Celebrating Our Living Bones: Mid-Month Newsletter
Celebrating Our Living Bones: Mid-Month Newsletter
We're halfway through October, and as we move toward Halloween at month's end, skeletons and bones will soon be decorating every doorway and window. But here's an interesting twist: while those plastic bones and fossilized remains represent death and stillness, the bones inside your body right now are vibrantly alive, constantly renewing, and humming with activity.
Let's take this mid-month moment to check in with the framework that literally supports us every single day. Your bones aren't just rigid scaffolding—they're living, dynamic tissue that deserves attention and care. Let's explore some fascinating facts about your skeleton and discover gentle practices to nurture bone health.
Fun Facts About Your Amazing Bones
They're Constantly Renewing
Your entire skeleton replaces itself approximately every 10 years through a process called remodeling. You're literally not the same person you were a decade ago—at least, skeletally speaking!
Your Bones Are Surprisingly Light
Despite supporting your entire body, your skeleton only makes up about 15% of your total body weight. If bones were solid, we'd be too heavy to move efficiently.
The Femur Is Incredibly Strong
Your thighbone can support up to 30 times your body weight. Pound for pound, bone is stronger than steel in some ways—a cubic inch of bone can withstand loads of at least 19,000 pounds.
You Have Fewer Bones Than You Were Born With
Babies are born with approximately 300 bones, but adults have only 206. Many bones fuse together as we grow, particularly in the skull and spine.
Your Bones Make Blood
The marrow inside your bones produces about 200 billion new red blood cells every single day. Your bones are literally keeping you alive at a cellular level.
Bone Care Through Bone Tapping
Bone tapping is a simple yet powerful practice that stimulates bone density and awakens proprioceptive awareness. Here's how to incorporate it into your self-care routine:
Basic Bone Tapping Technique:
Start with your legs - Using loose fists or fingertips, gently tap along your shin bones, moving from ankle to knee. Use a rhythm that feels good to you.
Move to your arms - Tap along your forearm bones, from wrist to elbow, then along your upper arms.
Tap your ribs - With a cupped hand or flat palm, gently tap your ribcage. Notice how the vibration travels through your chest.
Don't forget your skull - Use fingertips to tap gently around your skull, including your forehead, temples, and the back of your head.
Tap your hips and pelvis - Stand and tap around your hip bones and sit bones. This can feel especially grounding.
Benefits:
Bone tapping stimulates blood flow, may encourage bone density, heightens body awareness, and creates a sense of embodiment and presence.
Sound Therapy for Living Bones: The Emilie Conrad Approach
Emilie Conrad, founder of Continuum Movement, revolutionized our understanding of bones as living, fluid tissue rather than dry, static structures. She introduced specific sound practices to enhance bone vitality and overall well-being.
The "Jjjuuuujjjuuzzzzzz" Sound
This signature sound practice brings vibration directly into the bones, reminding us that we are fundamentally fluid beings, even in our densest tissues.
How to Practice:
Find a comfortable position - Sitting or lying down both work well.
Take a deep breath and begin to make the sound "jjjuuuujjjuuzzzzzz" - Let it be continuous and vibratory. The "j" creates a percussive beginning, while the "zzz" sends vibrations through your entire body.
Feel the vibration - Notice where you feel the sound resonating. It might vibrate in your chest, throat, skull, or throughout your entire skeleton.
Vary the pitch and volume - Experiment with different tones. Lower sounds tend to resonate more deeply in bones.
Practice for 5-10 minutes - Allow the sound to be playful and exploratory rather than perfect.
Why Sound Therapy Works for Bones
Sound is vibration, and bones are excellent conductors of vibration. When we make these sounds, we're essentially giving our bones a gentle internal massage. This can:
Stimulate fluid movement within and around bones
Enhance cellular communication
Reduce tension in surrounding muscles and fascia
Create a meditative, embodied state
Remind us that bones are alive and responsive
Final Thoughts: Living Bones vs. Fossilized Bones
Your bones are miraculous—they're not just the framework you hang on, but living tissue that responds to movement, sound, pressure, and care. By incorporating practices like bone tapping and Emilie Conrad's sound work, you're honoring the dynamic, fluid nature of your skeleton.
As we move through mid-October toward Halloween, we'll see fossilized bones and plastic skeletons everywhere—hanging from porches, dangling in windows, scattered across lawns. These decorative bones represent the end of life, structures that have become fixed, solid, unchanging. But the bones within your body are the complete opposite. They're alive, fluid, constantly regenerating, producing blood cells, and responding to how you move and care for them.
As the skeleton decorations multiply around you this month, let them serve as a reminder: your bones are so much more than what those Halloween props suggest. They're alive, and they're listening.