Today, just before Radiation Day 11, I returned to HappyTree Yoga for a free class designed for young adults with cancer. As it turned out, I was the only one there, so I had a private lesson with the instructor. The session focused on restorative yoga, which involves a series of postures that are said to promote healing and even improve the immune system. A number of the exercises required me to hold stretches for several minutes at a time.
The class began with some relaxation and breathing exercises, and to be completely honest, it didn't take long at all for me to start feeling content and even soothed. Some of the poses were semi-acrobatic and others were just plain awkward, so it was a challenge to maintain them for relatively lengthy periods of two to three minutes. However I was asked to avoid tensing up and to instead observe my discomfort, and to breath and fall further into the pose. The point of these exercises was not to cause pain - and I never was in pain. Rather, the goal was to promote healing and to improve mobility and flexibility, particularly in the spine.
One of the poses involved sitting in a cross-legged position with an adjustable strap to maintain proper tension, with my back against the length of a cylindrical pillow and my hands spread open at either side. This exercise not only involved stretching, it also had an emotional element by making you feel open and vulnerable. The mind-body connection was very real in this pose since the open position my body was in created an emotional vulnerability. During the pose, the instructor asked me to focus on giving but also receiving the things that I needed from others.
The instructor also introduced a pose aimed at strengthening the thyroid. This exercise was of particular interest to me, since my doctor had informed me that there is a 50% chance that the radiation will completely fry my thyroid. Once I explained this to my instructor, she showed me a number of healing and stretching exercises for my thyroid. During these poses I was asked to visualize keeping it strong.
I am not entirely sure whether or not the exercises actually work to promote healing. I do however know that yoga is an ancient practice and that its practitioners seem to engender a sense of well-being and come across as being at peace. Often my yoga instructors also strike me as being very wise. So perhaps the stretching, visualizing, breathing, and time spent focusing inward actually do symbiotically have a healing effect. Is that really such a stretch?
