Customer Reviews

Healing Yoga for People Living with Cancer

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
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I am an oncologist being treated for breast cancer. I've done yoga off and on for years, but mostly haven't been up to going to classes during my treatment. The sequences in this book have helped a lot with both the mental/emotional stress of treatment and the stiffness of being less active than usual. Although it is a little challenging to do yoga from a book, I like the greater flexibility and ability to take things at my own pace compared to videos.

Some of the features I like:
-excellent introduction to breathing and meditation
-good guidelines for how to listen to your body and practice safely during your treatment
-sequences of poses of varying difficulty level (including one sequence that is all seated in a chair) so you can tailor your routine to what you feel up to, or combine them for a longer practice
-each pose is illustrated with 2 photographs, contains clear instructions on how to set up properly and good instructions on how to focus your mind and body during the pose. Almost as good as having a teacher with you!

Highly recommended for people new to yoga, and for people familiar with yoga who need a modified home practice during their cancer treatment. Namaste.

i bought this book as i was preparing to begin teaching yoga at a cancer center. i'm a certified teacher with lots of experience in yoga as therapy, but have little experience working with the physical, emotional and mental effects of cancer and wanted insight into how it feels to have cancer and what limitations one comes up against depending on what type of cancer is present. i found the text content about the experience of cancer to be helpful in my preparations, but the asana seemed dry and predictable and lacking in images of modifications. after working with the patients, it dawned on me that any book that teaches gentle yoga is just as good as this if you are viewing it purely from an asana standpoint. the way i teach is student-centered and individualized for the life experience of the student, so there is no broad formula that can be applied. i was looking for more specific information on modification for people with ports, recent surgeries and drug side effects and i still haven't found a resource that merges medical science with gentle asana, pranayama and meditation (in something smaller than a textbook!). The pictures are helpful, the sorting of postures is intuitive, the text is real and the design is attractive, but if you're looking for something more than a picture book of gentle asana, this might not meet your needs.

This is a wonderful book for those of us who are cancer survivors. It allows you to go at your own pace and not feel "less than".

I too am a yoga instructor that occationally works with cancer patients, but most often with healthy clients. If you are an instructor looking for a book about working with cancer patients and their special needs, this really isn't the book you want. It describes a very basic and gentle practice that is not unique to the needs of cancer patients. It does not address how to work with patients with ports, ostomy bags, etc. I did find it to be a very nice refresher for teaching a gentle class or a chair class as I don't teach those very often.

On the other hand, if you are a person with cancer looking for a book to help you begin a practice of your own, then I think you will find it helpful. It is a nice book, clear black and white pictures and explainations of the asanas, and nice sequencing of the asanas into a "workout". My only suggestion would be to spiral bind the book so that the pages stay open and the book lays flat while you try the poses.

Namaste.

I sent this book to my aunt who was recently diagnosed with cancer and who is recovering from surgery. She had some prior experience with yoga before she was diagnosed, but was fearful of resuming her home-based practice because she was not sure how to proceed, given her new diagnosis and her recovery process.

My aunt called to thank me and said that this book is one of the most helpful resources she has found. The written words gave voice to her cancer experience and gave her the confidence to start practicing yoga again. The instructions on breathing were incredibly helpful and she would recommend this book to others living with cancer who want to be proactive about their recovery.

A few years ago I had the great honor of practicing yoga with Lisa's guidance. She is an amazing person who brings her yoga practice into her life and her life into her practice. When I bought her book I never imagined that I would be sending it to someone I love so dearly. I know I cannot change my aunt's diagnosis or make her well, but sending her a gift that I know is helping her cope better with the road ahead brought me great relief.