It all began when I watched my mother fall down in slow motion tempo right in front of my eyes. I tried to catch her but she was heavy like a sand bag. All she wanted to do was to turn to get some clothes from the washing machine. I was shocked, concerned and wasn’t too sure what to do. We managed to get to the doctor who diagnosed a fracture in her pubic bone. My mum was in excruciating pain and this was her fourth fracture. In previous years she fractured her vertebraes twice.
Did you know that around a third of compression fractures go undiagnosed? Hers were the kind that hurt so bad that she refused to walk for weeks. We had quite a few plans, that included visiting my sisters, going for little excursions or simply have coffee at a shop nearby. None of it was possible anymore. It took her weeks to heal but what was the most debilitating factor was her fear of falling again. It made her afraid to go out, to do her groceries or to efficiently do her daily chores. From there on it only went downhill.
My mum agreed to be moved into a nursery home eventually, where she had the kind of infrastructure and professional support she needed to feel safe. Although the nursing home was staffed with incredible kind professionals and was beautifully equipped my mum’s body and spirit was broken. As the time went by her ability to move became more and more restricted and by the time I saw her for the last time she was around a head shorter than me – she used to be slightly taller than me. This is the fiasko of having bones collapse into each other compressing your organs, making breathing and digesting your food difficult. This scenario invited a host of other health issues so in the end my mum passed away from pneumonia, one of the many possible consequences of having severe osteoporosis.
When I was diagnosed with osteopenia right after hitting menopause I was shocked to say the least. I have been exercising my whole life including dance and Yoga and did not expect this results. Little did I know at the time that osteoporosis has a variety of risk factors, much of which we can chose to avoid such as smoking and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. However other factors such as ageing and genetic predisposition are beyond our control.
There was no way that I could accept my mother’s fate. I began to research and look for any information that helped me to feel empowered. As I kept uncovering the myths, the truths and the science behind it all I realised that I did not have to walk in my mother’s footsteps.
After having taught nine well-received in-person courses combining Yoga and Naturopathy for healthy bones & joints I decided to create a complete program that covers all aspects in a doable and fun-way. I never stopped digging and researching into naturopathic and nutritional literature, completed a teacher’s course for “Yoga for Osteoporosis” with Dr. Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall, pioneers in Yoga teaching for this and other conditions and profoundly changed the way I was teaching and practising Yoga. It’s a life’s journey, I need to stay mindful about my food, my sleep and even my thoughts as everything is connected and makes or breaks your bones. But I am determined to stay strong, supple, energetic and live my life the way I envision it. And so can you.
