YOGA COURSES

Yoga For Osteoporosis:

6-week course designed to promote a positive mindset, help alleviate and mediate symptoms of osteopenia and osteoporosis. 

Objectives:

  • Build a personalised practice to help prevent against bone thinning and deterioration – strengthen muscles and bones. 
  • Improve balance to prevent falling – a key cause of fractures.
  • Understand how to practice yoga safely with osteopenia and osteoporosis, know what postures to avoid. 
  • Build confidence in carrying out day to day activities and exercise. 
  • To relieve stress and calm any concerns about living with osteopenia and osteoporosis.
  • Educate and inform, learn how to adopt a proactive lifestyle to slow progression and maximise mobility.  
  • Make social connections with other people who have osteopenia and osteoporosis and develop a support network

Suitable for:

  • Beginners and Experienced Yogis.
  • People with a diagnosis of osteopenia or early osteoporosis.
  • Maximum of 5 students per class 

Price: £75 per person for 6 classes 

Venue: Home Studio in Ascot, Berkshire

Course Dates for Autumn 2023 coming soon

Email gayl@in8yoga.com to secure a place or for more information. 

To attend the course, you will need to complete a health questionnaire which will be treated in strictest confidence.

Once this form is received, you will be invited to a short free of charge Zoom call to explore your specific needs and desired outcomes. 

Please note if you have experienced multiple fractures and/or severe osteoporosis, I may recommend one to one sessions.  

Please contact me to join the next course, for more information or if you have any questions on gayl@in8yoga.com

Please note this course is not intended to replace any medications prescribed for osteopenia or osteoporosis. Yoga is offered as a complimentary therapy to conventional pharmaceuticals and any other treatments prescribed by your Doctor.

Yoga Courses for osteoporosis

 

Qualified and Accredited Yoga Teacher and Therapist

About Osteoporosis

Often thought to be the silent disease of aging as there are no obvious signs of bones degenerating. Osteoporosis can affect much younger people, even in their 40’s. The first sign is often experienced in a fall resulting in a broken wrist, arm or finger.  However, as osteoporosis progresses, it may lead to a spine, hip or femur fracture which spell a long stay in a nursing home and which may be fatal.

Many people associate osteoporosis with the “dowagers’ hump” –  where the spine and head curls forwards, gradually getting shorter.  But it can be a lot more than that.   A spine curving forwards is often a sign that the spine is degenerating which can reflect poor bone health throughout the body and lead to damaging and painful spinal fractures. 

Osteopenia is the early stages of osteoporosis and a key indicator of the disease.  Dexa bone scans are often carried out routinely for post menopausal women following a fracture. They help to provide useful pointers about the state of bone health. 

Facts about Osteoporosis:

Osteoporosis is thought to affect 200 million women worldwide and osteoporotic fractures are thought to occur in:

  • 1 in 2 women over 50 years of age
  • 1 in 4 men over 50 years of age
  • The most common fractures are hip and spine, but they can occur anywhere in the body.

In women, the risk of osteoporosis is thought to be greater than combined risk of getting breast, uterine and ovarian cancer. In men risk the risk is greater than prostate cancer

To some extent, it is just part of natural ageing. Everyone’s bones thin from about the age of 30 years, but at mid-life hormone changes particularly in women reduce calcium and phosphorous absorption into the body.  Stress, certain medical conditions medications can accelerate this process. 

Did you know that just 20 minutes yoga practice a day could make a difference?  Research carried out by Dr Lauren Fishman has produced some good evidence to support this. Please see the link below for more details:

Yoga For Osteoporosis – A Pilot Study

How Yoga Can Help with Osteoporosis:

Asana/Physical Practice helps to  

  • Builds muscle and bone strength
  • Opens the rib cage – improve breathing and circulation, energy cellular functioning and immunity
  • Improve balance and spatial awareness
  • Build confidence and social connection

Pranayama, breathing, relaxation and meditation helps to:

  • Calm the nervous system and relieve stress
  • Take the body and mind to the best state for healing 
  • Generate a positive and confident mindset

Gayl’s yoga class is always challenging with options given for the less able. The class is different every week so it keeps it interesting.”

Janet King

“Gayle is a great yoga teacher, totally non-judgmental and encouraging. I have learnt so much and enjoy the classes a lot.”

Alison Ellwood

“Gayl has invested a lot of her time in understanding the core elements of her yoga style. She shares her thoughts during the sessions. The classes are always well thought through, flowing smoothly and leave me in a state of “calm”.”

Becky King

“Gayl has a great ability to make yoga fun and enjoyable and reminds us to practise Ahimsa which is all too easy to forget. The relaxation yoga leaves me feeling so much better and more positive. Classes are always interesting and informative too; it is much more than just postures, as there is a broader approach to the holistic benefits from attending.”

Ann Brosnan

“I love yoga with Gayl as she explains everything well and I get a real sense of the spiritual side of yoga as well as the physical benefits. I enjoy the variety of sequences and positions and the options for easier or more challenging practice.”

Rhiannon Williams

“An excellent class that offers careful teaching of many poses in addition to explanations of chakras and pranayama . Being able to work at your own pace but allowing your yoga practice to grow under careful supervision”

Angela Lanza

“I love Gayl’s yoga classes as she provides a lot of information about what you are aiming to achieve with each posture or sequence and gives clear instructions and little pointers that are invaluable. Thanks Gayl 🙏🏻🤗😘”

Tania Stannard

“Gayl is an excellent teacher and takes great care to explain each posture or sequence. She also gives alternatives to the more challenging postures ensuring that everyone can work to their abilities.”

Ewa Thompson

“Gayl’s teaching style is warm and inclusive. Her occasional references to her own yoga journey also make it so relatable. Adaptations are offered for challenge or to accommodate health issues. The explanations and demonstrations are clear. I had done yoga for many years and never before understood the benefits I should feel from the positions. Her teaching also emphasises breathing techniques which complement the physical activity. For myself the integration of these help with harmony of mind and body.” Jane Auster

Jane Auster

“I started yoga three years ago with Gayl as my first instructor at Windsor leisure centre. I have remained loyal to Gayl as she is passionate about her practise and how she teaches her students. Gayl is always looking at ways to improve and is dedicated to her students ensuring they get the best from their practise. It is so obvious that Gayl puts a lot of her own time and effort into organising her classes to create a well balanced Hatha Yoga class, which lends itself to all standards and abilities. I would highly recommend Gayl as a yoga instructor!”

Ken Kilner

I have found the experience of yoga therapy with Gayl to be really life enhancing. The sessions have helped me to stop and reconnect with my body. I had a chronic lower back issue with pain for a number of years and I have tried different therapies with different degrees of success.  Gayl really listened to me and I  have found a way to respond to and look at my pain differently. Through the therapy, I feel calmer, more connected and accepting of my body.”

Elaine Grix – lower back pain

“At the end of my yoga therapy sessions, my foot is 90% better. I feel it is a combination of the yoga therapy, meditation, keeping positive, looking after my inner soul a bit more giving me the purpose of being able to handle the pain of the foot and resting up a bit more.

Gayl does not realise how good she is; she has a lovely soothing personality and voice which instantly calms me down. She has a very gentle way with her and really listens to her clients. I am so thankful I found her as she has given me the love of yoga, hopefully for life now as it really has made a huge difference not only physically but also mentally too.”

 

Melina Holliday – Plantar Fasciitis