Breast Cancer Recovery Walking Meditaion

Well there are many of us who just don’t or can’t sit still.  The mind takes over and we struggle with quieting ourselves.  We can’t sit, we need to move around so why not a walking meditation.  The picture I shared of a path in the woods is from my morning meditative walk with my dog, “Happy Riley”.   We both so look forward to this time.  He smiles the entire walk.

To begin YOUR walk you need to be conscious of your footsteps, and your pacing.  You want to breath in feeling the your expand inside you and walk with slow and deliberate steps.  Feel the earth under you feet.  Notice if you feel light or heavy.  Is your chest lifted or is it drooping forward?  Be as comfortable as possible. Now notice everything.  Let you vision expand to every space.  Smell the air.  Is it crisp?  Is there a breeze? Notice everything.  Just be mindful of your surroundings.  Now notice your breath.  Without taking control of your breath, allow it feel natural and satisfying.  Let your arms and hands dangle to your side body or maybe in your pockets.  I personally love pockets.  Feel your inhaling breath come and expand your chest; now let your exhaling breath release thoughts that may take you away from this walking meditation.  Walk if you can for 15/30 minutes.  Then when you reach home see if you can sit comfortably and quietly for 5 minutes.  Set an intention for your day. This could be the start of a great restorative walking meditation. 

By: Diana Ross, E-RYT 500
Founder: Breast Cancer Yoga

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Prevent Breast Cancer with Healthy Lifestyle Choices for 2012

Necessary Lifestyle Choices for Optimum Health

An anti-cancer lifestyle will include a variety of exercise, organic foods, clean pure water and air. There are a few easy steps to keep the body safe and healthy. It is important to cultivate an awareness of what feels and taste right going into your body. It is equally important to stop and take notice of bad choices. Ask yourself “Is this good or bad for me? “Will it make me feel better or worse?”  We all want to feel alive and vital.

Exercise – Yoga
Practicing restorative yoga has shown through studies to encourage and improve sleep and to enhance overall quality of life. (Reuters Health) – About one third of breast cancer survivors experience fatigue that affects their quality of life. A new study found that doing yoga might help restore some lost vitality. There are some simple suggestions to start exploring a change in vitality.

• Find a restorative yoga class  
• Buy a therapeutic yoga DVD
• Watch Breast Cancer Yoga on YouTube

Cancer Prevention Foods – Vegetarian/Vegan Diet
It is suggested to eat a plant base diet of fruits and vegetables: make your diet rich in organic fruits and vegetables that are full of micronutrients and bioflavonoids which are duly noted to help prevent breast cancer or other cancers. Here are some simple choices to select from to start improving your health.

• Order a vegetarian/vegan starter kit
• Start by adding healthy food choices to diet

Water Therapy – Alkaline Water
Alkaline water (referred to as ionized water) can neutralize or decrease the acidity of the body’s pH caused by stress, modern diet, and air pollution. We suggest trying this water and feeling the possible positive effects.

• Find a water store and get alkaline water by the gallon (it usually stays charged with negative ions for up to 48 hours)
• Purchase if possible a home alkaline water system that filters pollutants as well as charging the water with negative ions and anti oxidants
• Benefit from the many ways to use alkaline water like necessary hydration for the body’s cells

Manage Stress – Learn to Breathe
Deep breathing is vital in that it encourages the release of body toxins, rebuild healthy tissue which consequently increases overall energy. This true oxygen exchange stimulates digestion, assimilation and elimination. A very important function of breathing fully and slowly is that the body’s natural relaxation response is prompted. This relaxation response results in decreased tension, anxiety and fatigue. A great place to start is with our single down-loadable breathing exercises or you could do the following.

• Purchase a therapeutic breathing CD
• Read books on how to breathe correctly
• Explore breathing exercise e-books

Laugh Often – Emotional Balancing
It has been shown that even when manipulated to smile people in truth feel happier and joyful. Laughter can stop depression right in its tracks and boosts our immunity. We suggest the following to bring on happiness.

• Have a daily joke sent to your e-mail
• Watch funny YouTube videos
• Listen to the comedy channel on the radio
• Download comedians from iTunes

By : Diana Ross, E-RYT 500
Founder & Survivor: Breast Cancer Yoga

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Triggers of Unhealthy Breathing

Influences

There are certain influences on breathing that trigger unhealthy breathing, and pain is just one. The breath will register pain with sudden piercing inhalations and fierce exhalations, and the breath stays affected the entire time that the pain persists or until the pain crisis passes. Emotions also trigger enormous changes in breathing; just by witnessing a scary picture, fear will be triggered. Or the breath can become relaxed and take on a completely different point of reference if we see a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Stress too has an affect on the breath.  The breath is hard wired into your nervous system and if you become tense, hurried or overwhelmed the stress may linger on well past the event. 

Conscious Change

Training the breath can help bring these various influences on breathing to conscious place for change. And it makes the breathing a stronger tool to resist the disruption of all these harmful influences: stress, pain, fear and becoming overwhelmed.  A trained breath can also help defuse these powerful and disruptive emotional reactions and keep them at bay. Through practice, the breath can become a powerful instrument in managing stress, restoring energy and calming the mind.

Manage Anxiety

Diaphragmatic breathing “belly breathing” will help manage anxiety when levels of stress are difficult to manage. Pain can be a signal for you, and an opportunity to transform the situational influences in a positive way. These influences need to be managed instead of being a crippling. It is here where developing a daily breathing practice can become the foundation of managing upsets.  I know that anxiety, stress, fear and any other type of tension will appear here and there. However, there is no reason not to have the tools to manage or decrease their effects and provide you with the ability of feeling in control. 

By: Diana Ross, E-RYT 500

Founder: Breast Cancer Yoga

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Why Do We Take The Breath For Granted?

Breathing Is Automatic

We take the breath for granted; that it is automatic and will always persist, uninterrupted day and night. But precisely because breathing does not require our attention it can be hard to understand “why”.  

Yoga And Breathing

Yoga instructs us to learn to breathe with greater awareness.  When the breath is properly trained it becomes an effective therapeutic tool; always present, effective in prevention of emotional stressors and restorative. First the need to consciously learn to regulate and develop a rhythmical breath for a maximum outcome is required. All it takes is the merest voluntary effort and a conscious change in the way we breathe. 

Breathing Is A Gift

Breathing normally without conscious awareness occurs outside our mind’s awareness. The breathe is governed by certain cells that measures blood gas levels, which create a crude rhythm of respiration that coordinates the activity of the respiratory muscles. All of which makes breathing smoother and effective.  Just imagine all the inhalations and exhalations passing some 21,600 times in just one day; and that is with out any breaks. Pretty amazing. We ask “Why not take the breath for granted?” This is why not. It is a gift that keeps giving and most of the time we do not acknowledge it.

By: Diana Ross, E-RYT 500

Founder: Breast Cancer Yoga

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Breathing for Anxiety

Anxiety Triggers

For many depression sufferers, anxiety can be quite formidable. Anticipation of having breast cancer, potentially having to do chemotherapy or radiation treatments can trigger great anxiety. This anxiety can then disrupt any normal physical or emotional functioning. Besides when anxiety is great enough it can bring on fatigue, sleeplessness, the jitters, irritability and painful headaches.  Not very good for recovery.

Remedy to Reduce Anxiety

Anxious people tend to take short, shallow breaths which create an erratic heartbeat, dizziness and even lightheadedness. Fear may play a hugh role in these physical changes. It is not unusual to treat these symptoms with medication. These medications run the possibility of becoming addictive. Instead of taking something that could become a problem, why not turn to your own breathe as a possible solution to anxiety. One simple remedy to reduce anxiety is to learn how to breathe slowly and deeply. Slow inhales and exhales with your complete attention can be quite amazing.

By: Diana Ross, E-RYT 500

Founder: Breast Cancer Yoga

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BENEFITS OF FLOWING YOGA POSES 

* Facilitates lymphatic drainage of breasts 

* Promotes deep breathing by widening the chest 

* Stretches groin 

* Deep opening of thighs and hip flexors

VISIT our family website for more information on a complementary holistic approach to breast health and breast cancer recovery. Breast Cancer Yoga includes specific restorative yoga poses, supportive yoga props, a blend of aromatherapy oils, healing herbal teas and medicinal massage oils.

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Aromatherapy for Breast Cancer Recovery

Aromatherapy has been shown to be an effective complementary treatment for breast cancer, and can relieve many of the side effects of chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Aromatherapy can help you navigate the terrain of your healing journey from surviving to thriving. Learn about the essential oils to use and why.

• Control nausea

• Easing anxiety and depression

• Lowers blood pressure in patients going through chemotherapy

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Benefits of Balanced Breathing

Breast Cancer Yoga

Learn How to Breathe With Purpose CD

Balanced Breathing

Breathing Exercise CD
By Breast Cancer Yoga

Using a balancing breath, a pranayama breath will serve to maintain and equalize the complete breath cycle. The goal of the inhalation and exhalation is to be identical in volume and duration thus creating the natural flow of the breath such as Natural, Complete and Sun Moon Breath.  This also brings the quiet mind with it. Concentration will be higher during this equalized state.  Therefore an equalized airflow through both nostrils should be strived for. Habitually we resort to unconscious shallow breathing and clearly do not use our true lung capacity creating uneven inhalations and exhalations. In the beginning if the airflow is unequal, do not be concerned. It is a natural phenomenon, and you need not to resort to any other method, just continue to practice. Also in the beginning the effects of the pranayama practice may not be felt right away, but after a few sessions the results will show themselves. It is only through practice that we begin to master so don’t get discouraged.

By Diana Ross, E-RYT 500

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FREE Preview "Twisting Yoga Poses for Breast Cancer Recovery and Lymphedema Management" E-book

TWISTING YOGA POSES

Breast Cancer Yoga has just released Twisting Yoga Poses E-book as apart of our "Healthy & Hopeful Lifestyle" E-book Series. You can preview Twisting Yoga Poses E-books on our home page. We would love your feed back on the E-books.
Twisting Yoga Poses E-book Contains
“Healthy & Hopeful Lifestyle” E-book Series contain specific restorative yoga poses that assist in breast cancer post - surgical recovery, fatigue and lymphedema management. Also included is a breathing exercise which is an essential tool for reduction of stress, anxiety and depression. Complementary Therapies are suggested to further enhance healing FREE PREVIEW.
Purpose of Twists
Twists can boost energy when feeling tired or fatigued. When we twist, we literally squeeze tension and toxins out from the body. In twisting poses, our muscles have an opportunity to squeeze and relax, and once finished, the area that released will then experience a rush of blood and nutrients TAKE A LOOK.
Twists Yoga Poses for Recovery
Twists are valuable for supporting breast cancer recovery and for the repairing of breast tissue. Lateral movements that are inherent with twists encourage the lymph fluid away from the tissues toward lymph nodes which then circulate the fluid to functioning lymph vessels. If the lymph system cannot effectively drain, lymphedema may result SNEAK PREVIEW.

Do You Believe That The Mind Can Help In Healing?

Mind-Body Medicines

There is a belief that the mind has great healing capabilities that can help heal the body.  One complementary therapy that is highly effective is Meditation. Meditation is where one focuses on the breath or using Mantra which is a repetition of words or phrases to quiet the mind. Another therapy is Yoga. 

Restorative Yoga Therapy

Here I would like to mention Breast Cancer Yoga as a well defined restorative yoga therapy practice that supports healing. Stretching, strengthening all the while consciously using the breath in synch with the movements make the yoga very meditative. Other therapies offered as a CAM are guided visualization, biofeedback, massage, chiropractic care along with vitamins and herbs. A healthy diet is imperative for wellness for our energy levels and proper nutrition. 

By: Diana Ross, E-RYT 500

August, 2011

Yoga Breathing to Raise Energy Levels for Breast Cancer Patients

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Today the typical way of raising our energy level is through caffeinated drinks and sugary foods. It has been proven that using these products to remedy our energy lows are an obvious health detriment. And, ultimately after the temporary high or boost is over we are left even more drained. Now let’s add on the fact that when you have an illness like breast cancer these ways of raising our energy is truly unproductive.

Let’s look at how we can get a natural boost of energy that supports health: one that instantly provides a renewed vitality and clarity of mind. It is as simple as learning to breath properly and consciously.

Our breath is our key to life. It is known that a person can live days without water, and longer without food. However, the moment we become oxygen deprived, our bodies immediately begin to die. Stating the obvious, breathing is by far the most immediate and important essential element to life.

“Take a deep breath” is a statement that is often heard when someone becomes upset or over excited. Heart palpitations, and high blood pressure are the symptoms of this agitation. Combating the treatments that come with strains, stresses and discomfort; one can learn how to breath to reduce theses problems and replace them with renewed energy. Now THIS would be productive. When we consciously approach this stress and strain with our breath it allows us to refocus and quiet down. All that is needed is the understanding and development of simple breathing techniques. Breathing techniques are highly sought after and recommended for just these reasons alone. The overall effect of many breathing practices help the body and mind create a calming down effect called a “relaxation response”. This again will allow for the mind to become clearer, and more reflective. When recovering from cancer breathing is instrumental to support our health and well-being. Breath in, breath out and rest is the goal.
By Diana Ross, E-RYT 500
June 5, 2011

Diana Ross Welcomes You to Breast Cancer Yoga

Welcome to Breast Cancer Yoga
Diana Ross
Founder of Breast Cancer Yoga
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