Yoga Therapy is a 4,000 year old complementary healing modality that uses gentle body movement, breathing techniques and progressive relaxation practices to bring all the body systems into a synchronistic bio-rhythm that has been proven to engender healing.
Science has recently taken a good hard look at the healing properties of yoga in regard to many different conditions. Back pain, anxiety, depression heart disease and cancer are all areas in which therapeutic yoga has been proven to be healing and curative.
In published studies cancer patients who participated in therapeutic yoga practice on an on-going basis reported less anxiety and depression, lessened fatigue, improved sleep, improved physical strength, decreased treatment side effects, a favorable immune response, decreased DNA damage at the end of radiotherapy, more favorable post operative outcomes, physical and mental invigoration, empowerment and improved coping skills.
If this kind of complementary medicine came in a pill form we’d probably line up to take it!
Why is yoga so helpful on the path of cancer recovery? There are a myriad of reasons, some known, some are still not completely understood. Let’s take a look at 3 top reasons why yoga therapy is a wonderful complementary modality to cancer treatment and recovery.
Stress reduction
Stress has been scientifically proven to decrease immunity and increase inflammation.
Immune cells help control malignant cells as they form in the body. Prolonged stress can diminish the immune system response to cancer cells because when we are stressed our immune system is busy looking outward for the imminent danger – like a tiger – rather than looking inside for a cancer or virus. It’s as if immune system prioritizes to help us escape and recover from the tiger attack first, then tend to the inner terrain second.
In preparation for the tiger attack the body is sending more blood flow to the arms and legs to prepare to run or fight and shunting it off from the organs and other non immediately necessary systems, including hormones, digestion and reproduction.
It also is readying the body with global inflammation which will help to heal cuts and tears should we be bitten and scratched.
This is great – if we’re being attacked by a tiger. But generally our everyday stress has little to do with a life-threatening animal attack. Because many of us are under constant stress this imbalance of our immune, circulatory, digestive, reproductive and hormonal systems has become chronic and can be fertile ground for cancer to form and flourish.
In recent years inflammation has come under medical scrutiny for its unique role in supporting the growth of cancerous tumors. One of the most important things that therapeutic yoga practice offers cancer patients is the “Relaxation Response”. This physiological state of harmony reverses the stress response. It stops the production of hormones and chemicals in the body that produce inflammation, reduces muscular tension and pain levels, returns blood flow to the organs and balances the body systems. Importantly it also bolsters the right kind of immune response helping the body to better fight the cancer cells.
Increased circulation
The heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood a day through 60,000 miles of blood vessels which weave throughout muscle tissue, organs and bones. The blood is the body’s delivery system of oxygen and nutrients to all the cells. When fatigue makes us more sedentary and the muscles get painful and stiff the tightness can make it harder for the heart to pump blood to all the areas that need nourishment.
The lack of oxygen and nutrients increases the fatigue and pain levels and the body gets even stiffer in a vicious circle.
Therapeutic yoga practice moves every joint with gentle motion. This helps to engender greater blood flow to the bodily tissues which in turn provides greater oxygenation and nourishment to the cells. When the cells are nourished they feel better and heal better. Adding even the gentlest amount of movement, like wiggling fingers and rotating wrists and ankles helps increase circulation.
Movement also provides relief for the heart muscle. Skeletal muscular movement acts as second pump for the circulatory system and takes pressure off the heart; this can reduce the incidence of heart disease and reduce fatigue. When movement is coordinated with breathing, as it is in yoga practice, the body finds a more harmonious bio-rhythm heightening these results.
Both the yogic and Chinese forms for complementary medicine ascribe to the theory that stuck and stagnant life force in the body (Prana and Qi respectively) can contribute to disease and moving that life force, through yoga, qi gong and acupuncture, can facilitate healing on a very deep and profound level.
Lymph drainage
If the circulatory system is the main food delivery system for the cells, the lymphatic system is largely the clean up crew. The body has a large system of lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes. Within the system flows a clear watery fluid called lymph. These are all part of the body’s immune system and play a big role in fighting invaders, filtering out unwanted cells and riding the body of toxins. Since cancer treatment involves ingesting a large amount of necessary toxins a healthy lymphatic system is very beneficial to the healing process.
Unlike the circulatory system the lymphatic system has no pump of its own. Muscular movement is necessary for the movement of the lymph fluid. Stuck lymph fluid means stuck toxins in the body and can create swelling of the lymph nodes and ultimately a condition called lymphedema.
Yoga practice offers specific movements and poses which help move the lymph fluid and support a healthy immune system.
According to yogic philosophy moving toxins out of the body is even more important than bringing nutrients in. The belief is that if the body is filled with toxins then the life force becomes blocked and stagnant allowing disease to ensue. Yoga movements help remove the toxins so the life force can move freely. Then there is room for nutrients to enter and healing can occur.
These are only three of the great benefits that yoga therapy can provide someone going through cancer treatment and recovery. New studies examining how yoga therapy can aid the body in healing and preventing disease are regularly conducted and published. As a Yoga Therapist I am always encouraged by these new studies but I am never surprised by their positive findings. Yoga wouldn’t have lasted 4,000 years if it didn’t work!