Yoga! Oh I'd love to do this - the problem is as usual, the cost of things like this - cancer seems to generate it's own expenses...quite a lot of them are nothing to do with medical expense. They are to do with trying to make yourself feel better.
It would be amazing if we could do this in the UK. I'd be there in an instant - it would be something that compliments the circuit training I already do, as it's a different use of the muscles, and also a good method for self control and calm. Panic being one of the less noticeable side effects of having had cancer, as it usually happens when you wake up at 3.30 in the morning! :o)
Just after I was diagnosed, a friend taught me some breathing methods by phone and email - another friend sent me some exercises to try [also via email!]. They helped me so much that I would imagine actually practicing yoga properly would be very good for both my mental and my physical health.
The friend who sent me the exercises is studying to be a yoga teacher in South Africa and she was worried about me trying too much untutored, but the little she could explain to me via email made a huge difference to my sanity. The friend who helped me with the breathing exercises finds yoga a godsend for the stresses of everyday life, and I still do that breathing now if I get stressed. I remember sitting on the floor with her [a tad the worse for wine] while she showed me how to sit while I breathed. Yoga always makes me think of them. And how kind they were to take the trouble they did.
Any yoga teachers out there fancy it? Please get in touch if you do!
"YOGABEAR is a community of friends - cancer survivors, yogis, health professionals, and volunteers across the nation in the United States. By partnering with local yoga studios, Yoga Bear matches cancer survivors with yoga classes in their community, free of charge. Their collective of studios are providing participants with comfortable surroundings and healthy activity beyond invasive treatments that may take place within the confines of a hospital.
Yoga Bear strives to provide the community with more information about yoga as a complementary treatment in cancer recovery. They do this through workshops, charity yoga classes, blogging and partnering with other wonderful non-profits.
Yoga Bear is a national 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing cancer survivors with more opportunities for wellness and healing through the practice of yoga."
It really would be brilliant if it was done over here in the UK. I've never done Yoga and as you say, cost is an issue.
ReplyDelete