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Yoga
and the Gentle Art of Healing: A Journey of Recovery After Breast
Cancer with Susan Rosen |
pdf >>
Review
by Kathy Peterman, RN, MA
Cambridge:
Perseus Publishing; 2002
ISBN 0-7382-0600-8. 265 p. $20.
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For every
eight women who live to an advanced age, one faces breast cancer in
her lifetime.1 By providing methods of early detection
(mammography and clinical breast examination), you--the health care
practitioner--are doing all you can to reduce the likelihood that women
will die of the disease. Yet most of our medical advances have not touched
on the psychosocial and spiritual needs of women who are trying to heal
themselves after having breast cancer.
Susan
Rosen, a breast cancer survivor and yoga instructor at Kaiser Permanente's
Positive Choice Wellness Center in San Diego, has created a special
video, "Yoga and the Gentle Art of Healing: A Journey of Recovery
After Breast Cancer." This video helps women heal after breast
cancer surgery or after radiation treatment. Rosen presents yoga in
a nurturing and supportive way; women need not bend like pretzels or
be in particularly good physical condition to benefit from using this
video.
Rosen
starts by briefly sharing her own story of discovering yoga 14 years
ago, when she was seeking relief from shoulder pain. After she had studied
yoga for many years and become a yoga teacher, breast cancer was diagnosed.
After giving her personal introduction, Rosen gently and clearly guides
participants through various yoga poses.
The video
is organized into various types of poses to enable each woman to easily
choose exercises for which she feels ready. Each section of poses (including
gentle wall poses, chair poses, floor poses, and relaxation) opens with
information on what a woman needs for assuming the pose. Rosen is practical,
using blankets and items found easily in the home. Her instructions
are delivered in a tranquil, reassuring voice while soft music plays
in the background to add a sense of being nurtured. The poses are simple
and soothing, allowing a woman who may have postsurgical pain to begin
the process of emotional and physical healing. For example, one pose
begins with lying on the back with arms extended out to the sides and
gently supported on blankets. This pose opens the chest area, aids circulation,
and relaxes the body.
The day
I reviewed this video, a dear friend of mine, Jane, was starting radiation
therapy after having surgery for breast cancer. I gave Jane the video,
hoping that it would be useful to her.
The timing
was perfect: Jane was very glad to have the support. Here is the letter
she wrote me several weeks later:
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Dear
Kathy,
Thank
you for sharing Susan Rosen's yoga video with me. The journey
of recovery after breast cancer proved to be more challenging
than I expected.
Although
I was feeling good and my energy was returning, my ability to
raise my arm and do normal lifting was limited. As you know,
my life is very full, and I'm used to doing most things myself.
Everything seemed to take twice as long, and I was getting really
frustrated!
The
yoga exercises on the video made an amazing difference. The
gentle stretches quickly improved my range of motion while diminishing
the tight, hard feeling of the scar tissue. In addition, the
video is beautifully and professionally done. I especially appreciated
the introduction given before each set of poses to explain what
items would be required.
It
would be a great service if doctors would make this video available
to their patients
Blessings
to you and to Susan Rosen.
Jane
Westerkampa
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Through
her own experience, Rosen shows that yoga practiced after breast cancer
surgery or treatment:
- calms
and centers the mind
- releases
tension and stress
- improves
range of motion
- aids
in reducing the effects and discomfort of scar tissue
- relaxes
the gripping feeling in the chest area, and
- energizes
the body, mind, and spirit.
The video
"Yoga and the Gentle Art of Healing, A Journey of Recovery After
Breast Cancer" is professionally done and has a running time of
43 minutes. Easy to follow, the video offers women a chance at physical,
mental, and spiritual healing after surgery and treatment. Ms Rosen
provides excellent instruction and support and speaks directly from
her own survival experience. Health care practitioners would be well
advised to share this video with patients, friends, or family members
who are facing breast cancer. They will find support, and their healing
journey will be enhanced by the physical and mental renewal they gain
through using the video. Cost for the video is $19.95. For more information
about the video, visit www.YogaJoyofDelMar.com
or call 858-573-0090.
a
Reproduced by permission
Reference
- Feuer
EJ, Wun LM, Boring CC, Flanders WD, Timmel MJ, Tong T. The lifetime
risk of developing breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 1993 Jun 2;85(11):892-7.
[Del Mar (CA): S. Rosen; 2002]. 858) 573-0090; www.YogaJoyofDelMar.com;
43 min; $15.00
