20 studies of people with cancer showed that yoga improved health, reduced fatigue and sleep disturbances, reduced depression, distress and anxiety, decreased musculoskeletal symptoms, and more.
Now available: lessons and resources that provide you with an efficient way to be prepared to teach yoga to people who are experiencing or recovering from cancer.
“I started to feel hopeless about my health and knew I had to find a way to heal my body. And that’s when I found yoga.”
When I was 22, I was diagnosed with carcinoma. To treat it, I went through radiotherapy and local surgery. Afterward, my doctor told me I was fine, cured, and could go back to my old life and celebrate. That was all the information I received. I beat cancer, but the side effects of the treatment hit me hard, and for a long time, no one knew what was really going on. I was having digestive issues, which led to skin problems, hair loss, and even osteoporosis. At first, I had no idea why all of this was happening. I saw multiple [professionals] and tried expensive products, but nothing worked… I started to feel hopeless about my health and knew I had to find a way to heal my body. And that’s when I found yoga—a full-body recovery practice.
Contents
New Lesson Series Now Available
Research on Yoga’s Impact: Cancers, Cancer Treatment
Why Does it Work?
Please Take Responsibility for These Factors
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Recent Newsletters
New Lesson Series Now Available
I’m thrilled to let you know that this lesson and resource series is now available:
Cancers & Tumors — Be familiar with root causes, characteristics, and successful evidence-based treatments for cancers and tumors, plus evidence-based harms from cancer drugs and radiation.
Reversal Research — Be prepared to cite more than 150 references to research documenting cancer reversal and recovery successes.
Recovery Testimonials — Be prepared to cite more than 350 medical and personal testimonies of cancer reversal and recovery successes.
Reversal Protocols — Provide references and considerations for cancer reversal protocols and dosing.
Cancer & Yoga — Be familiar with research and considerations for teaching yoga to people who are experiencing or recovering from cancer.
Sources & Resources — Have access to more than 400 sources, organized by 1) Chemotherapy, Other Drugs, Radiation, 2) Root Causes, and 3) About Cancer, Yoga & Other Therapies.
Following is an excerpt from Cancer & Yoga.
Research on Yoga’s Impact: Cancers, Cancer Treatment
See Research on the Impact of Yoga: Cancers, Cancer Treatment for summaries and links to research demonstrating these outcomes:
Mental Health, Fatigue, Sleep
Significantly greater improvements in fatigue than standard survivor care among cancer survivors (2019)
“Distress is associated with worse clinical outcomes… It is essential that the standard of care in oncology include… techniques to help patients manage the psychosocial challenges of diagnosis and treatment of cancer” (2015)
Significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression and fatigue measured six months after a once-per week, two-month yoga therapy program for cancer patients (2019)
Supportive for improving health, reducing fatigue and sleep disturbances, and for reducing depression and anxiety among women diagnosed with breast cancer (2017)
Improved psychological outcomes (e.g., depression, distress, anxiety) and quality of life, and improvements in sleep and fatigue among children and adults undergoing cancer treatment (2018)
Mindfulness and yoga improved sleep, quality of life and productivity, reduced conditions, and decreased use of health care resources (2017)
Substantial benefit in distress, anxiety, and depression + moderate impact on fatigue and emotional function among cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy (2018)
Positive effect on psychological and social well-being, helping to restore body-image and self-esteem, and contributing to a return to pre-diagnosis daily life among breast cancer survivors (2017)
Tibetan Yoga intervention vs stretching or usual care: Better sleep quality, both short and long-term, among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy (2017)
MBSR and MBCT significantly improved depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, quality of life and physical functioning (2015)
Large effect on fatigue in post-treatment breast cancer patients, small effect on those undergoing treatment (2019)
Non-physical mind-body practices were effective at reducing fatigue severity in patients with cancer and stem cell transplant recipients (2017)
More Benefits
“Psychosocial interventions providing stress reduction and emotional support resulted in trends toward telomere length maintenance in distressed breast cancer survivors, compared with decreases in usual care” (2014)
Statistically significant difference in overall health, depression, anxiety and gastrointestinal symptoms among patients recovering from breast cancer (2015)
Improved sleep, lowered fatigue, reduced cognitive impairment, decreased psychological distress, and decreased musculoskeletal symptoms among patients during and after cancer treatments (2018)
Improvements in anxiety, emotional and social functioning, stress, depression and global quality of life + improved salivary cortisol readings, sleep quality and lymphocyte apoptosis among breast cancer patients (2016)
Improved quality of life, flexibility, and balance in cancer survivors with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (2019)
Positive results among more than 10,000 cancer patients, with no adverse outcomes (2018)
“Yoga techniques can be easily integrated into nursing practice and have been shown to be beneficial for patients and nurses” (2016)
Online yoga had a moderate effect on depression and small effects on sleep, pain and anxiety among patients with significant symptoms (2019)
Why Does it Work?
Clinical research (detailed above) proves that yoga and meditation provide measurable improvements in the physical, physiological, and emotional health of cancer survivors. There are presumably numerous reasons for why yoga has this record of success, including that it:
Relieves stress and regulates the nervous system
Boosts the immune system
Combats fatigue
Improves sleep quality
Relieves Stress & Regulates Nervous System
Chronic stress is a primary driver of disease. The “tremendous life challenges” related to cancer are highly stressful. “Not surprisingly, dealing with stress and anxiety is one of the main challenges among those diagnosed with and treated for cancer.” [source]
Yoga is highly successful in relieving stress, regulating the nervous system, and optimizing gene expression for health. See Yoga’s Impact on Gene Expression & Stress.
See quote below for more detail on the relationship with DNA telomeres.
For clinical research on the impact of yoga on stress, see Research – Cellular Health, Immunity & Stress.
Research Shows Meditation Works, But Why? One Reason: DNA Telomeres
Clinical studies demonstrate that chronic stress may have a profound effect on our DNA by shortening our DNA telomeres. Telomere deterioration puts us at a higher risk of developing cancer and other harmful conditions. The good news: There’s an ancient and well-known mind-body practice that is now proving successful in physically repairing this telomere DNA damage while restoring peace of mind at the same time. What is this practice? Simple meditation. – Dr. Isaac Eliaz MD link
Boosts Immune System
A healthy immune system prevents and overcomes disease.
Yoga supports immune system functioning in general, primarily through its impact on the nervous system.
Yoga addresses particular factors that contribute to and exacerbate disorders, including inflammation and stress.
“A common problem for cancer survivors is dealing with the aftereffects of surgery and radiation, which often damage the lymphatic system and restrict fluid flows, leading to painful swelling (lymphedema).” [source]
Yoga boosts lymphatic efficiency through movement, self-massage and deep breathing.
For clinical research on the impact of yoga on immune system health, see Research on the Impact of Yoga; Stress, Immunity, Genes, Cells.
Combats Fatigue
“Cancer-related fatigue is extremely common among cancer survivors, resulting both from the disease process itself and its invasive treatments. Paradoxically, research shows staying active best combats fatigue and preserves precious muscle mass.” [source]
Fatigue is attributable to dysfunction in cellular energy processes, which in turn has verifiable root causes, one of which is chemotherapy drugs.
For clinical research on the impact of yoga on chronic fatigue, see Research on the Impact of Yoga: Chronic Pain, Inflammation, Fatigue, Fibromyalgia.
An Evolving Understanding of How Stress Impacts Adrenal Functioning
Adrenal fatigue describes a collection of symptoms such as body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances and digestive problems. The theory is that chronic stress can overtax the adrenal glands, resulting in their functional decline and an inability to produce adequate hormones. It’s long been assumed that if you have low cortisol, you’re suffering from “adrenal fatigue,” but we now know that this is not an accurate concept. When adrenal function changes, what’s really going on has to do with the signaling between your brain and your adrenal gland in response to stress — not to adrenal gland function alone. HPA axis dysfunction, which can be identified using the DUTCH test, may better describe where symptoms come from after prolonged exposure to stress. — Dr. Joseph Mercola, Adrenal Fatigue: What It Is and How to Treat It link
Gentle Yoga is an Excellent Tool
“A gentle yoga practice is a very accessible exercise approach, which allows survivors to implement tangible tools to soothe symptoms and claim authority over their own healing,” notes Fox. “The aim is to empower survivors as their own best teachers, listening inward, moving at their own pace, and honoring their body’s unique needs.” Research increasingly links physical movement of any kind with better cancer outcomes, notes Fox. Beyond that, yoga radiates benefits into the emotional, spiritual, and social dimensions of well-being, which are too often overlooked in conventional cancer care models. – Eva Norlyk Smith PhD & Vicky Fox, Yoga for Cancer Specialist link
Improves Sleep Quality
Poor sleep quality and insomnia are primary root causes for disease: Sleep Physiology & Impacts.
Yoga is highly successful in improving sleep quality.
For clinical research on the impact of yoga on sleep quality, see Research – Insomnia & Sleep Quality.
Please Take Responsibility for These Factors
Many of the considerations below are drawn from these excellent articles by Ellen Fein on SequenceWiz that we recommend you read in full:
Here are some key considerations.
Center yourself and be present with your client with mindfulness — “Schedule a short period for yourself to connect to your breath or meditate before you begin. Being centered is critical. During the session or class be sure to tune in to your internal signals, including your own discomfort… It is okay to take time in the session or class to drop back inside and connect to your own center and reground yourself.” [Ellen Fein]
Be prepared to employ a wide range of yoga tools — People with cancer are “often [experiencing] great suffering on one or many levels (mayas or koshas). This means you need to be prepared to work with each of these layers… Psycho-emotional and spiritual issues are almost always present, and you need to be prepared and able to use a wide range of yoga methods, including intention, breathing, ritual, chanting, meditation, and gesture (nyasa), all of which can be incredibly useful.” [Ellen Fein]
Be aware of common health challenges that require customization — “People undergoing treatment can have low blood platelet counts (which can lead to bruising and bleeding). Avoid props and ties that apply direct pressure to the skin because they can cause bleeding depending on how they are used.” [Ellen Fein]
Choose words mindfully — Consider if you want to support “battling” language and if, instead, “a more internal, and less forceful, perspective” is more useful. [Charlotte Bell]
Encourage commitment to daily self-care — “I can’t overemphasize the importance of regular practice. Even if you can commit to as little as five minutes a day, practice those five minutes.” [Charlotte Bell]
Every Individual and Situation is Unique; Plan to Reassess with Each Meeting
Cancer can be diagnosed at any point from where treatment is likely to lead to full and lasting remission to where treatment is not an option. Clients can present at any point in that continuum—from diagnosis, to undergoing treatment, to remission, to end-of-life. If you work with a client over time, you may well be presented with a regularly changing picture of symptoms, side effects, and emotions, as well as shifting information about the disease and the prognosis. Each session/class/meeting requires updating your assessment of the client/student and making adjustments as needed. There is tremendous variation in the presentation of both an individual over time and individuals with the same diagnosis who get the same treatment. – Ellen Fein, SequenceWiz, The Yoga Therapist and Cancer Care: How to Begin link
“Think about the language we use around cancer”
Think about the language we use around cancer—“battling cancer,” “war on cancer,” etc. I feel that this sets up an antagonistic relationship with our bodies. Practicing simple asana from a more internal, and less forceful, perspective can remind us of all we can still enjoy about being in a living body. I feel grateful that I had the opportunity to explore this in my own body while going through the cancer experience. – Interview with Charlotte Bell about Yoga, Mindfulness Meditation, and Breast Cancer link
“I put aside my carefully scripted class notes. I set the intention to pay attention deeply and to meet the women wherever they were at any given moment—in other words, to truly teach yoga.”
I had come to this spiritual retreat center to teach yoga, certainly not a novelty for me. But these women—all 65 of them—had cancer… I was hopeful that my trusty toolkit—poses for stiffness, digestive woes, and lymphedema; breathing techniques for nausea, fatigue, and anxiety—would help them through at least some of their challenges… I met one woman who shook with Parkinsonian tremors brought on by a brain tumor; I listened to another ravaged by not one type of cancer but four; and my heart broke for the woman with uterine cancer who was young enough to be my daughter. With every tale told, I felt less confident that they would be able to do even the gentlest of my asana choices… While each story and every diagnosis were obviously unique, I quickly understood that what connected these women and would hold them close together went beyond the physical manifestations of their disease and cut to the heart of their emotional pain and their fear—for their families and for themselves. I went back to my room that night and put aside my carefully scripted class notes. I set the intention to pay attention deeply and to meet the women wherever they were at any given moment—in other words, to truly teach yoga. From the opening Om of our first early morning practice to the final bow five days later, everyone moved, breathed, and cried. They learned to love themselves and support each other, and chose to embrace yoga and meditation as companions on the road to healing, from diagnosis through treatment, recovery, and sometimes even recurrence. And in the end, their hearts broke open to reveal a fierce strength and a tenderness that allowed them to protect, care for, and embrace a self that ultimately was larger than the disease inhabiting their bodies.
Selecting Yoga Techniques
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