Yoga & Yoga Therapy for every step of the cancer challenge
Evi Dimitriadou is a C-IAYT Yoga Therapist, Yoga Therapy Educator and founder of Yoga Therapy Greece
Cancer and Cancer treatment-related side effects
Cancer patients and survivors not only experience the disease, but they also suffer from cancer treatment side effects that may last for years after treatment completion. Finding effective ways to manage cancer treatment-related side effects is among the highest clinical research priorities at the National Cancer Institute and Yoga seems to be able to support this goal (Lihn et al., 2018).
Yoga and Yoga Therapy
Yoga is an ancient mind and body intervention, that promotes and maintains physical and mental wellness through the use of postures, breathing techniques and guided relaxation or meditation.
Yoga Therapy, the person-centred, personalized application of yoga takes into account the bio-energetic-psycho-socio-spiritual condition of the individual and is given as prevention, therapy and palliative care in 1-2-1 basis and in specific groups, by Yoga Therapists who quite often are also health professionals such as psychologists, physiotherapists, nurses or doctors.
Yoga Therapy is the clinical application of the principles and practices of yoga, promoting health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship that includes personalized assessment, goal setting, lifestyle management, and yoga practices for individuals or small groups, according to the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT, 2020).
Both Yoga and Yoga Therapy work in alignment with BSIO’s major goals of enhancing better quality of life, improving resilience, supporting individuals for better treatment tolerance and offering better management of cancer treatment side effects.
The needs and the Yoga tools of each step of the cancer challenge
Both Yoga and Yoga Therapy can address the different needs that cancer patients experience during the different treatments. Knowing the needs of individual cancer patients, the common side effects of treatments but also how each Yoga tool works for these specific needs, is imperative for the safe and effective integration of Yoga into the cancer therapeutic toolkit.
Cancer diagnosis brings high levels of anxiety which can affect the breathing pattern in patients. Breath awareness, breathing practices that enhance slow breathing (Russo et al., 2017) and guided relaxation (Hadjibalassi et al., 2018), have positive effects on the sympathetic nervous system, on the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and on stress reduction.
Cancer surgery causes pain, stiffness, fibrosis and occasionally lymphedema. Before and after an operation, guided meditation/body scan/Yoga nidra enhance relaxation, lower anxiety levels and pain perception, especially when combined with mild movements as in the case of breast cancer (Kovacik and Kovacik, 2011).
Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy and Endocrine therapies are highly related with nausea, peripheral neuropathies, musculoskeletal pains and aches, cardiotoxicity, reduced cardiorespiratory fitness and tendency for hyperventilation, as well as ‘brain fog’ due to diminished neurogenesis (Dias et al, 2014). In addition, artificially induced menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, insomnia, fatigue, depression and anxiety as well as long-term bone effects such as osteopenia and osteoporosis, are all possible. Yoga is effective in managing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and can reduce fall risk (Bao et al, 2020), musculoskeletal pain (Peppone et al, 2015), cardiotoxicity (Kang et al, 2021), brain fog and cognitive impairment (Janelsins et al, 2016), hot flashes (Cramer et al, 2015), insomnia (Mustian, 2013), fatigue (Linh et al, 2019), anxiety and depression (Gonzalez et al, 2021) as well as osteoporosis (Lu et al, 2016). Yoga can also reduce inflammatory biomarkers in people with chronic conditions (Djalilova et al, 2018) and in breast cancer survivors (Kiecolt-Glaser et al, 2014).
In summary, cancer diagnosis and treatment can cause many and significant side effects, but most of them can be managed or even reversed with appropriate lifestyle interventions such as being physically active and managing stress levels well, goals that are fully supported by Yoga and Yoga therapy.
The Author
Evi Dimitriadou, is a C-IAYT Yoga Therapist, Yoga Therapy Educator and founder of Yoga Therapy Greece, which gives internationally IAYT Accredited Yoga Therapy Training. She is also a physiotherapist and is currently doing a master’s degree in Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College, London.
For more information, please visit her website www.yogatherapygreece.com