Blessed Bones

This is an excerpt from the weekly News-Loveletter. If you would like it sent to your inbox directly (with all the other juicy bits, including a mini joy practice), you can add yourself to my mailing list here.

My mother passed at age 57. That's five years older than I am now. There are a thousand things about aging she didn’t teach me. A thousand things she never got to learn herself. 

Mortality reminds us that every day is precious. Every day is an opportunity to appreciate this beautiful planet, the bodies in which we live, our dear friends and family. I thank death for reminding me. Mostly.

Sometimes it’s hard to age gracefully without women elders in the family. Even among friends, wisdom about nutrition and movement is spotty. Most folks rely on medical professionals for advice, though the training there is spare.

My first ever Dexa bone density scan last July showed some bone loss in my hips. I felt shocked. I thought I ate well. Not by that measurement.

After a deep dive about the nutritional needs of women over age 40, I overhauled my grocery list. I hadn’t realized that eating well depends on what your body requires at each stage of development. Whoopsie. Wish I’d caught on to that thirty years ago.

Now I eat a high magnesium breakfast. That scone above has a whopping 3 tablespoons of hemp seeds with 2 tablespoons of flaxmeal in it. And it’s delicious. The recipe is my own, rich in tahini and sunflower butter. My next two meals of the day are high in calcium. And of course, protein.

It took months to unearth what my body needs during this phase of development. There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Finding the best calcium capsules for when I do supplement took years to nail down. Getting it wrong can put stones and spurs in all the wrong places. Yikes.

But I have good news for you.

Last month, a friend from Joy Together shared a resource. Like me, and maybe like you, Ann Glucroft had the same concerns. She took a free workshop with Osteoporosis expert Dot Spaet. Dot has gathered decades more research than I have.

A yoga teacher and fitness instructor with a no-nonsense attitude, Dot has helped thousands of women turn their scary numbers from the Dexa scan around. She's gathered her expertise about nutrition and movement for women over 40 into an upcoming free class and related courses.

We don’t have to figure this stuff out alone. Want to join me at Dot's place? You can sign up for her free Top 5 Keys to Reverse Osteoporosis class here. I've met with Dot myself. I'm thrilled with what I've learned so far.

Investing in our bodies now makes for a happier, healthier, and stronger last chapter, whenever that may be.

And friends, keep the recommendations coming. :) We live better together.

Dot's free workshop can be found (and shared!) at https://www.getoutofbackpain.com/top5keysfreeworkshop/