Yoga is the go-to therapy that helps breast cancer survivors cope with the stress and uncertainty that comes with a diagnosis. However, you don’t have to have a breast cancer diagnosis, you can start today using Yoga as a prevention tool.
How does that work?
Since your breasts are part of your body, keeping your breast tissue healthy is a great goal in your overall wellness.
“A well-rounded yoga practice will benefit the breasts,” notes Bobby Clennell, Iyengar Yoga teacher and author of Yoga For Breast Care: What Every Woman Needs to Know. Expanding the heart center in backbends and twists suffuses the chest and lymphatic system with circulation, facilitating optimal immune function. Although inconclusive, research from several studies suggests that tight or ill-fitting bras may contribute to breast cancer risk by limiting circulation and blocking the flow of lymph. Asana can also counter the postural issues—hunching, tightening and closing off of the chest—modern devices pose. The deep breathing (like Sama Vritti and Kapalabhati) and retention (Kumbhaka) yogis practice in pranayama enable oxygen to reach the upper lobes of the lungs, facilitating the release of more oxygen to the upper chest and lymphatic areas, boosting immune function.
Excerpt from YogaJournal.com
In addition, yoga poses and practices help to reduce stress and boost immunity. Many poses and practices soothe the sympathetic nervous system, this is the system that regulates your fight of flight stress response.
Finally, Yoga fosters a sense of mindfulness in its followers which leads to a more intimate connection with your body. This connection helps you to recognize any changes and can aide in early detection.
Ready to get started?
1) Check out this Yoga sequence for chest and breast health (scroll to the bottom of the page)
2) All this talk about cancer and prevention can sometimes have you feeling a little out of sorts. Here are 8 Yoga poses to help put the pep back in your step so you can move forward on your wellness journey with ease.
Are you ready to kickstart Your Preventative Wellness Journey? Get started with 7 days of real, actionable strategies that work to help you prevent a possible breast cancer diagnosis, for Free.
