51 Days Yoga Consciousness Series 2nd May-21st June 2021

international yoga day 2021 special

With this article, I wish you all my lovely readers a very blessed International Yoga Day and I conclude my 51 Days Yoga Consciousness Series. May Yoga Never Leave Your Side!I will catch you all soon again with a new Yoga Series! Till then keep doing Yoga.

Knowledge of Yoga is infinite, boundless and timeless. “Learning Yoga is an everlasting journey that leads you within and Within is where you find the world of immortal bliss”. –Mitraasha

Namaste All My Yoga Yaatris! May Yog Bless You!

The idea behind running this 51 Days Yoga Consciousness series is to proffer my modest learnings and share the divine pearls of Yoga science with people at large. Let’s have a conjoint intent to learn, implement and extend the wisdom of Yoga with a positive co-action and harmonious reverberation amongst each other.

Yoga For Breast Cancer

What is breast cancer?

  • Breast cancer is a development that occurs in the cells of the breasts and can happen in both men and women, although it is far more prevalent in women. Factors like early discernment, awareness and education about breast cancer, research and advancement in diagnosis as well as treatment have led to increasing survival prospects while the number of breast cancer associated deaths is positively declining.

Which exercise is best for breast cancer?

  • Lamentably, thousands of women each year endure the nervousness, uncertainty, trepidations and anxiety that accompanies a breast cancer diagnosis. Doctors are of the opinion that certain low-gruelling and non-fatiguing exercises are best done by women when going through breast cancer therapies. Fortunately, there are also a few different kinds of recreational, lenient and mild exercises one can do,such as: pilates, light dance forms, tai-chi, walking, bed, chair  & couch movements, garden workout and yoga.

What is Yoga?

  • Yoga is a science of awareness and awareness is the character of the mind. Yoga, which means “union,” is a 5,000-year-old system of principles and practices originating in India. Yoga incorporates nutrition guidelines, ethics, exercise, and meditation with the intention of bringing together the mind, body, and spirit.Yoga sets forth the way of life that graces perfect health – be it physical, mental, moral and/or spiritual, so that what is so reprehensible in humans is redirected to what is most virtuous and sublime in them. To inculcate this divine art and science of living, a thorough practical, doable and effective system of self discipline, self-culture is designed. Tapping into and through the progress of one’s body, mind and psychic capabilities, this system gradually aids physical strength and eventually onto reaching one’s spiritual consciousness. Yoga is a holistic way to overall wellness, centralising the affinity and alliance of all body systems. 
  • For patients in the midst of the cancer battle and undergoing cancer-fighting medical treatments, therapeutic activities like yoga can truly supplement  and aid the healing process of the body, mind, and spirit. Several research studies show that yoga can impede fatigue, defy excessive tiredness, improve strength, and aid better range of movements for patients receiving cancer treatment.

Can cancer be cured with yoga?

  • No, Yoga cannot completely cure cancer or any other chronic disease, and hence it should not be used independently to treat any severe medical condition and thereby delay the necessary treatment. Yoga aids the healing and supports the rehabilitation and restoration of health for the cancer patients and survivors.

Which yoga is best for cancer?

  • There’s no prototype or one type of yoga category that can be set aside for cancer patients. However, years of research and practices by eminent people in the field of yoga indicates and puts forth that poses that are less challenging and strenuous, more gentle, relaxing and restorative yet effective can be practiced by cancer patients and survivors to help get relief from the common side effects of cancer treatment.

Which yoga is best for breast cancer?

  • Yoga has been around for time immemorial and besides aiding the good health of millions across the globe, it has helped people who experience anxiety and depression. Additionally, it is being established that yoga has immense positive effects on it’s practitioners after a diagnosis of breast cancer. For women subjected to breast cancer treatment, and for those who are in recovery, yoga has been known to revamp sleep quality, minimize depression and anxiety, decrease fatigue and joint pain, improve flexibility, and perk up one to go with ease through the overall discomfort caused by the treatment and the disease itself. Patients are usually tensed about their treatment, life after recovery and other things in general,  yoga helps them relax, focus on breathing and just take life as it comes in each moment. Treatments like chemotherapy tax a patient’s health, strength, stamina and overall confidence in life. Through light exercises like yoga, patients have been known to come back to doing their pre-cancer daily manoeuvres better and quicker than those who don’t exercise during/after treatment. The propensity to de-stress that yoga offers is unmatchable and one of the greatest benefits. Every effect of cancer synthesizes and increases stress level, and yoga helps patients work through this.

8 easy and manageable yoga poses that can be done even at home.

  • If you are not up to frequent a yoga class or find it too tiring to complete a full class due to cancer-linked weariness, debility, anxiety or depression, you can try these undemanding, uncomplicated and painless poses at home to gently build your strength and stamina.

Important:

  1. Consult with your doctor or hospital team before taking up any new exercise to understand how much activity is good for you at your stage of recovery.
  2. Before you begin, tell your teacher(if you are choosing to go with an instructor) about your breast cancer treatment.
  3. Basic pulling, lengthening and stretching is ok if you’ve had surgery, but it should never be hurting. Listen to your body and discontinue practicing poses that are uncomfortable.  
  4. Invest in a good yoga mat, mainly when you’re a beginner as it aids in cushioning your joints, gives you steadiness and protects you from tripping/slipping.

When you’re ready, here are eight moves to try.

1.Equal breathing-3 muscles breathing

Equal Breathing-3 muscles breathing
  • How to practise: Here the 3 muscles are the clavicular muscles, the thoracic muscles(chest) and the diaphragmatic muscles(abdomen region).  Begin with slowly and gradually breathing in a large breath as if you’re filling your clavicles, lungs, whole chest and abdomen with equal air. Then slowly exhale completely. Practising this equal breathing before trying other poses will sharpen your focus to your body. This can be done at any time of the day or whenever you are feeling stressed or fatigued.
  • Benefits: Initiates complete and fuller breathing thereby supplying more oxygen to the blood and also helps release muscle tension.

2.Child’s pose

  • How to practise: Starting on your hands and knees, kneel on the floor with your toes together and your knees hip-width apart. Rest your palms on top of your thighs. On an exhale, lower your torso between your knees, reaching your arms out in front of you.. Relax your shoulders toward the ground, as you bring your head to the floor. Use rolled-up blankets or towels to rest your head on if resting it on the floor is uncomfortable. Relax in the pose for as long as you like.
  • Benefits: Aids stretching of the hips, thighs and lower back muscles while also relaxing the chest muscles.

3.Legs up the wall

  • How to practise: Set yourself closer to a wall, with your knees close to your chest while lying on one side. Exhaling, gently roll on to your back while you push your legs up the wall. Try to keep your legs firm and straight, surrender your shoulders and back into the floor. Move your head and neck away from your shoulders and extend your arms in T-position with your palms facing up. Keep breathing gently and relax in the pose for 5–10 minutes. To release the pose, slowly bend your knees and roll onto your right side and take your time to come back into a comfortable position.
  • Benefits: Releases pressure off the neck and shoulders, massages the spine, enhances relaxation and improves blood circulation.

4.Bridge Pose

  • How to practise: Lie flat on your back(supine) on a yoga mat. Bend your knees and keep them hip-width apart, drawing the soles of your feet closer to your hips and parallel to each other placed firmly on the mat. Place your arms by your sides, palms facing downward. Very gently lift your hips up toward the ceiling as much as is comfortable and then slowly lower the hips down on the floor. Repeat this a few times and then release the posture.
  • Benefits: Strengthens the spine and improves spinal flexibility. Increases good circulation and improves relaxation by gently stretching the muscle tissue around the breasts.

5.Standing Forward Bend

  • How to practise: Stand straight with feet together, shoulder rolled out, chest thrown well forward, abdomen in normal contour, gaze at one point. Now exhaling gently bend forward at the hips. Extend your hands down so your palms are touching flat on the floor and press your head against your knees. Keep breathing normally or hold for 4–8 breaths if it is possible for you. Try to gently straighten the legs to enhance the stretch of the hamstrings. Inhaling, slowly come back up to standing. 
  • Benefits: Gives a good stretch to the hips, hamstrings and calves and also relieves the tension of the spine, neck and back.

6.Warrior 2

  • How to practise: Position a chair in the middle of a yoga mat for practicing this simplified form of Warrior II. To begin, be seated at the edge of the chair with your head towards one side of the room. Slowly get into a lunging posture by placing your front foot to the side of the room you are facing, and then stretch your other foot to the backside of the mat with your heel facing upward. Press down your back foot at your mat’s outline and draw your hips off the chair. Open your hips and lift your arms to the sides with your palms resting down on fictitious wooden hands. Try to maintain the posture according to your capacity, feel the stretch and then gently release the pose.
  • Benefits:  Improves posture and enhances deep breathing which is an important first step for any yoga practice. Aids a wider range of movements and motion while stimulating the lymphatic system. 

7.Hero

  • How to practise: Begin this meditative pose by getting into a kneeling position in the center of a yoga mat, stack up two yoga blocks behind you closer to your back and between the feet. While separating your feet and pushing your knees, bring your hips down and place them on the blocks. If your knees hurt in this posture, roll up a towel and place it underneath them. Stay relaxed in this posture and breathe deeply. Release the pose when you want.
  • Benefits: Improves your posture. Gives expansion to your thighs and ankles. Enhances good circulation and subsides the swelling. 

8.Shavasana

  • How to practise: Stack a pillow at one end of a yoga mat and lie flat with your back resting on the pillow and legs stretched out. If this is uncomfortable you can bend your legs, bring your knees together and place your feet flat on the floor. Keeping your knees bent, now open your legs on each side of the mat, sole of the feet facing each other and your hands at your sides, palms facing up. Relax your face and jaw and let go of any tension in your back or neck. Take a few deep breaths, close your eyes and breathe naturally. Stay in this relaxed pose for 5–15 minutes.
  • Benefits: It is an ideal practice to end any yoga practice with shavasana which is a great relaxing and resting posture that calms the mind, de-stresses, releases muscle tension, relieves fatigue and anxiety and completely rejuvenates.

Thought of the day: “Often it isn’t the initiating trauma that creates seemingly insurmountable pain, but the lack of support after.”― S. Kelley Harrell

Link to day 50: Yoga Nidra https://kreately.in/day-50-yoga-nidra-mitraasha/

Link to day 01: Introduction To Yoga https://kreately.in/51-days-yoga-consciousness-series-3rd-may-21stjune-2021-yogmitraasha-day-01/

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