Healthy Aging, a Yoga Practice, and Cancer

One of the gifts of a yoga practice is the opportunity to develop greater resilience and equanimity – the ability to face challenges with balance and grace. In fact, as noted in the book Yoga for Healthy Aging (Baxter Bell and Nina Zolotow), equanimity is perhaps the most important tool for aging well.   No matter what physical challenges we encounter (and we most certainly will, as we age), we can call upon our skills in equanimity to help us navigate.
 
Nine years after a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in 2000, I began taking yoga classes on the recommendation of my integrative physician.  In the years since then, I have deepened my yoga practice at all levels – postures and movement, breathing, meditation, and yoga philosophy.   All those components have helped me develop strength, flexibility, balance, and some level of equanimity.
 
When I was faced with a new breast cancer diagnosis a few months ago, it was both a familiar and an unfamiliar challenge. I gathered all my tools, including those that I’ve acquired through my yoga practice. This journey is going to be different.  I’m a different person than I was in 2000 – not in my essence, but in my ability to observe, accept, and act with self-compassion. 
 
I did not choose to be back in the cancer world as an active patient, but it is the challenge in front of me.   And right now, it feels very manageable. The small tumor and a few lymph nodes were surgically removed. The lymph nodes were free of cancer.  I don’t need chemotherapy, and I’ll have a shorter course of radiation treatments than last time.   Much has changed in breast cancer detection, surgery, analysis, and treatments since 2000. (Thanks, science!)
 
I also know that my yoga practice will support me. It meets my body, mind, and spirit where they are every day. It’s about moving, breathing, and meditating in ways that feel safe, accessible, and supportive.  Yoga has given me greater skills in self-awareness so I can make choices based on how I feel in the moment.  It’s also given me the practice of self-compassion and grace.  
 
Cancer got me into yoga.  And yoga is getting me through cancer this time so I can live well and age well every day.    As noted in the book Yoga for Cancer (Tari Prinster), “Cancer steals your breath. Yoga gives it back.”
 
I’m both humble and realistic enough to recognize that as I age, I’ll continue to face challenges – and so will you. It’s the nature of being alive.  When we understand that there is the possibility to face challenges with equanimity, we can step beyond hope and into action.
 
So as you ponder how to age well and face life’s challenges, I invite you to consider yoga as part of your plan.  If you want support getting started, send me a message with your email address so we can explore some possibilities.