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Practices need to be customised to individual requirements and a good Yoga therapist who specialises in cancer care can help one do this
Instead of trying to push a compromised system to try out strenuous poses, opt for gentler practices. (Pixabay)
Cancer warriors often turn to holistic healing at some point in their journey and Yoga is a popular choice. Not only is it cost-effective, but it also has fewer risks compared to the benefits it offers.
We wrote in the last two weeks about the effectiveness of yoga in cancer and how it can help in nearly every symptom related to cancer and its treatment.
While it has not been proven conclusively that Yoga can help reduce tumour size or increase survival rates, that Yoga therapy can indirectly contribute to increasing the lifespan is common sense. This happens because Yoga helps to a) improve quality of life, making daily living more bearable and palatable, which increases the will to live; and b) increase compliance to the treatment because the practitioner of Yoga is more disciplined, optimistic and determined to fight.
Which practices should cancer patients select? Remember, the treatment can be debilitating and takes its toll on the mind and body. Instead of trying to push a compromised system to try out strenuous poses, opt for gentler practices. Ideally, practices need to be customised to individual requirements and a good Yoga therapist — not any Yoga teacher — who specialises in cancer care, can help you do this. Learn in person first from an experienced teacher or at a Yoga therapy centre — avoid learning from YouTube videos.
Here are three sets of Yoga techniques that studies show are relatively safe and suitable for most cancer patients. Still, always consult your primary healthcare provider before attempting any new treatment, including Yoga therapy.
GENTLE EXERCISES
Also known as Sukshma Vyayam, these help keep the body flexible and fit and ensure circulation. These joint-loosening exercises are coordinated with breathing for the sake of mindfulness and better energy channelling. They include:
• Head and neck movements:
Move your neck first from the centre to the right, with inhalation. Exhaling, return to centre. Repeat on the left side. Similarly, inhaling, move the head up and exhaling lower the chin to touch the chest; exhaling go back up.
• Finger loosening:
Stretch out your arms and spread out the palms, fingers pointing upwards. Now, close the palm slowly, phalange by phalange, and take thumb in and close the fist. Open the fist and slowly spread out the fingers again. Repeat 10 times. Inhale while opening, exhale when closing the palm.
• Wrist loosening:
Make fists of both palms, thumb tucked inside. Move the fists up while inhaling, then down while exhaling. Next, rotate the wrists clockwise and anti-clockwise, 10 times each.
• Elbow loosening:
Extend the arms in front of you with palms facing up. Inhale. Now, bend the elbows and bring the fingers to touch the shoulder while exhaling. While inhaling, bring them back to the original position.
• Shoulder Rotation:
With elbows bent and fingers on the shoulders, make circular motions with the shoulder. Inhale as the elbows come down, exhale as they go up. Do this for 10 rounds clockwise and anti-clockwise.
• Toes bending:
Sit with legs outstretched, toes pointing up. Take wall support to keep the spine straight. Stretch the toes back while inhaling, bend them forward while exhaling. Repeat 10 times.
• Ankle bending:
Sit straight with legs outstretched, toes pointing up. While inhaling, stretch feet back from the ankle joint, then bend them forward while exhaling. After 10 rounds, next, rotate both feet at the ankles (in opposite directions) 10 times.
• Knee bending and rotation:
While sitting, fold the right knee. Clasp the right thigh with the hands around it. Inhaling, lift the lower leg up to a position parallel to the floor. Exhaling, bring it back. Repeat 10 times with each leg.
• Spinal Twist lying down:
Lie down straight and bend the legs at the knees, with feet close to the buttocks. Place both palms under the head with fingers clasped. Inhale.
Exhaling, move both knees together to the right to touch the ground and simultaneously, move your head to the left. Inhaling, return to the centre. Repeat the movement with legs on the left this time, and head to the right. This completes one round. Do five rounds.
Finish this sequence with a relaxation practice like the one given below.
DEEP RELAXATION TECHNIQUE
As the name suggests, this practice helps in deep relaxation of the muscles and the mind. The relaxation to voluntary muscles transfers energy to the involuntary parts, thus increasing their efficiency. As the nervous system and brain get relaxed and energised, it helps reduce various pains, stiffness and other sensations. This exercise brings about an attitudinal change in the patient over a period of time.
The Steps:
1. Lie down in Savasana and completely relax the body, allowing it to collapse on the ground.
2. First, relax the lower body, waist downwards. Relax the toes, the soles, heels, ankles, calf muscles and shin, knees, thighs, pelvic joint, and hips. To deepen the relaxation, take in a deep breath and say aloud a short chant or mantra of your choice, and allow its vibration to spread throughout the lower body.
3. Relax the middle region. Relax the vertebrae of the spine one by one moving upwards, starting with the coccyx, sacral and lumbar regions, and relax all muscles from the lower back right up to the shoulder. Relax the shoulders, upper arms, elbows, forearms, wrists and fingers. Visualise all organs in the abdomen and chest relaxed.
4. To deepen the relaxation, take in a deep breath and while exhaling, repeat the chant or mantra and observe as it resonates throughout the middle body.
5. Now, we relax the neck and head. Move the neck from side to side and find the most comfortable position. Relax the chin, the jaws, the tongue, the roots of the teeth. Relax the nose, the eyeballs, the eyelids, the forehead, ears, and the top and back of the head.
6. To deepen the relaxation, take in a deep breath and while exhaling, repeat the chant loudly and allow its vibration to spread throughout the head region.
7. Deepen the relaxation even further by taking in a deep breath and then, as you exhale, chant the mantra and feel its resonance in the whole body. Feel the stillness.
8. By now, the body is absolutely light. Regular practice leads helps take one to a semi-meditative, very relaxed state.
BREATHING EXERCISES
Do these twice a day for maximum benefit. Allow one hour or more after meals before doing these.
Kapalabhati – This practice helps counter the ‘Chemo brain’ and is generally good for cognitive function. Sit comfortably with the back straight and body relaxed. Contract the abdomen to generate short, forceful exhalations; passive inhalation occurs on its own. Stop after 30 strokes. Repeat two more 30-stroke rounds with pauses between the rounds. Do not exceed your capacity, and stop if tired.
Note: People with heart disease and eye issues can instead do a shallow version of Kapalabhati, contracting only the nostrils.
Diaphragmatic Breathing – A practice that increases oxygen in the body and brain. It aids digestion and can also help counter nausea.
Lie down or sit on a chair with back straight. Keep one hand on the abdomen. Inhale gently, deeply and watch the abdomen slowly bulge; exhale completely and watch it deflate. During the practice, keep your mind on the abdomen. Inhalations must be slow, continuous and smooth; exhalation should be non-jerky and complete.
Anulom-Vilom – Balances energy and is beneficial for almost all systems of the body.
Adopt Nasika Mudra with the right hand (index and middle fingers are folded to touch the palm; the thumb, ring and little finger stay up). Block the right nostril with the thumb. Inhale deeply through the left nostril, then blocking the left nostril with the two fingers, release the breath through the right nostril. Next, inhale through the right nostril; immediately block it, and exhale through the left nostril. This completes one round. Do five rounds. As you breathe in and out, observe the air as it travels in your body — into the nostrils, down the throat, trachea, bronchi and lungs; then back from the lungs, trachea, throat and out of the nose.
Sitali Pranayama – A cooling pranayama that induces calmness and tranquillity and can counter the heat generated by cancer-treatment therapies. It helps release tensions in both the muscles and mind.
Sit comfortably with hands placed lightly on the knees or thighs. Stretch out the tongue and roll it into a tube. Suck in air through the tube slowly and smoothly. Then close the mouth and exhale through the nostrils. Do five rounds of this practice.
Note: Avoid Sitali in case you have low BP or any kind of respiratory troubles.
Bhramari Pranayama (Humming or Bee breath) – Good for the immune system, energises, relaxes, helps silence the mind.
Place your tongue lightly on your upper palate, close to the teeth. Take a deep breath and exhale, producing the `nnn’ sound in a low pitch. Feel the reverberations and massaging effect in the head and body. Do seven rounds of this technique.
The author is a journalist, cancer survivor and certified yoga teacher. She can be reached at swatikamal@gmail.com.
