At about 6.30pm on Sunday 24th April 2022 – six months ago as I write this – I walked (ok, rushed) from my kitchen into my conservatory – or at least I tried to. In fact, I trod on the leg of my trousers and, in a split second, found myself falling forwards. I came down like a tree felled at the roots, instinctively throwing my hands out to break my fall.

I landed heavily. The momentum from my faster-than-necessary movement and the fact that I was coming through a doorway, so couldn’t turn or roll both added to the impact pressure, and I broke both my wrists.

(Talking to other women since then, it turns out that ‘killer trouser incidents’  are more common than you might think, although breaking BOTH wrists is definitely not a common result!)

Thanks to my hypnosis and yoga training, and to the support of my incredible family and friends, my healing has been quick and relatively pain free as I have shared previously.

To be honest, I was pretty pleased with myself!

Two months later I had a DEXA (bone density) scan – standard practice when a woman over 50 breaks a bone. As far as I was concerned, it was a formality.

About 2 months after that (2 months ago as I write) the hospital called me with the results.

The nurse told me that my scan showed that I have osteoporosis.

I was devastated.

I cried. A lot.

And then I started to do my research. (After all, before I became a hypnotherapist and yoga teacher I spent 20 years as an analyst!)

Since then, I’ve read half a dozen books on the subject, listened to podcasts and read countless posts from others with a similar diagnosis in Facebook groups.

I now understand a lot more about what a diagnosis of osteoporosis or osteopenia means – and what it doesn’t. I also know that there’s a lot more that I don’t yet know!

And the more I look into it, the more I’m realising that there are no ‘correct’ answers. There is no ‘right’ way to manage this condition.

Everyone has to decide on the path that feels right for them.

I’m no longer tearful about this. Nor do I consider it ‘the end of the world’. I’m ready to move forward, one step – and one positive change – at a time.

I’m no expert in osteoporosis, and nor am I setting out to become one. But over the past decade I’ve recovered from ME/CFS and bounced back (!) from breaking BOTH my wrists in a split second.

I know that I will come through this challenge too. And, like those experiences, in time it will become one of the foundations that underpins not only how I live my life but also how I share what I’ve learned with my clients.

As a first step towards that, over the next 6 weeks I’ll be sharing the most useful resources I’ve found, some of the things I’ve learned (and unlearned!) and the changes I’m making in my own life as a result of this diagnosis. And I’ll be doing that right here thorugh this series of blogs.

This will be a journey of learning and positive change. And while there will be more walking and weight-bearing activity than I’d been doing for a while, there will still be plenty of resting and making space too!

And I’d love you to get involved!

Because I know that you, like me, want to do everything you can to make the changes you need to make, to live the life you want to live.