Bones for Life FAQ

Bone density, also known as bone mineral density, refers to the measurement of mineral content, primarily calcium, in bone tissue. It’s the best indicator we currently have of bone strength and resistance to fractures (because bending bones until they snap to see how strong they are tends to be frowned upon!).

When we’re young, our body builds new bone faster than it breaks down old bone, so the density of those bones increases. Most people reach their peak bone mass around 30. After that, although we continue to build bone, it doesn’t keep pace with the breaking down of old bone tissue, so the density of our bones inevitably starts to decline.

If your bone mineral density is already lower than optimum when the downturn starts, this can become a major problem.

The most commonly-used scan for testing bone density is the DXA (or DEXA) scan. This is a form of X-ray that tests our bones at key points and compares their density with the average for a young, healthy adult of the same sex (known as the T-score). Some decline is considered normal, but once the difference reaches a certain point it is classified as osteoporosis.

A T-score of -1.0 or higher (eg, 0.9, 0 and -0.9) is considered to be within the range of normal bone density for an older adult. A T-score of -2.5 or below is considered to indicate osteoporosis (eg, -2.6, -3, -4). A T-score between -1.0 and -2.5 (eg, -1.1, -1.5, -2.4) shows that your bone density is lower than ideal. The term used for this situation is osteopenia.

T-scores are the standard measurement of bone density, but you may also see Z-scores quoted. A Z-score compares bone density with the average for a healthy adult of a similar age and sex, so most people’s Z-scores will be higher than their T-scores, as the comparison is with bones that have already begun to lose density.

The term ‘osteoporosis’ was coined in the 1830s by French pathologist Jean Georges Chretien Frederic Martin Lobstein from the Latin words osteo (bone) and porosa (porous) to describe bones with unusually large holes in their structure.

Some 100 years later, Fuller Albright of Massachusetts General Hospital made the connection between osteoporosis and the number of fractures seen in postmenopausal women. This lead him to identify the condition (sometimes characterised as a disease) of ‘postmenopausal osteoporosis’ and start exploring the use of oestrogen replacement therapy as a treatment.

As mentioned above, the threshold for osteoporosis is considered to be a T-score (as measured by a DXA scan) of -2.5 or below. This benchmark was agreed by the World Health Organization in June 1992. At the same time the WHO coined the new term ‘osteopenia’ (penia = poverty) to describe a T-score of between -1 and -2.5. According to an osteoporosis epidemiologist at the Mayo Clinic who was present, this “didn’t have any particular diagnostic or therapeutic significance [but] was just meant to show a huge group who looked like they might be at risk.”

Osteopenia is not in itself a diagnosis or a medical condition, although it is becoming increasingly common for it to be presented as such and for people ‘diagnosed’ with osteopenia to be offered pharmaceutical treatments.

The long-term effects of osteoporosis can include:

• Increased risk of fractures from even minor falls or accidents (my first indication of a potential problem was breaking both wrists in a fall at home in my mid 50s!)
• Loss of height and the stooped posture known as ‘dowager’s hump’, the result of individual vertebrae in the spine collapsing
• Extensive fractures and vertebral collapses can lead to chronic pain and discomfort
• All of which can have a dramatic impact on our mobility and independence in later life

mmanA number of factors can increase your risk of experiencing osteoporosis. The ‘unavoidable’ risk factors include:

• Being born female
• Being white or Asian
• Being post menopausal and/or having an early menopause
• Being slim/slight/low BMI
• Family history of osteoporosis and/or hip fracture

My personal ‘wish I’d known’ list includes:

• Actively avoiding sports as a teen and young adult
• 20+ years in desk-based jobs and years of WFH (so no commute) long before it was a thing
• High levels of stress and lack of coping strategies
• Decades of not walking daily (until I got a dog at age 41!)
• 18 months of inactivity due to ill health in my mid 40s

My situation might have been even worse had I smoked, drunk alcohol to excess or been prescribed drugs known to have potentially damaging effects on bone health. There are several questionnaires available online to help you assess your own risk factors. Here’s one of them https://www.sticksandstones.org.uk/test-yourself/

Functional movement is all about moving in the way your body was designed to move – with ease, efficiency and natural coordination. It focuses on everyday actions like standing up, walking, reaching, bending and turning, helping you rediscover the simple patterns that support posture, balance and stability. Instead of isolating muscles or pushing through effort, functional movement teaches you to work with your body’s natural mechanics so that movement feels lighter, smoother and more supported.

The approach I practise and teach is Bones for Life, a gentle form of functional movement designed to improve alignment, balance and confidence and offer a practical, enjoyable way to make everyday movement feel easier and more enjoyable.

Although it’s been around since the 1980s, Bones for Life (BfL) is still relatively unknown, especially in the UK, where the Feldenkrais Method (on which it is based) is also less-known than in the US and mainland Europe.

In fact, when I began teaching BfL  in 2023 I was one of just 40 people registered to do so across the UK and Ireland! With teacher training lasting two years, and the majority of graduates opting to incorporate BfL processes into existing yoga, Feldenkrais or other somatic classes, that situation sadly seems unlikely to change any time soon. Which is why I’m on a mission to spread the word!

Bones for Life offers a holistic (whole system) approach to health. Every part of our body is interconnected, and an awareness of the mind/body connection is intrinsic to this programme. Because BfL focuses on improving skeletal alignment, many people find it naturally eases even long-standing problems which stem from poor alignment in vulnerable joints such as the neck, hips, knees and spine.

When we improve our postural alignment, our whole skeletal structure becomes more stable, reducing the work that our muscles have to do. This can make it noticeably easier to recover equilibrium swiftly and smoothly and thus reduce the risk of falling – which is actually the single most effective way to avoid breaking a bone!

Lifting weights is an excellent way to increase muscle strength and is often recommended for stimulating bone strength. The first thing you will be told if you start weight training is that good posture is critical to optimising your strength and preventing injury. A good PT or yoga teacher will be able to point out when you are not optimally aligned and help you when they are with you, but few of them can teach you how to easily and confidently improve your own alignment when you’re working out or practising alone (I know, I used to teach yoga!). Learning to instinctively align the spine is key to Bones for Life and, with time, the back is encouraged to become stronger through a series of processes that gradually build up tolerance, making it both easier and safer to lift heavier weights if that is what you choose to do.

No, in fact I often say that it’s suitable for anyone with a skeleton! The gradual way in which the body and nervous system are introduced to ‘new’ (in fact, often positively ancient!) ways of moving. and the emphasis on respecting the personal pace, range and capacity of each individual, make it suitable for absolutely anyone. Rather than fighting the body to get results, BfL teaches us to trust in our own ‘movement intelligence’, our own observations and sensations. Practised consistently over time, this can help us let go of unhelpful patterns of movement, leading to more satisfying and efficient movements and self-management.

Absolutely not! It’s true that more women than men are diagnosed with osteoporosis, but this is as much about statistics as biology. Changes in female hormone levels around menopause accelerate declines in bone density, so on average men are about 10 years behind women of a similar age on the ‘bone loss curve’. Coupled with the longer average life expectancy of women, this means we tend to see more women than men with the characteristic stooped posture of advanced osteoporosis (the so-called ‘dowager’s hump’). However the number of fractures caused by fragile bones in men has increased in recent years and men are less likely to be tested for the condition than women. One of the BfL teachers I follow is a man (Brian Shircliff) and it would be great to see more men embrace the techniques and processes of Bones for Life.

Movement Intelligence (MI) is the umbrella name for the 5 programmes created by Ruthy Alon, of which BfL was the first. In this context, the concept of movement intelligence “recognises the ability of the human body to organise itself ‘organically’ – elegantly and in its entirety, with spontaneously co-ordinated harmony – for optimal efficiency, and pleasurable, sustainable living. Intrinsic to MI is the sense of effortlessness that stems from having and heeding well-calibrated sensory-motor feedback.” (Source: https://movementintelligence.co.uk/)

No. The Introduction course does what it says on the tin. It was designed to introduce you to the key principles and foundational processes of the Bones for Life (BfL) programme. Over 4 modules we explore about 20 different processes, out of a total of 90 in the full programme, but this is plenty to help you improve your posture, balance and ease of movement.

Introduction to Bones for Life contains over 6 hours of teaching content as well as a few orientation videos to help you set yourself up and find your way around. The content is split into 4 modules which are delivered weekly. So if you choose to do so, you could complete the whole course in 3-4 weeks. 

Irrespective of how long it takes you to complete all 4 modules, you have lifetime access* to the course. This means there’s plenty of time to do it at your own pace, to work through it as often as you choose or to revisit specific lessons to refresh your memory. 

* For as long as this course is available on this platform, guaranteed to be a minimum of 12 months and likely to be much longer.

That’s up to you! From the very beginning of Introduction to Bones for Life you will be learning processes and techniques that you can start incorporating into your daily life. Do so consistently, and you will quickly start to notice a difference, even if you never learn anything beyond what’s in the Introduction course. But the mind and body thrive on novelty as well as repetition, so it’s always a good idea to keep learning if you can!

It’s entirely up to you, but my advice is to start building the processes that appeal to you most into your daily routine from the start. That way you’ll keep remembering that you signed up for the programme (I see you!) and coming back to it. When you sign up you receive lifetime access* to the course, so it will always be there for you when you want a refresher or a bit of extra motivation!

* For as long as this course is available on this platform, guaranteed to be a minimum of 12 months and likely to be much longer.

To really anchor in your practice, and harness the power of your subconscious mind to support your body in achieving optimum bone health, join my Self Hypnosis for Stronger Bones Masterclass, a group hypnotherapy session, accessible live or on replay, combined with an MP3 audio recording for you to download and listen to daily.

My online Bones for Life courses are the most time- and cost-efficient way to get a feel for Bones for Life and decide if it’s something you want to explore further.

I also offer occasional in person retreats, usually in the Hampshire/West Sussex area. You can find out about forthcoming dates here or join my mailing list to be the first to hear when new events are announced.