What is the Benefit of Yoga for those with Cancer?
Over the last year, we’ve slowly noticed that more and more people with cancer are joining our classes and community. This is hardly surprising when the statistics tell us that 1 in 2 people will be impacted by cancer in their lifetime. That’s huge. And shocking. With my interest in Restorative Yoga and the importance of being mindful of the nervous system, I decided that I wanted to understand more about how we could use yoga as a tool to support people who have suddenly found themselves part of a group they never signed up for…
What does yoga bring to your life?
Many of us may have started yoga by appreciating its physical benefits - increased mobility, flexibility, posture and strength. Perhaps you discovered the many emotional and mental advantages - connection, presence, the breath and balance. Maybe your yoga practice includes your life away from the mat - balancing effort and ease, coming from a place of non harm and kindness, cultivating contentment and reminding yourself that nothing stays the same; everything is always changing. The point I’d like to make is that yoga brings different things to each of us but we can learn a lot if we look at the core values of what it means to live in a yogic way.
The word ‘yoga’ translates from Sanskrit ‘to yolk’ or ‘to unite’ - the mind, the body, the self - instead of seeing these as individual entities, we regard them as a unity, a whole. With this in mind, imagine trying to unite a mind and body that have been through the trauma of a cancer diagnosis and the subsequent treatment that follows… however every individual’s experiences may vary… BS Iyengar said: “Do not imagine that you already understand and impose your imperfect understanding on those who come to you for help.”
Holding space
As yoga teachers we are not here to fix but we are here to hold space and offer a physical yoga practise that helps to tackle some of the impacts of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, as well as navigating the long list of varied side effects that may come from these powerful cancer treatments.
Establishing a safe and compassionate environment is integral. The first limb (strand) of yoga is made up of the ‘Yamas’ - moral values – the guide to how we can best act towards ourselves, and the world around us. And the first of these moral values is coming from a place of compassion and kindness, known as Ahimsa, to ourselves and others.
Yoga for Cancer
Firstly, we look at posture. When someone experiences trauma they can often move inwards - protective posture. Whilst open postures can increase your confidence, when you’re in a closed posture it’s a way of protecting your body, subconsciously telling your body “you are not safe, I need to protect you.” So in yoga classes, we address this by creating space and length, slowly encouraging the body to open.
In stressful situations, what are we frequently advised to do? Breathe deeply… So next we explore the breath which is referred to as ‘pranayama’ in yoga. We take around 20,000 breaths per day… how many are you aware of? Our lives begin with an inhale and our lives end with an exhale. And when the stress response is in full throttle, our breathing becomes shallow, jagged and short. As you’re reading this you might want to take a moment to close your eyes and breathe fully in and out through your nose a few times. Notice the shape of your breathe in this moment. Ultimately, always remember that the shape of your breath is more important than the shape of a pose. We use the breath to create space, to calm, to energise and to signal that you’re safe to the nervous system.
Following treatment, the body that you have known all your life might feel like that of a stranger (or it might not). But with a varied list of possible side effects including: exhaustion, nausea, fibrosis, constipation, feet/hand syndrome, muscle mass weakness, joint pain, challenges with mental health, and neuropathy (to name a few), we begin improving range of movement, stretching and finally strength building. We give attention to the muscles, joints and bones.
Everything is optional and underpinned by compassion and kindness, slowly learning to understand what it is that your body and mind might be in need of now. But also remembering that this may well be different the next time you step on to your yoga mat. Battling cancer isn’t easy but yoga enhances physical and emotional wellness, cultivating a peace that you may have thought was lost forever.
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