Yoga Classes focused on strengthening our bones & muscles and bringing a sense of ease and peace to our hearts and minds.
Jael is an E-RYT certified yoga teacher whose classes are informed by the research of Dr. Loren Fishman, author of Yoga for Osteoporosis. Jael came across Dr. Fishman’s bone health research in 2018 when she learned of her own bone density loss. After religiously practicing his methods and seeing vast improvements in her bone density scans, she decided it was time to become certified to teach his method. Since completing her training with Dr. Fishman in 2021, Jael has been dedicated to empowering others to protect and strengthen their own bone health without the use of bisphosphonate drugs.
Yoga for Bone Health
There’s good news: in many cases, you don’t have to rely on drugs or high-intensity, weight-bearing exercises to protect yourself from bone loss. I have personally seen improvements in my DEXA scans by regularly implementing these simple, accessible, inclusive yoga practices. And it’s not just me! Since I’ve been teaching Yoga for Bone Health, many of my regular, committed, students have reported increases in their bone density without the use of pharmaceuticals.
Online 30-Minute Yoga for Bone Health
In this 30-minute class, we practice poses and techniques proven to increase bone density. The poses target increasing bone density in some of the most frequent fracture sites in the body. For this class you will need a yoga mat, two yoga blocks, a yoga strap, and a folded blanket. Occasionally we will also use a high-back chair, like a kitchen or dining room chair, as a prop. A new session begins each month and you are guaranteed at least eight invigorating 30-minute classes.
Online Chair Yoga for Bone & Joint Health
All poses in this one-hour class are practiced either seated in a sturdy chair or standing next to the chair and using it as a prop. The class begins with a series of seated movements designed to keep our joints supple and healthy and then transitions into a series of seated yoga poses designed to strengthen our bones and our muscles. Halfway through the class, we stand and continue our bone building poses. This class may look and feel different than other Chair yoga classes. It’s a fairly challenging class, and we stand for a good portion of it. It’s intended for students who for various reasons (dizziness or issues with knees, hips, or shoulders, for example) prefer not to transition from the floor to standing.
Personalized Yoga for Bone Health Sequences
Would you like to create a personalized Yoga for Bone Health sequence that you can practice on your own at home? I have worked with many students to create a one-of-a-kind sequence tailored to their specific needs and abilities. The student and I meet for an hour (either in-person or online) to create a personalized 12-pose yoga sequence, and then I send the student a list of the poses complete with detailed descriptions and pictures. This way you can still practice on the days that you aren’t able to make it to class. This is also a great way to target specific areas of the body that you know you need to strengthen based on previous DEXA scans.
Yoga Mandali
Join Jael in the beautiful Yoga Mandali studio in downtown Saratoga Springs, NY, for in-person Yoga for Bone Health workshops. In these weekly one-hour classes, you will learn how and why yoga can increase your bone density, and you will practice a minimum of 12 poses in each class that specifically target increasing bone density in some of the most common fracture sites in the body. You will leave this class with bone health yoga sequences to practice at home. Visit www.yogamandali.com for more information and to sign up for classes.
Free Classes
Each month Jael teaches a free one-hour Yoga for Bone Health class at the Saratoga Springs Public Library. There is no need to bring your yoga mat to this class. We practice all poses either standing or sitting in a chair. Visit sspl.org and click on the calendar link to sign up for Jael’s next free class.
—Other Ways to Work with Jael—
Additional Yoga Classes
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Yin Yoga
As a certified Yin Yoga teacher who has studied with internationally-recognized expert, Sarah Powers, the author of Insight Yoga and Lit from Within, Jael’s Yin classes focus on the subtle body and the ways in which a Yin practice can balance and enhance the meridian and organ systems. She offers weekly in-person Yin classes at Yoga Mandali as well as online Yin practices.
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Restorative Yoga
Having received both her Level 1 and 2 Restorative Yoga certifications from Dr. Ann Saffi-Biasetti, author of Befriending Your Body, Jael teaches private as well as group Restorative Yoga classes and often ends her classes with a restorative pose.
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Vinyasa Yoga
Jael infuses her Vinyasa yoga classes with the knowledge and wisdom she has gained from both her Bone Health and Yin practices. This means a strong and steady practice with longer holds than students may be used to, and an emphasis on alignment and effort within each pose. Jael teaches both in-person and online Vinyasa classes.
Meet Jael
Teacher, mother, Gardener, Reader, Adventurer, Lifelong learner
Jael came across Dr. Fishman’s bone health research in 2018 when she learned of her own bone density loss. After purchasing his book, she began religiously practicing his methods. Her next DEXA scan showed a six percent improvement in her bone density at which point she decided it was time to become certified to teach his method. Her third DEXA scan showed an even greater improvement. She has never taken bisphosphonate drugs and has been teaching Yoga for Bone Health since completing her training with Dr. Fishman in 2021.
Jael received her original yoga teaching certification from Yoga Mandali in Saratoga Springs, NY, in 2016. Since then she has continued to educate herself in the healing and therapeutic aspects of yoga by completing certifications in Yin Yoga with Sarah Powers; Traditional Chinese Medicine and Yin Yoga with Josh Summers; Yoga for Bone Health with Dr. Loren Fishman; Restorative Yoga (Levels 1 and 2) with Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti; Yoga Sutra Study with Dr. Edwin Bryant; and Yoga for Posture Improvement with Julie Gudmestad, PT. In addition, she has studied Mindfulness Meditation, Ayurveda, and Yoga Philosophy.
One of Jael’s strengths as a teacher is her ability to explain complicated concepts in a thorough and understandable way. She approaches each class with awareness and sensitivity to the physical, energetic, and mental shifts that a thoughtfully crafted yoga sequence can bring to her students, and she uses her steady, centering energy to support them through any challenges in the practice. Jael has worked with beginners, athletes, experienced yogis, and individuals with significant health challenges and is open and responsive to the needs of her students.
She lives with her husband, with whom she shares three adult children and a house full of pets, and when she’s not practicing yoga or teaching in person or online, she spends her time working on her historic home, gardening, reading, kayaking, taking long walks, and traveling.