In this conversation, Breathing Deeply Founder and Lead Teacher Brandt Passalacqua speaks with Marta Shedletsky, C-IAYT yoga therapist specializing in bone health, about yoga therapy for osteoporosis.
Marta shares why regular yoga classes often fall short for people with bone loss, how evidence-based yoga therapy practices can actually reverse osteoporosis, and what it looks like to rebuild bone strength at any age.
How Yoga Therapy Helps Osteoporosis and Bone Loss
About 54 million Americans are living with osteoporosis or low bone mass, and most don’t know it until a fracture happens. The condition progresses silently. No pain, no warning signs, just bones that are quietly becoming more fragile with every passing year.
Yoga therapy approach to osteoporosis is rooted in Wolff’s Law, the principle that bones strengthen where sustained pressure is applied, specific yoga therapy practices can trigger real bone-building responses when performed with proper alignment and held for the right amount of time. Dr. Loren Fishman’s research showed that over 83% of participants improved bone density using this method, with no harmful side effects.
What makes this approach so effective is adaptability. These practices can be modified for any body, any age, any level of mobility, including chair-based variations that carry the same therapeutic benefit. There is no prerequisite level of fitness. There is no point at which it becomes too late to begin.
Yoga therapy also addresses the anxiety of living with a condition that feels invisible, the reluctance to move freely out of fear of fracturing, and the isolation that often comes with chronic health conditions. Addressing those layers matters as much as the physical practice.
Yoga therapy puts the tools directly in your hands, with practices you can use consistently, in your own home, on your own schedule. Twenty minutes, three to four times a week. That is the investment the research points to. And for many people, it changes everything.
Become a Yoga Therapist
If you feel called to support others through complex physical and mental health challenges, our professional Yoga Therapy Training provides mentorship, clinical thinking skills, and whole-person education.
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If you are navigating physical and/or mental health challenges, Breathing Deeply Wellness offers accessible programs rooted in yoga therapy principles to support meaningful change.
Podcast: Listen to Yoga Therapy for Osteoporosis with Marta Shedletsky
Breathing Deeply is a Yoga Therapy and Meditation School co-founded by lead teacher Brandt Passalacqua in 2011. Breathing Deeply offers two levels of certification: Foundations of Yoga Therapy and an IAYT-accredited Advanced Program, offering C-IAYT eligibility.
Other offerings include Breathing Deeply Wellness, a service-driven community of Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapists dedicated to helping the public optimize their physical, mental, and spiritual health, an annual online meditation teacher training certification, and specialized yoga therapy courses. Breathing Deeply is an active and thriving community of meditators and yogis, caregivers, therapists, teachers, medical professionals, parents & children with the same intention—to serve others, lessen suffering, and co-create a new paradigm in wellness.
