While I have been fortunate that I have not had breast cancer, I do have an autonomic illness that significantly impacts my life. Like women with breast cancer, I am no stranger to doctors, hospitals, clinical trials, and just about anything else I have come across with any chance of making me feel better. More often than not, I am told I will never get better. At forty-three, I was told my life expectancy was about seven years. That was almost twenty years ago.

When I had exhausted everything western medicine had to offer, I decided to look toward a mind – body – spirit approach. I did an online search and I was amazed at how much new research existed that scientifically proved that yoga and meditation make a measurable difference in the quality of life and survival rate for anyone with a chronic, potentially life threatening illness.

Here is some of what I learned…

• As many as 80% of breast cancer patients now choose alternative treatments to augment what Western medicine has to offer.
• When women are initially diagnosed with breast cancer, it is more likely than not they will experience stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia and/or fatigue. Exciting new research consistently finds that yoga, meditation and relaxation with imagery have the biggest impact on these symptoms.
• Women who practice yoga and meditation report having less pain, fewer hot flashes and improved strength and body image.

The findings of these studies are so conclusive that more and more breast cancer medical providers are adding yoga and meditation to patient treatment plans.

So how do yoga and meditation work to not only make women feel better, but actually get better?

These practices date back at least three thousand years. Simply put, when you are either practicing yoga or meditating, you are clearing your mind of clutter because all your attention focuses on your breath. Breast cancer patients can’t help being fixated on all the ‘what ifs’ over which they have no control. What if I lose all my hair? What if I am too tired to go to work? What if I can’t take care of my kids? What if I can’t stop throwing up? What if I can’t pay my bills? What will happen if I die?

Meditation and yoga clear your mind of all the negative thoughts that try to take over. If you are trying to bend like a pretzel while doing yoga or becoming aware of your breathing and heartfelt intention while meditating, you are changing the conversation in your head. Once you change you intentions, you will change how you think. Finally, you will actually change how you feel both physically and emotionally.

All this may be intimidating at first, but it is unconditionally worth the effort. It’s okay to take baby steps. I thought my first yoga class was a total disaster. I fell at least a dozen times while trying to get into a pose. I could barely touch my toes when my more experienced classmates could put their entire palms on the floor. About halfway through the class, I concluded it was not for me. Then, something happened. I left the class feeling lighter and calmer. I felt a kind of serenity I had never felt before. That one class changed the way I felt both in my mind and in my body. It wasn’t a cure. It was a life changing experience that I believe is universal.

It is more likely than not that everyone in my class felt the same as I did in the beginning. Still, they kept coming back because it shifted much of the negativity they were experiencing, a little at a time. Best of all, yoga programs can be modified to help restore mobility and strength after breast cancer surgery and during radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

You can’t change what once was, or what might happen some day, so why not choose to just be?

This is such a simple idea to contemplate, and such a difficult thing to practice. You will never be flooded with uncontrolled negative thoughts and emotions if you stay in the present. Instead of holding on to pain and suffering, you can let it pass through you. Sadness in itself just is. Sadness with fear and regret will eventually eat you alive.

When you think about it, yoga is just the physical manifestation of meditation. These practices have been scientifically proven to create a calming effect on breast cancer patients which, in turn, boosts their immunity. So, you can actually do something that makes you feel better in the moment, and also has a measurable impact on destroying cancer cells.

No one has to tell you that when you are battling breast cancer, some days are way better than others. That said, depending on how you are feeling, you can practice yoga or mediation in your own way in your own time. Soon, you will be able to meditate effortlessly so that you can just be – one brilliant moment at a time.

Namaste,

Susanna

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