How yoga can help cancer patients
Tracy Adshead is a yoga teacher specialising in yoga for seniors. She is passionate about bringing healing and healthy ageing to the community.
A few years ago I was asked to take a yoga class at our local cancer hospice, the regular teacher was off to Europe for a few weeks but as it turned out he decided not to return so I agreed to stay on as a volunteer yoga teacher. Since then I’ve experienced five years of meeting the most incredible, brave, supportive, funny community of unlikely people who had been brought together by one thing. That one thing wasn’t cancer – it was optimism. Some were many years in remission, some were just starting their treatment and others had come along to support a partner, a parent, sibling or friend.
At the outset I knew that yoga was not a cure for cancer but it was a way to help manage the side-effects, stress levels and to restore a loving connection with the body. Science has begun to discover yoga also and much evidence based research has emerged examining exactly how yoga can improve quality of life for cancer patients. In 2002, the Centre for Integrative Medicine at Stanford Hospitals and Clinics (USA) undertook an evaluation of its Supportive Cancer Care Programme (SCCP) which included yoga, it looked at methods and patient experiences in the programme. The evaluation showed that over 90 per cent of the patients using the SCCP felt the benefits reporting:
- 96 per cent reduced stress levels
- 94 per cent increased sense of wellbeing
- 74 per cent increased energy
- 65 per cent more restful sleep
- 51 per cent decreased pain
Yoga was rated as the favourite supportive care technique.
From a yogic perspective, relaxation is fundamental to well-being. Bringing the body and mind to rest encourages positive effects on the nervous system relaxing mental and emotional tension. It lowers the blood pressure, lowers the heart rate and regulates breathing. Each time we practice Yoga Nidra, yogic relaxation, we learn something about letting go and this a great help with reducing stress levels.
With gentle postures and deep relaxation, yoga has been found to create feelings of positivity. The results of a 2009 study on the effects of yoga on emotions found an increase in positive emotions such as calmness and a sense of purpose. Women participating in a 10-week program of restorative yoga classes gained positive differences in aspects of mental health such as depression, positive emotions, and spirituality (feeling calm and peaceful), as compared to the control group.
Many of the patients I have taught have found great benefits post-surgery where yoga has helped to gradually increase their range of movement. Moving freely post-surgery can sometimes become challenging as a build-up of scar tissue can often restrict and inhibit movement. A weekly yoga practice helped to improve motion and flexibility, making common everyday-activities like lifting the arms to reaching up easier over time. The most ‘portable’ and useful yoga practice is pranayama, breathing practices, it can be done anywhere, anytime – in a hospital bed, in treatment rooms, doctor’s appointments, during chemotherapy. And this is the comment I’ve heard many times that the pranayama learnt in class helped patients to remain calm during chemo treatments.
Including yoga in a cancer recovery plan is one of the best ways to regain strength and positive emotions. One of the highlights I have observed is the great support that can come from attending a ‘yoga for cancer’ class for those in any stage of remission – a chance to share the journey with others.
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