Gentle Yoga for Strong Bones; Resilience

Nature is designed to be resilient. Fall comes and the leaves are gone for the winter. But as the days get longer and the temperature rises, the leaves know it’s time to come bursting forth anew.

We are a part of nature. We are meant to be resilient, too. Just as light and warmth tell the leaves to start growing, appropriate pressure on our bones tells the bone cells, "These bones need more strength, so it's time to start growing."

Loren Fishman, an orthopedic medical doctor, and yogi has done extensive research on the effectiveness of a series of 12 yoga poses held between seven and 72 seconds to strengthen bones. When I practiced these poses myself five days a week for two years, my hip bone density increased by 13%. Here is a YouTube video of the 12 poses https://sciatica.org/new-study/.

In a similar way, hard times can strengthen our emotional and spiritual resilience. We may be in an emotional winter for a while, but just as the leaves respond to warmth and light and our bones respond to pressure, our spirits may respond to an inner call for a return to joy. Haven’t you had that experience from time to time?

This week let’s strengthen our bones and our spirits and honor our resilience, a mirror of the resilience of spring.

“We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins, carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains. 93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames, we are all just stars that have people names.”

Nikita Gill

Health begins with firmness in the body, deepens to emotional stability, then leads to intellectual clarity, wisdom and finally the unveiling of the soul. --B.K.S. Iyengar

“The human psyche, like human bones, is strongly inclined towards self-healing.” — John Bowlby

"Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again." – Nelson Mandela

"When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven't." – Thomas A. Edison

It is really wonderful how much resilience there is in human nature. Let any obstructing cause, no matter what, be removed in any way, even by death, and we fly back to first principles of hope and enjoyment." – Bram Stoker, Dracula

Hope you can make it to Willow Street Yoga from 11 am until 12:30 pm on this and every Wednesday. You can sign up in advance at https://willowstreetyoga.com/ or at the door.

Kathy