Monday, April 9, 2012

Yoga and Cancer


If you have been diagnosed with cancer such as mesothelioma, you are probably experiencing a wide range of emotions. Treatment for cancer can lead to depression and fatigue due to the drugs that are involved with the healing process. Yoga is an exercise that has been proven to help cancer patients live better lives while they are undergoing treatment and recovery. Consider these reasons why yoga might be the perfect exercise solution for you.

Yoga can improve your sleep while you are going through treatment. This is due in part to the activity that doing yoga regularly provides, which automatically makes you feel more tired. Yoga also offers mind and body benefits that lead to a deeper ability to let go of stress and relax. Many times cancer patients do not sleep well because they are worried about their disease. Doing yoga allows you the ability to free your mind when you want to.

Doing yoga during your treatment can also help decrease fatigue. This might have something to do with sleeping better, but it also relates to the meditative benefits of yoga that have been proven time and time again. Yoga forces people to slow down and be more mindful, which can be an extremely refreshing experience. Being more focused in your everyday life can help you feel less tired overall.

Another benefit of yoga during cancer treatment is an improved quality of life. This makes sense because you are sleeping better and experiencing less fatigue during your awake hours. Having more energy is a good way to feel better overall. As your energy levels improve you can spend more time doing things that you enjoy, such as spending time with family or going out of your house for various purposes. This is a huge difference between staying home all of the time and feeling depressed.

Yoga can also help reduce some forms of pain that are present during cancer treatment. Stretching and deep breathing cause natural endorphins to circulate within the body. Endorphins are the body’s natural pain relievers, and yoga helps bring them forth. Any type of exercise will do this, but it applies to yoga as well.

An interesting effect that yoga has on cancer patients is a more positive body image. The practice of yoga is all about compassion and acceptance. Once a person has been practicing this for some time, he or she will be able to apply the principles to his or herself. If you feel ugly because you have lost hair or weight, yoga can help you conquer those feelings so that you realize that you are worth much more than that. This improved self image makes you feel and act more confidently in your own skin. 
 
Article courtesy of David Haas. For more related articles you can view his blog 
at: http://haasblaag.blogspot.com/

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