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How yoga helps cancer survivors

The attendees of the Aug. 2, Woman of Wellness program learned how yoga can help cancer patients and survivors heal and recover from their treatment. Sponsored by Fallbrook Regional Health District, the presentation at Fallbrook Library featured Heidi Borsch and Mary Baker, founders of Be Well Yoga for Cancer Recovery.

Both ladies have lost relatives to cancer so are aware of the toll cancer treatments take on one's body. They started the nonprofit five years ago and offer their classes on a pay-as-you-can basis; fundraising and donations pay for their teachers.

In explaining "How Yoga Benefits Those Recovering from Cancer", Borsch and Baker talked about the 10 ways yoga helps people. (Each member of the audience was given a handout with the information on it and blank spaces to fill in during the talk, to help them follow along.)

Borsch said the first is detoxification, "the process by which toxins (potentially harmful substances/cells/waste) are changed into less toxic and/or extractable substances." This is done through movement, gravitational force and resistance. Inversion, placing one's feet above their head, helps lymph fluid drain and reverse blood flow to the heart.

Twisting the body wrings out lymph fluid from the organs, taking toxins with it. Borsch said the lymph system is like a garbage waste system, collecting toxins from the organs and flushing them out, with four liters of lymph fluid being eliminated each day in one's urine. That fluid can collect in one's extremities, especially if lymph nodes have been removed because of cancer, which is why twisting exercises are needed she explained.

Yoga also helps the body to build strength over time without harmful pressure on bones that may be weakened from chemotherapy. Balancing poses are good for building strength and are important "to all of us as we mature; we don't age, we mature," Borsch added.

Range of motion and flexibility are also increased through the practice of yoga done with gentle, slow movements. Furthermore, yoga can help strengthen the spine which is very important to anyone going through chemotherapy which is hard on bones.

Because chemo and other cancer treatments can compromise the immune system, the goal of yoga is to strengthen all eight systems of the body (endocrine, lymphatic, cardiovascular, nervous, musculoskeletal, digestive, respiratory and skin) to improve one's immunity. Baker said that the respiratory system is the only one that people can control and that most do not breathe deeply enough.

One of the exercises they had the audience do, beside simple chair yoga moves, was breathing deeply and exhaling for relaxation.

Another benefit of yoga is weight management. Weight gain, Baker said, is another side effect of cancer treatment and can be a sign that the cancer has come back. Increasing the amount of exercise one gets from the standard recommendation of 150 minutes a week to 300 minutes reduces the chance of a recurrence, she added.

Yoga provides another way to manage pain for everyone when done regularly. While cancer does not typically cause pain, Baker said, the treatments of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation do cause pain as does inactivity during treatment. She said, "Getting the bodies moving is important!"

Yoga can also provide mental and emotional benefits, helping to manage fear and anxiety while enhancing one's body image, feelings of empowerment and well-being. For their yoga students, Baker said, "We can give them the hope and belief that they too can take on the world – because they can!"

They showed a video of some of their yoga students telling what Be Well Yoga classes mean to them. One woman said that after she lost her hair to chemo she "couldn't go back to a regular yoga class." Now the class she attends is a community of women who also have scars and some bald heads. This kind of support system is an important part of recovery Borsch said.

She also said, "Self-love is a journey, not a destination. It is important to find a new normal and learn how to love life again."

A Be Well Yoga class is offered at Sage Yoga in Fallbrook on Tuesdays, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. All are welcome to attend regardless of ability to pay.

In Temecula, two classes are offered on Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to noon at Temecula Yoga Collective and 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Home Yoga, Old Town. Michelle's Place in Temecula offers two classes: Thursday, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

For more information, visit http://www.bewelltherapy.net or email [email protected].

Women and men are invited to attend Woman of Wellness each first Thursday of the month at the Fallbrook Library Community Room. A social time begins at 6 p.m. followed by the presentation at 6:30 p.m. This is a free event with light refreshments and door prizes. Donations of non-perishable food items are collected for the Fallbrook Food Pantry.

For more information, [email protected].

 

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