Yoga Bridge® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that provides evidence-based coping strategies to complement medical treatment for cancer and recovery. We offer free and low-cost yoga programs to all people affected by cancer. Students are part of a nurturing community where they find relief from fatigue, muscle weakness, and stress.
In the fall of 2011, Yoga Bridge introduced a unique model of yoga asanas and guided relaxation as a means of supporting those in the healing process of a cancer diagnosis. Yoga classes for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers are small and allow each student to receive attention. These classes are taught by registered yoga teachers, trained specifically by Yoga Bridge to teach yoga for cancer.
Yoga for Cancer Online Classes
Susie Reeves
Co-Founder of Yoga Bridge
Yoga Bridge Yoga for Cancer Teacher and Teacher Trainer MA, E-RYT 500
Most of us have friends and family who have been affected by cancer. We see what they are going through and often feel helpless to do anything. Hopefully this program can be a support on a physical, mental, and emotional level to people who really need it.
Shiva Rea Prana Vinyasa ® and Pre/Post Natal-trained
Completed Oncology Training for Yoga Teachers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, July 2012
Teaching since 2006
Instructor of Prana Vinyasa ® Yoga, Restorative, Pre/Post Natal, Gentle Yoga
Relax and Renew® Certified Instructor w/ Judith Lasater
Shiva Rea Prana Vinyasa ® and Pre/Post Natal-trained
Completed Oncology Training for Yoga Teachers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, July 2012
There has been much talk lately about the benefits of yoga on people undergoing treatment for cancer. Dr. Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., is someone who is at the forefront of actual research into this topic. Dr. Cohen is a professor of General Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. As stated in this article from the MD Anderson web-site, he is currently conducting “a number of NIH-funded randomized controlled clinical trials examining the bio-behavioral effects of contemplative mind-body practices aimed at reducing the negative aspects of cancer treatment and improving quality of life”. These include studies of meditation, Tibetan yoga, and Patanjali-based yoga. He is part of a ground-breaking phase III clinical trial of yoga for women with breast cancer.
So far, the results have been hopeful. From the US National Library of Medicine, this article reports positive results from the effects of yoga on quality of life in women with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy. The patients were interviewed about their levels of fatigue, intrusive thoughts, sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and anxiety before radiotherapy and then again 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the end of the therapy. The results showed that the yoga program was associated with “statistically and clinically significant improvements in aspects of quality of life.”
Leave a Reply