You may think of yoga as a great way to relieve stress or stretch tight muscles, but what about yoga for bone strength? This functional 12-minute sequence includes 9 yoga poses that are great for building strong, healthy bones…

People practice yoga for many reasons – from stress relief, to pain relief, to general fitness and health, to inner peace and well-being. But one reason you may not hear all that often is for bone strength. Most doctors and health professionals recommend regular weight-bearing exercise to maintain bone density and strength as you age. And while you may have never thought of it that way, yoga is actually an amazing form of bone-strengthening exercise! Most yoga poses involve not only bearing your body weight, but also stretching and strengthening exercises which cause the muscles to pull on your bones throughout your entire body during your workout. This has the effect of keeping your bones strong and healthy. In fact, according to new research, yoga has a surprisingly protective effect on preventing osteoporosis and bone fractures.

According to YogaJournal.com, “As a yogi, you’re already protecting your frame in a few major ways. For starters, each time you practice a pose, you’re potentially building new bone. When you hold a pose like Supta Padangusthasana (Reclining Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose) or a twist, you’re opposing one group of muscles against another, like the quadriceps against the hamstrings or the gluteal muscles against the shoulder muscles, respectively… That opposition creates a force that physically stimulates osteoblasts, bone-making cells that initially live on the outside of the bone and turn into osteocytes, which are cells that become embedded within your bone. “You’re actually laying down new bone…

It is never too early to take care of your bone health! Practicing weight-bearing exercise while you are young and into old age is the best way to keep your bones strong. Yoga in general is great for your bones, but some yoga poses are particularly beneficial, regardless of your age.

Below is a 12-minute sequence of yoga exercises to help build and strengthen your bones. This is a great sequence to practice at home or anywhere you like. Simply breathe slowly and deeply, and hold each pose for about 30 seconds per each side. (If you are not familiar with the poses, click each link for a tutorial).

1. Vrksasana, Tree Pose

2. Utthita Trikonasana,  Extended Triangle Pose

3. Virabhadrasana II, Warrior Pose II

4. Utthita Parsvakonasana,  Extended Side Angle Pose

5. Salabhasana, Locust Pose

6. Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, Bridge Pose

7. Supta Padangusthasana I, Reclining Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose I

8. Supta Padangusthasana II, Reclining Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose II (From Pose I, hold both ends of the strap in your right hand. Keep the left side of your body grounded as you extend your right leg out to the right side and lower it toward the floor.)
   

9. Savasana, Corpse Pose

Read more + see pictures of the full sequence at YogaJournal.com…