World Cancer Day will take place for the 4 Feb, 2025 The motto of the International Federation Against Cancer (UICC) is “Closing the gap in care”. We want to look at why yoga is becoming increasingly important as a complementary medical procedure in cancer therapy. Why is the holistic view of body and mind so beneficial in this difficult phase of life? And what can yoga really achieve?
Yoga and cancer. “Can’t you call it something else?” With these words, a visitor stopped in front of my stand at the YOGA WORLD trade fair in Munich. At a yoga trade fair where everything revolves around exercise, relaxation, being healthy, good nutrition and spirituality, where great teachers teach and an incredibly positive energy prevails, the word “cancer” doesn’t really fit in at first. It’s a shock. The reaction of the trade fair visitor shows that the disease is still a taboo subject. But for people who have or have had cancer, it is not a taboo, but reality.
Empowerment: Take good care of yourself
In view of all these difficulties, one thing is of paramount importance: taking good care of yourself. Yoga can be a way to actively contribute to feeling better. Yoga therapy “empowers” us because here we can act instead of just being “treated”. Being able to take good care of myself requires that I first know what I actually need and what is good for me. That sounds simple, but it isn’t. Many people are far from properly perceiving their own wants and needs . Job, family, and a jam-packed schedule leave us little space to feel what we really need. Through yoga and meditation we learn to direct our attention from the outside to the inside.
During or after cancer, this can mean that I consciously
perceive how I am feeling at the moment. Where is my breath going , how does my
body feel today? Do I have a lot of energy or little energy? Am I afraid, in pain?
What would be good for me right now? The approach in our yoga and cancer classes is
always positive. That doesn’t mean that everything is good. It means accepting the situation, the current state, as it is right now, with everything that is there – even if it doesn’t feel good.
Sometimes that doesn’t work either. Then it’s enough to accept that you can’t accept the situation right now. Maybe you can at least agree internally that it is just the way it is. From there we look further: What’s possible today? Which asanas support me with their effect on body and soul? Where can I make my body more flexible again after surgery? Which chakra should I strengthen and which pranayama will help me to feel better today?
The good thing is: yoga
always works. Even if asana practice
is not possible during the acute treatment phase, we can use energetic exercises and gentle pranayama to positively influence the autonomic nervous system, gain new strength and get prana – the life energy – flowing again.
Less is more
A yoga practice that allows for a lot of sensing is particularly helpful during chemotherapy and radiation, for example through mindful, flowing movements with which we give the body just a small impulse. We therefore let go of the usual performance mentality even more consciously than we do in yoga anyway, and try to create a loving and benevolent attitude towards ourselves. This enables us to accept that our body and soul now need something completely different to what we are used to.
In this case, self-care does not mean something “to do”, but rather a loving look at yourself. In this way, yoga is possible in every phase of therapy, even if your own body feels foreign, and even with a port or stoma. For example, if the child’s pose and deep forward bends are no longer suitable, there are other asanas with which we can achieve the same effect. In order to gain new energy, it is helpful to work with the 3rd chakra . Heart openers create more confidence and space for breathing, especially after long periods of treatment and physical inactivity.
Gentle fascia work can make scar tissue more flexible after operations such as tumor or lymph node removal and prevent tumor growth again. As soon as the physical situation allows it, you can regain your strength and practice grounding and strengthening asanas such as standing positions and warrior variations. This builds muscles, lets us feel our own inner strength, gives us courage and helps us to endure necessary treatments. By stimulating the cardiovascular system, organs are supplied with more oxygen and active substances are transported better to the periphery. This also increases the success of therapy through yoga.
And even in a palliative situation, when the cancer has been classified as incurable, it is possible to find greater well-being, more inner strength and even more joy through meditation, mudras and mantras. Anyone can do yoga!
There is always a reason to smile
Perceiving yourself well also means being aware of your own thoughts. A positive world of thoughts creates confidence and directs our attention to what is still good. Consciously perceiving beautiful things – a smile, a good conversation with a friend, a loving gesture from a partner – all of this changes our perspective. Energy follows attention, yogis have known this for a long time. Gratitude for what is there brings more of it into our lives. Positive affirmations and small gratitude exercises give us good feelings and bring us into a higher vibration. This allows healing processes to run more smoothly.
Neuroscience shows that mental work leads to changes on the outside. Positive affirmations, working with inner images and firm intentions create new neural connections in the brain, which in turn sends new signals to the body. Meditation alone can increase the number of B and T cells, important defense cells in the blood. Regular meditation increases our resilience, creates deep inner peace and enables the body to activate its self-healing powers.
Healing powers
“Can yoga and meditation cure cancer?” I cannot and may not answer this question, but I know that yoga has everything it takes to relieve symptoms, mobilise our self-healing powers and promote the healthy parts of us. Healing – becoming whole again, being whole again – can also happen when we let go . For example, false expectations of others, but also of ourselves. Do we really always have to have everything under control, always be approachable and take care of everything? Good self-care here also means recognizing what I really want: What do I need? How can I get it? What nourishes me? What am I here for, what is my dharma?
Old beliefs often play a role here. “I can’t…!” “I’m not allowed to…” “I have to…” Sentences that we internalized early in childhood and that sometimes prevent us as adults from doing what is good for us. Recognizing and letting go of these beliefs helps us to find our own path, a path that makes us happy and corresponds to our innermost being. Forgiving – others and ourselves – letting go of feelings of guilt and resentment can also help us to be whole again, healed again.
Active side effect management
Conventional medicine has also recognized the potential of yoga. What yogis and yoginis have always observed subjectively is now also scientifically proven. A large number of studies have shown that typical side effects of cancer therapies can be effectively alleviated with yoga, including lymphedema, pain, neuropathies, anxiety, symptoms of depression and sleep disorders. In 2019, the American Cancer Society summarized a series of randomized control studies. The results were striking: yoga had a positive effect on the quality of life of cancer patients both during and after therapies.
Read also: The 4-7-8 breathing technique against anxiety and sleep disorders
The results are particularly impressive for fatigue syndrome, a severe exhaustion syndrome that affects every second cancer patient. At this year’s German Cancer Congress, yoga was even named as the most effective way to alleviate fatigue syndrome, ahead of all other medical interventions. The data is now so convincing that yoga and meditation were included in the official guidelines of the SIO (Society for Integrative Oncology) in 2018 and are thus officially recommended worldwide as an accompanying procedure in breast cancer therapy.
In Germany, too, more and more clinics and practices are implementing yoga into their offerings, enabling their patients to actively manage side effects and receive holistic treatment. Yoga teachers who are specially trained in oncology can offer special support. They have in-depth knowledge of cancer, modern therapies and typical side effects and can create suitable yoga sequences. Not every asana is suitable for people with cancer experience; some can have undesirable consequences, for example in the case of metastases.
In Germany and Austria, a network of yoga and cancer teachers has now emerged whose commitment goes far beyond the usual yoga classes and who work for people with cancer experiences in yoga studios, clinics, patient organizations, etc. They are the experts in accompanying the body and soul on the path to healing, creating a safe space, inspiring their yoga students and showing them the way to more self-love and love. Because that is what really counts.
Practice and self-efficacy
Yoga gets us into action and gives us the opportunity to help shape the recovery process and take an active role in it. In order to use the power of yoga, it is a good idea to establish a regular yoga practice of your own. Going to the mat every day can carry us through the time of illness. Being aware of yourself – even if it is only for 5 minutes – should be an integral part of your daily routine during this time. Gentle pranayama and simple asanas are used to increase mobility and strengthen the immune system, release blockages and tension and stimulate the flow of energy. You can find a simple exercise sequence here: Yoga and cancer – exercises to strengthen the immune system
Read more: Outdoor Yoga: 5 tips for practicing outdoors
