My Experience with Yoga & Cancer

Garima with her twins.

by

Kamini Bobde

Read about my second experience of amazing results of managing cancer treatment issues through yoga.

Yet again, for me as a yoga teacher, it is experiential knowledge of how in today's life-style related health problems, it is the subtle practices of Yoga that are the need of the day. But, unfortunately, people think that unless they have sweated and exerted, they have not done yoga. But, the world's understanding of yoga is approaching a curve, which will be next explosion of the understanding of yet deeper levels of Yoga.
The purpose of yoga being liberation of the soul, it is not surprising that people are finding its stupendous benefits in resolving lesser issues of life like physical and mental problems.  

 Garima called me up middle of April this year. I was listening to her request for an individual yoga class, when she mentioned the dreaded word, cancer. She said she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She had undergone surgery and had now finished two sessions of chemotherapy.
 "Can I do yoga? Will it help?", she asked. Every word heavy with expectation.

I had had amazing results with yoga & cancer for my own brother, Ram, whose blood platelet levels were not coming back to normal even several years after the chemotherapy. ( Read "Cancer & Yoga: My experience". in this blog, 25/8/2015).

Therefore, with complete confidence, I told her we will start sessions as soon as her doctor gives her the green signal to do Yoga even at such earlier stages of chemotherapy.

Her doctors at the Tata Memorial having approved, we started her classes before her third chemotherapy. Garima told me she will be taking 20 chemos and what was fortnightly now will become weekly from May end. So far she has finished 14 sessions, and 6 more chemo are still to be administered.

The Yoga sessions:

When I first met her and her husband, Dev, who was visibly under great stress and anxiety, Garima, besides loss of hair, was having nausea, vomiting, high acidity problems, and sleep disorder, etc. Her hands and feet had blackened. Dev said, she may not be able to any vigorous yoga, as she was suffering from lack of energy and tiredness. Maybe some 15-20 minutes of pranayama & meditation is all she will be able to do, he said.

Anyway, we started her Yoga. Initially, I started gingerly with just limbering up asanas, Pawan Mukta asana series to gauge her overall condition. But, from the beginning I resorted heavily to the simple, relaxing but amongst the most powerful practices of Shavasana, Yoga nidra and Prana vidya.

These three practices set the substratum for her well-being. This backed by a slow progression of asanas and pranayama started showing several heartening trends.

Gradually,  there was distinctive change in Garima's physical,mental and emotional state. Also, the positive physical manifestation of the benefits of her daily yoga gave her tremendous confidence and hope. Positive physical changes could be seen in the disappearance of the discolouration (darkened) hand & feet, better energy levels, and longer and deeper sleep. Her gastro intestinal issues also disappeared. She started to go out occasionally for a movie or to eat out.

Garima goes to the hospital for check up on Monday and Tuesday is her chemo day. Earlier, she would be too tired or bogged down with side effects till wednesday. But, today on check up days and on chemo days, she is well enough to take her yoga class in the evening, even though the chemo sessions have now become weekly.

Within two weeks, her yoga had progressed to better than many normal healthy people. In fact, surya namaskar become part of her practice quite early on.

As with Asha, who had partial kidney failure ( Read in this blog, "Damaged kidney repair thro Yoga", March3, 2015), I have found Shav asana, Yoga nidra and Prana vidya practice coupled with Pranayama reverses the irreversible.

I talked to her Doctor to understand the side effects the chemos will be having so that we can program her practice accordingly to counter-balance the side effects. Dr. Aseem Jain, Oncologist, told me on phone that her initial 4 chemos affected her gastrointestinal system. At present she is taking Textol chemos which causes netropenia, that is, lowering of white blood cells, peripheral neuropathy, numbness & tingling in hands & legs, pain in joints & muscles and fall in blood platelet levels with its attendant problems of low energy, low immunity, etc.

As of now, Garima is having a little pain & discomfort in her left leg. Otherwise all other parameters are good. Her yoga is still going fine.
It is to Garima's credit, that she has taken the challenge head on, gives herself fully to the yoga practice, and is full of curiosity to understand the subtle nuances of Yoga.

Yet again, for me as a yoga teacher, it is experiential knowledge of how in today's life-style related health problems, it is the subtle practices of Yoga that are the need of the day. But, unfortunately, people feel that unless they have sweated and exerted, they don't feel like they have  done yoga. But, the world's understanding of yoga is approaching a curve, which will be next explosion of the understanding of yet deeper levels of Yoga.
The purpose of yoga being liberation of the soul, it is not surprising that people are finding its stupendous benefits in resolving lesser issues of life like physical and mental problems.
Hari Om Tat Sat!!