How yoga helped me recover
from breast cancer
'Finding yoga didn't just help me recover from breast cancer. Rather it held a mirror to my face and invited me to look deep within myself and reflect on who I am and my purpose in this world.'
As the daughter of yoga teacher, I was introduced to yoga at an early age. I remember looking through my mum's bookshelves stacked with ancient texts on yoga philosophy as a young girl and thinking they were a bit 'out there', it was literally another language (Sanskrit) and too esoteric for me to to understand at the time. Yoga wasn't something I was drawn to and I never really developed a consistent practice because I didn't get the buzz I did from running or a good gym workout. Yoga was always something I did when I was tired or run down and was looking for a gentle form of exercise. That all changed however when at the age of 43 I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
My breast cancer diagnosis was a wake up call for me to re-assess my life. I was working full time and primary caregiver to my two young girls aged four and six. I was constantly rushing. I had anxiety, slept poorly, needed coffee to get going in the mornings and alcohol to wind down in the evenings. I constantly felt guilty for not being more available for my children and simultaneously for not having the capacity to commit more to work. My relationship with my husband was strained and we argued frequently. Breast cancer forced me to take stock of my life. It also opened the door to yoga.
Despite being surrounded by people who loved me and cared about my wellbeing something pulled me to spend time alone, to allow myself to feel the emotions I was experiencing to their deepest extent, painful as this was. I had meditated in the past to help with anxiety and in the lead up to my mastectomy surgery was drawn to meditation again. I was meditating on the hospital trolley when my surgeon tapped me gently on the shoulder to say it was time for me to go into surgery. In that moment I wasn’t afraid and I felt very held.
I started yoga to help my physical recovery after surgery and immediately connected with the practice. It felt good to move my body again, to feel energy move through me and to start to regain my strength. I continued to reap the physical benefits of practice, however over the months that followed I found it was my emotional wellbeing that was profoundly impacted through yoga.
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Through the teachings of yoga I came to understand that I had neglected to nurture my spirit and for too long ignored the undercurrent in my mind calling me to stillness and presence to awaken my true self. Finding yoga didn’t just help me recover from breast cancer. Rather it held a mirror to my face and invited me to look deep within myself to reflect on who I was and my purpose in this world. Practicing yoga helped me to forgive myself for trying to do it all, for being human. My relationship with my husband changed for the better as I learned to let go of long held resentment, which opened channels for honest and loving communication. Today I continue to practice yoga daily. It remains my constant guiding light that that offers me refuge and helps me find courage when I am lacking. My experience of yoga is not unique.
A 2017 review of 24 studies of women with breast cancer found that yoga was better at reducing depression, anxiety and fatigue compared to psychosocial interventions such as counselling. Further, research assessing the impact of yoga on cancer patients has also found consistent improvements in quality of life as well as biomarkers of stress, inflammation and immune function.
Yoga is not a cure for cancer, however its ability to improve physical, emotional and spiritual wellness and bring about peace make it an appropriate therapy for people who are experiencing or who have been through the trauma of cancer. All that is required is to take small steps toward turning attention inward. This might start with ten minutes of meditation per day or some deep breathing. Practice need not be long rather it is the commitment to and consistency of practice that underlie its benefits. In time my own practice led me to undertake a yoga teacher training course so that I may help others discover the healing power of yoga.
Meditation decreases symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and fatigue and improves quality of life in breast cancer survivors
Meditation can help to acknowledge and accept challenging emotional experiences, helping people to move through difficult feelings to find a sense of peace. One study of breast cancer survivors found that just 6 weeks of meditation significantly reduced depressive symptoms in breast cancer survivors with effects lasting more that 6 months after meditation stopped.
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References:
https://www.uclahealth.org/mindfulness-meditation-survivorship-classes-reduce-symptoms-of-depression-in-younger-breast-cancer-survivors
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393338/