Yoga and breathwork can help breast cancer patients deal with the physical and mental challenges of diagnosis and treatment. Here's how.
Reduce pain
Asana taught by compassionate and trauma-informed teachers can make a difference in the quality of life post-surgery and ongoing treatment. “Asana and pranayama help us connect to our bodies, to our minds, to our nervous system”. Gentle movement can improve range of motion, increase circulation, reduce edema, help in relieving pain, and regulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the “rest and digest” response.
Ease loneliness
When done in a group, yoga can also help mitigate the sense of isolation and loneliness that many experience during cancer treatment. “I have seen people volunteer to transport their yoga class friends to treatments, and connect with each other beyond the yoga class, something that can greatly add to the quality of life of a patient”.
Reduce guilt
Yoga philosophy can also help people who are going through treatment.
Ahimsa (non-harming) can help patients hold themselves with compassion, rather than feel like they need to heal according to others’ timelines. Our society places a huge emphasis on productivity, which leads some patients to feel shame or guilt for taking time to recover. Svadhyaya (self awareness) can help patients know when and how to step back and care for themselves;
Satya (truth-telling) reminds them to be honest with friends, loved ones, and colleagues about their needs.
Build community
Having a loving and caring sangha community can be an empowering force for those who are going through breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.
Other ways to lower your cancer risk
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and impacts 1 in 8 women in the world. Women, who have a family history of breast cancer have a higher risk of developing the disease. But whether you have a family history or not, there are positive steps you can take to lower your risk.
Early detection
Mammograms save lives! I strongly encourage women to start screening at age 30.
Exercise
In a 2016 meta-analysis, the most physically active women had a 12–21 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those who were the least physically active. Just 20 minutes per day (150 minutes weekly) of moderate cardiovascular exercise can reduce your risk by up to 20 percent.
Limit alcohol
Research consistently shows that drinking alcoholic beverages—beer, wine, and liquor—increases a woman’s risk of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. Alcohol also may increase breast cancer risk by damaging DNA. Compared to those who don’t drink at all, women who have three alcoholic drinks per week have a 15 percent higher risk of breast cancer. Experts estimate that the risk of breast cancer goes up another 10 percent for each additional drink women regularly have each day.
No one should ever have to experience breast cancer.
Not the fear, the pain, or the uncertainty of what course the disease will take.
But amidst the dark moments, many people with the disease find themselves transformed. Some learn to let go of things they can’t control. Others develop a new perspective about who and what is most important to them. Many come to appreciate the decades of research and scientific breakthroughs that led to lifesaving treatments.
If you’ve just been diagnosed, are living with breast cancer, or finished treatment, remember... You Are Not Alone!
With all my Respect to my fighters students! Evangelia Gkika
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