Yoga program helps people with cancer

Yoga Thrive is a program designed to help people recover from cancer; participants are “calmer, more limber and stronger than before” says writer Hayley Mick in the Globe and Mail recently. Yoga Thrive instructors are specially trained with regard to cancer and will modify stretches to accommodate people who have had surgery, etc.

Exercise is good for people recovering from cancer, even in the early stages of treatment as long as they’re careful not to overdo it. Yoga will provide the added benefit of the mind-body connection so that people are more in tune with listening to the body if it is saying “No”. Gentle yoga exercise includes deep breathing to promote relaxation, which is a valuable tool in cancer recovery.

Hopefully the Yoga program will produce a similar effect to the dragon boat movement started in 1996 in Vancouver, BC by Dr. Don MacKenzie and a team of energetic breast cancer survivors. Abreast in a Boat (AIAB) was created to show that it’s still possible to exercise after breast cancer surgery. It has been a huge success and women all over the world find enrichment in their lives because of it. Dragon boating provides people with physical exercise, a support group, camaraderie, entertainment, travel, a purpose in life, and much more.

It’s no wonder that recurrence of cancer is reduced when people get together to exercise. Physical exercise alone reduces recurrence; add to that the interaction of people in a similar situation, and the emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual benefits increase as well. I hope the Yoga program catches on and that more people will benefit from learning to control cancer and raise their quality of life.

Cancer does not have to be a death sentence. Just ask the members of Abreast in a Boat and they will tell you their lives have been enriched following a diagnosis of cancer. If it is diagnosed early enough, cancer can be a wake up call and provide an opportunity to make the most of each day.

Tags: Breast cancer support, Cancer, Cure, Disease, Healing, Health, Healthcare, Life, Prevention, Wellness