by Youngbear Roth

Created on: November 05, 2010   Last Updated: November 12, 2010

Technically, living bone is considered an organ, like our heart or liver.  If we expect them to enjoy life's journey along with the rest of our body's organs, bones require our respect and care.

Bones and joints are composed of two main types of bone tissues – compact and spongy; and three types of bone joint connective tissues - cartilage, ligaments, and tendons.  Here's the rub, exercise that will benefit one tissue type can often destroy another.  It seems easy enough to repeat that old standard, "Exercise helps build and maintain bone density and keeps the synovial fluid lubricating our joints.  High bone density staves off osteoporosis.  Keeping bone joints lubricated with synovial fluid will help us avoid osteoarthritis."  All true!  However, which exercise system is the best compromise for the various tissue types that compose the human skeleton?

Exercise absolutely benefits the skeleton; however, exercising on the track or in the gym in the belief that "any exercise is better than no exercise" is dangerous.

We may study the body systematically, but when exercising, the body works together as a single system. 

Exercise that benefits the bones begs variety.  Weight resistance exercise such as bodybuilding and weight lifting are great for muscle tissue and bone density, but are murder on elbow, shoulder, and knee joints causing repetitive stress injury to bone joint connective tissues.  What good is working to maintain bone density only to wear out the joint's bursa pack (a pack of synovial fluid that prevents bone from rubbing against bone without lubrication) and creating bursitis? 

Respecting bones and joints, professional bodybuilders practice a variety of exercises and dietary protective measures because they know that muscle tissues and skeletal tissues breakdown and rebuild at different rates.

Static style Yoga 'asanas (postures)' are an excellent exercise for the entire skeleton.  A well-designed static Yoga routine will utilize body-weight bearing to maintain bone density and will strengthen joints without causing repetitive injury to connective tissues such as tendons that hold muscle to bone and ligaments that hold bone to bone.  The secret of static Yoga is in the hold time.  The hold time for an asana in static Yoga is anywhere from two minutes to fifteen minutes, depending on how much of your life you want to spend on the Yoga mat.

The most thorough static style Yoga school we currently have available is Yin Yoga. You will find books and research materials on Yin Yoga at your favorite book dealer.  An excellent book covering Yoga for bone and joint health is - 'YinSights: A Journey into the Philosophy & Practice of Yin Yoga' by Bernie Clark – ISBN 978-0-9687665-1-4.  You can investigate Yin Yoga on the Internet and find a trained Yin Yoga professional in your area by starting your search at:

www.yinyoga.com  

Want to learn more about your skeleton in detail?  Try these key words on your Internet browser: cartilage, ligaments, tendons, marrow, compact bone, spongy bone, fibroblasts, osteoblasts, collagen, joints, synovial joints.

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