Yoga for cancer patients, Guildford

A US study has shown that practising yoga helps breast cancer survivors.

The findings showed that by doing the exercise for as little as three months after going through the treatment process, fatigue was cut by 57%. Women felt more energised and inflammation was also reduced.  This promising breakthrough could benefit others, not just those suffering with breast cancer.

“We also think the results could easily generalise to other groups of people who have issues with fatigue and inflammation,” says study leader, Professor Kiecolt-Glaser.

200 women, aged 27-76, took part in the study after undergoing surgery or radiotherapy. Half were asked to attend 90-minute yoga sessions twice a week. After 3 months of attending the classes, 13-20% of the group had noticed a reduction in inflammation and fatigue levels were 57% lower. The other group received yoga sessions after the 12-week study was finished. The results showed that the more yoga the patient did the higher their energy levels became.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Britain with close to 50,000 cases a year.

Treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy leave patients feeling exhausted for months, sometimes years afterwards.

Yoga is practiced as a therapy for conditions such as stress, anxiety and back pain. In the US, yoga therapy classes for cancer survivors have been well received and are becoming increasingly popular. A small number of yoga therapists have set-up classes in the UK, including Luci Phipps, a specialist Yoga for Cancer Survivors teacher and owner of GuildfordYoga.

“These results are extremely exciting,” says Luci. “They confirm what we have known for some time: yoga is extremely helpful when fighting a range of cancer-related symptoms and treatment side-effects. It is empowering.”

With 20 years in the business and over 8000 hours of teaching experience, Luci knows what she’s talking about and ensures that all clients feel comfortable and looked after in her classes. She fully believes in the benefits of yoga for cancer survivors and encourages anyone who has been touched by cancer, including carers and loved ones, to come along.

“Through yoga, survivors have a range of tools that they can use to improve how they feel: physically, mentally and spiritually” she says.

“In the war against cancer, every little helps.”

Luci Phipps runs a specialist Yoga for Cancer Survivors class at the Godalming Holistic Centre every Friday, 12-1pm

Visit guildfordyoga.co.uk