Yoga offers relief from the side effects of treatment for many women with breast cancer. Yoga helps to promote a feeling of well-being and balance, which helps a person experience a wholeness of body and spirit. Many losses are likely to occur during breast cancer treatment ¡ª loss of appetite, hair, body image, and energy ¡ª and many women are finding this ancient discipline can comfort and help them feel whole again. Yoga often helps reduce breast cancer treatments' side effects. Studies suggest that doing yoga while going through treatment helps the patient get through it with fewer side effects by reviving her sense of energy and making her feel good mentally. Other research has shown that yoga can ease the nausea, depression, and anxiety that often come with breast cancer treatments.
Care Breast[Www.9ma.com]Care Breast[Www.9ma.com]Yoga can be done in a class setting or in your home. With regular yoga practice, you will get a sense of physical movement and experience peace, harmony, and inner strength. Through yoga, you will feel the benefits of exercise while balancing your breast cancer treatments, providing you with techniques that promote healing and reduce anxiety.
Care Breast[Www.9ma.com]Fact
Care Breast[Www.9ma.com]Care Breast[Www.9ma.com]Yoga practice can be a helpful tool to see you through breast cancer treatment, as noted in an October 2008 Yoga Journal article written by Katherine Griffin. Special yoga classes for breast cancer survivors are offered at many cancer centers. You can also join a yoga class in your area and tell your instructor about your special needs during your cancer treatment. Always consult your doctor prior to participating in yoga classes.
Care Breast[Www.9ma.com]Care Breast[Www.9ma.com]Jinani Chapman, a yoga teacher and registered nurse who works with cancer and chronically ill patients at the University of California-San Francisco's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, developed six poses to see you through treatment. They are reprinted here with her permission. The poses were designed to help with lymph drainage and for anyone in treatment for breast cancer, but can also be used in all stages and treatment of breast cancer. It is recommended that you consult your health-care provider and team to get their approval before you undertake this type of physical activity.
Care Breast[Www.9ma.com]The Hip Walk
This pose is designed to boost energy, activate pelvic and abdominal muscles, and massage organs, along with promoting lymph drainage.
Begin by sitting erect on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. As you inhale, consciously elongate your spine upward through the crown of your head so that the pelvis tilts slightly forward and the back is straight. Alternate scooting or lifting first one hip and then the other forward until you have moved to the front edge of your mat. Then walk your hips backward in the same way. Continue "walking" forward and backward for a few minutes or as long as it feels comfortable. Use deep breaths and abdominal contraction on exhalation.
The Cormorant
This pose helps activate and strengthen the midriff and chest muscles by promoting healing after lymph node dissection.
Begin by sitting on a chair with both arms extended out in front of you parallel to the floor or at a slightly higher angle. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees. Throughout the movement, keep the lower arms perpendicular to the floor and parallel to each other, with each hand directly above its respective elbow. Keeping the arms and elbows at shoulder height or slightly higher when moving them allows gravity to facilitate lymph drainage down the arms and into the chest. Exhale as you bring the elbows toward each other in front of you. Be sure to keep the forearms parallel to each other ¡ª do not let the hands come any closer to each other than the elbows are able to come. Then, inhale and fill your lungs to capacity to open the chest upward as you open the arms as far out to each side as they'll go. Maintain each hand directly above each elbow. Continue this practice for as long as it feels comfortable. Start small, with a few repetitions; you can build to eight or ten repetitions over the course of a few weeks. Rest as needed.
