Yoga

Review
Gentle Yoga for Breast Cancer Survivors - The video's creator, yoga teacher and breast cancer survivor Esther Myers, takes a group of students, also breast cancer survivors, through a yoga practice designed to help in the recuperative process.

2001

What is it?
An hour's worth of Yoga led by yoga teacher and breast cancer survivor Esther Myers.
Who is it for?
Women in the early stages of breast cancer recovery - after surgery, and during or after chemo or radiation. Even those who have no previous Yoga experience can do this video.
What to expect:
Breast cancer is one of the most emotionally and physically devastating diseases that can impact a woman's life, and only those who have gone through it themselves can truly understand the ravages it causes. That's one of the reasons this video is so special - Esther Myers had been a longtime Yoga teacher and was living what seemed to be a healthy lifestyle when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. After her mastectomy, she had to figure out how to regain her strength and range of movement. Her journey led her to develop a Yoga program for breast cancer patients at the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Many of the exercises she teaches are in this video. Myers leads a class of breast cancer survivors - all very real women, not models - through eight short segments, lasting around 6 to 8 minutes a piece (this way a practitioner can do as much - or as little - as her body will allow). There is a strong focus on arm stretches in a couple of segments (both for mobility and to reduce swelling), and a lot of relaxation. There are basic yoga stretches, including twists, Cat and Dog and a modified Warrior Pose. Myers' instruction is very straightforward, along with being supportive and - best of all - non-condescending. Her approach towards her own illness is very matter-of-fact. There's a ten-minute relaxation at the end, during which she talks a little bit about her own efforts at seeing herself as whole again. This is a very life-affirming tape which will make an excellent supplement to any breast cancer patient's recovery program.

The Esther Myers' Yoga Studio

For every eight women who live to an advanced age, one faces breast cancer in her lifetime.¹ By providing methods of early detection (mammography and clinical breast examination), you--the health care practitioner--are doing all you can to reduce the likelihood that women will die of the disease. Yet most of our medical advances have not touched on the psychosocial and spiritual needs of women who are trying to heal themselves after having breast cancer.

Susan Rosen, a breast cancer survivor and yoga instructor at Kaiser Permanente's Positive Choice Wellness Center in San Diego, has created a special video, "Yoga and the Gentle Art of Healing: A Journey of Recovery After Breast Cancer." This video helps women heal after breast cancer surgery or after radiation treatment. Rosen presents yoga in a nurturing and supportive way; women need not bend like pretzels or be in particularly good physical condition to benefit from using this video.

Rosen starts by briefly sharing her own story of discovering yoga 14 years ago, when she was seeking relief from shoulder pain. After she had studied yoga for many years and become a yoga teacher, breast cancer was diagnosed. After giving her personal introduction, Rosen gently and clearly guides participants through various yoga poses.

The video is organized into various types of poses to enable each woman to easily choose exercises for which she feels ready. Each section of poses (including gentle wall poses, chair poses, floor poses, and relaxation) opens with information on what a woman needs for assuming the pose. Rosen is practical, using blankets and items found easily in the home. Her instructions are delivered in a tranquil, reassuring voice while soft music plays in the background to add a sense of being nurtured. The poses are simple and soothing, allowing a woman who may have postsurgical pain to begin the process of emotional and physical healing. For example, one pose begins with lying on the back with arms extended out to the sides and gently supported on blankets. This pose opens the chest area, aids circulation, and relaxes the body.

The day I reviewed this video, a dear friend of mine, Jane, was starting radiation therapy after having surgery for breast cancer. I gave Jane the video, hoping that it would be useful to her.

The timing was perfect: Jane was very glad to have the support. Here is the letter she wrote me several weeks later:

Through her own experience, Rosen shows that yoga practiced after breast cancer surgery or treatment:

The video "Yoga and the Gentle Art of Healing, A Journey of Recovery After Breast Cancer" is professionally done and has a running time of 43 minutes. Easy to follow, the video offers women a chance at physical, mental, and spiritual healing after surgery and treatment. Ms Rosen provides excellent instruction and support and speaks directly from her own survival experience. Health care practitioners would be well advised to share this video with patients, friends, or family members who are facing breast cancer. They will find support, and their healing journey will be enhanced by the physical and mental renewal they gain through using the video.