A while back I told you about yogaHOPE, a non-profit organization that offers yoga classes to women in recovery. They believe that yoga can produce positive motivational change in people by helping them to regain their personal strength, and I completely agree.
Doctors at the MD Anderson Cancer Center also feel that it can help patients battling cancer. Dr. Maria Jorgenson and yoga instructor Michael Moritz are working on researching the benefits of Tibetan yoga in helping patients to relieve the side effects of cancer treatments.
Cancer patients who suffer from severe pain, fatigue, and mental stress can use yoga to calm their nerves and empower their souls. In their weekly classes, they practice breathing exercises that can help them get though times when they are suffering great pain or feelings of discomfort. Patients try to eliminate the negative thoughts they have about cancer and being sick, so they can then concentrate their energy on healing.
We can all benefits from the calming effects of yoga, from both the poses and the breath work. Yoga - it encompasses so much more than just the physical body - it's a way to heal, stretch, and strengthen your emotional self too.
I think that is fantastic. I wonder if it would have helped my mom when she was going through all of her treatments.