine. I have had 4 bone density scans in my life and this recent improvement was considered drastic!  My doctor described my results as stark improvement! – Carol T, St. John’s Yoga Practitioner

Follow the pose order of the images in this post if you would like to try the poses from the case study above. Simply hold each pose for 30 seconds as you continue to take deep breaths. Pause for a few seconds after each pose before moving on to the next pose. Use blocks if needed to ensure poses are comfortable as you hold. This is a great start for a home practice. If you would like to be sure you are aligning correctly in the poses, or would enjoy the support of a yoga community, join me in one my upcoming beginner or mixed level hatha yoga classes on Monday or Tuesday evenings. Class info at www.ShaktiYoga.ca or contact me at Bobby@ShaktiYoga.ca.

Sources:

1. www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/9-benefits-of-yoga

2. Osteoporosis: epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment. South Med J. 2000;93(1):2–18.

3.Twelve-Minute Daily Yoga Regimen Reverses Osteoporotic Bone Loss, Yi-Hsueh Lu, PhD, Bernard Rosner, PhD, Gregory Chang, MD, PhD, and Loren M. Fishman, MD, B Phil (oxon.)

4. Fishman, Loren M. MD, BPhil(Oxon) Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation: July 2009 – Volume 25 – Issue 3 – p 244-250 doi: 10.1097/TGR.0b013e3181b02dd6

A New Year’s Chocolate Re(solution)

Written by Bobby Bessey on . Posted in Articles, Recipes.

The Solution to Mastering your New Year’s Intention? Make it This Easy!

20170114_1337250This year I have decided to eat more chocolate. Well actually not more. Anyone who knows me, also knows that I have actually been pretty unrestricted in this area for some time now. What I have decided to do is upgrade my stash. You might assume that I am talking about eating dark chocolate, and that would be true, however my usual chocolate is already 70% cocoa solids, organic & free trade. In fact I am fond of telling anyone who questions the magnitude of my consumption that eating this chocolate is one of the ways that I serve humanity, because altruism is, you know, just my thing.

This year though, I am stepping it up and making my own chocolate using raw cacao (not cocoa). This is something that I had been thinking of doing for some time now, but this year I was inspired to finally take the plunge when the talented Alison Nixon gave a chocolate making workshop in my area and I realized how easy it was to do this!

Why cacao and not cocoa you may ask? Cacao has many times more antioxidants than regular cocoa. It is also super high in magnesium, fibre and zinc. In fact if you crave chocolate it may be because you are low in magnesium and cacao would be the ideal way to top you back up! This doesn’t mean that regular cocoa isn’t good for you, but it is different from cacao in that it is heated at high temperatures and as a result loses a lot of its original nutrition. Cacao is the “raw” form of the same bean, but is cold pressed instead of roasted, retaining its living enzymes and making it much more nutritious.

OK, so now you know that it is good for you, but the real reason to eat this chocolate is that it is so yummy, and so creamy! Plus you can make it as sweet or as bitter as you like. The recipe below is similar to the topping of Alison Nixon’s Raw Chocolate Love Bar recipe that was included in the What’s Left to Eat Cookbook that she co-authored. I changed it up a bit but used her portions. This recipe combines the two great loves of my life, chocolate and matcha.

20170114_100819

Raw Chocolate Matcha Medallions

  • 250g Cacao Butter
  • 1 ½ cup (140g) Cacao powder
  • ½ cup (50 grams) raw cane sugar (Grind it up super fine in your mixer first) Other sweetener options such as honey, brown rice syrup, etc work as well.
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract (or whatever extract flavour you like)
  • A pinch of Himalayan salt (or sea salt)
  • Matcha and cane sugar mix. Use as much of either as you would like in your topping mixture. Other options are also tasty. Sea salt sprinked on top once they are half set is another favourite. Also popular in my home was raisins, nuts, pumpkin seeds, gogi berries, or anything else that makes you excited.

Instructions

  1. Chop the cacao butter into small pieces.
  2. Heat a few centimeters of water in a shallow saucepan on low heat. Place a small metal bowl in the water and melt the cacao butter inside the bowl. This ensures that the butter doesn’t get over heated. Make sure that no water (not even a drop!) gets into the bowl. Avoid boiling the water so steam, etc doesn’t make its way into your butter.
  3. Pour the melted cacao butter, cacao powder, sugar and salt into your blender for one minute.
  4. Pour the chocolate into non-stick mini muffin pans. Just a centimeter high. If you want to make bars, or bark, line a flat pan with parchment paper and pour a thin layer on the bottom of the pan. I used a flat bottomed bread pan to make large size bars. A larger pan is also fine if you are going to crack it up to make bark.
  5. Add your toppings
  6. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

*Cacao butter and powder and be bought at most health food stores. I used Organic Traditions bags and got two recipes worth of butter. The powder can be added to cereal, etc and the cacao nibs are a super bitter nibble that some like to snack on as well.