Yoga For Cancer Patients
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells. The cancer patients suffer from different health issues which include the symptoms of the disease, debilitating fatigue and the discomforts due to the treatment. This prolonged battle with cancer brings problems of mental discomforts and depressions too. However, yoga acts as a ray of sunlight and is effective both during the course of the treatment and also after it. Yoga is practiced to improve physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health.
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| Yoga For Cancer Patients |
Cancer patients and survivors could make their bodies strong by practicing specific poses of yoga. Participants are taught about cancer and the process of its diagnosis, treatment, and management, which include its side effects for different cancer. The classes for cancer patients highlight the biology of yoga and its implication is discussed for overall health. Innovative researches are undertaken for using yoga as the path to manage the symptoms. Many yoga classes are operated within the environment of hospital settings. These classes provide posture demonstrations for outpatients and inpatients to minimize their physical and mental discomforts. Symptoms of insomnia, pain, and fatigue could lower the quality of life of people living with cancer. In many studies, recently, the use of yoga has been evaluated to look for cancer symptoms.
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| Yoga For Cancer Patients |
Research has shown that gentle yoga poses bring about numerous positive results. Some of the benefits include:
Rectification in Sleep and Insomnia:
Yoga helps patients of cancer who find it difficult to fall asleep or remain asleep for a long time. It has been found that insomnia could be dangerous for cancer patients as it increases fatigue and reduces the quality of life and it may play an important role in survival. Hence, regular practices of yoga take care of insomnia and also help the patients to sleep heavily for the required time and not oversleep.
Getting Rid of Toxins:
The cancer patients accumulate heavy toxins into their bodies due to chemotherapy. Yoga poses help the practitioners to get rid of these toxins. Yoga 'asanas' increase the blood flow, stimulate the muscles and balance the glands. This assists in the internal purification of the body. Moreover, the breathing exercises enable higher oxygen-rich blood to flow through the system, thereby energizing the cells and providing them with necessary nutrients.
Dealing with Fatigue:
In a few recent studies, yoga has been found to be significantly helpful in decreasing fatigue which was related to cancer treatment.
Controlling Anxiety:
Yoga helps in reducing anxiety through breathing practices and centering activities.
Taking Care of Loss of Appetite:
In certain cases the loss of appetite is accompanied by cancer. Here yoga helps in increasing the appetite.
Giving Pain Relief:
Yoga helps in giving relief from the pain to cancer patients. Here yoga is used along with the pain medications to bring a higher amount of relief.
Managing Stress:
Yoga has been effective in stress reduction for cancer patients. In some studies yoga has been found to have lowered the level of blood cortisol in patients of breast cancer. Cortisol is such a hormone that is secreted during stress and helps in the progression of cancer.
Managing Emotional Distress:
Individual cancer patients who include yoga in their daily routine reported reduction in emotional distress which was related to their disease.
Other Physical Benefits:
Yoga improves flexibility, muscle tone, balance, and strength, all of which is compromised when undergoing surgery or prolonged bed rest because of cancer treatment. Moreover, yoga boosts the immune system and encompasses the practitioner in a feeling of wellbeing.
Possible Survival Benefits:
An association which is based on studies found a possible benefit of survival for some cancer patients who were associated with yoga. Another study found women with metastatic breast cancer with flattened cortisol had a lower rate of survival. Most people have highest cortisol level in the morning with a slowly decreasing rate throughout the day. A random controlled study of women with stage 0 to stage 3 with measured cortisol level found that when the group practiced yoga three times a week for about 60 minutes (either individually with the help of a yoga instructor or in a group), they experienced a steep decline in the levels of cortisol through the day compared to the control group who did not have any yoga instructor. As with women's participation in yoga, the steeper decline in the cortisol curve was recorded. Hence, it can safely be said that yoga is helpful in improving the survival of patients with breast cancer.
A Suitable Exercise:
Exercise is essential for everyone to maintain good mental and physical health. However, yoga patients or recovering yoga survivors usually lack the strength to engage in any sort of activity. Here, yoga is beneficial by providing a whole-body exercise.
It should be noted that these are merely the benefits of yoga in relation to the improvement in symptoms of cancer. Therefore, yoga should not be considered as the sole treatment of cancer. Yoga must be used in an integrating fashion, i.e. as an alternative system that helps the individual to cope with the symptoms.
It is advice that before applying above Yoga / Physical Exercises, patient have to consult to the Doctor.
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