Women who are undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer often lack the energy to exercise. Worse yet, the trials of surgery and chemotherapy may alienate them from their bodies. Adding a very gentle restorative yoga practice to their day may help women regain that body-mind connection.
Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer begins in the ovaries, the egg-producing female reproductive organs. While the causes of ovarian cancer are unknown, researchers have identified a few apparent risk factors. The risk goes up if you come from a family with a history of breast or ovarian cancer, or if you have the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2. Most women who die of ovarian cancer are over 55. Women who have more children, especially early in life, decrease their risk. Taking birth-control pills also seems to lessen the likelihood of developing ovarian cancer.
Ovarian Cancer and Physical Activity
Obesity is also linked to ovarian cancer, so keeping your weight down with physical activity can be a preventative measure. In the past, doctors have advised cancer patients to minimize physical activity. But the American College of Sports Medicine's guidelines urge patients to be as physically active as they're able during cancer treatment. Dr. Kathryn Schmitz of the Abramson Cancer Center for the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine tells patients to be physically active, but to respect their own limitations and do what is comfortable for them.
Restorative Yoga
Restorative yoga is a gentle practice designed to increase flexibility, reduce stress and improve the sense of well-being. The poses are usually passive and supported, and involve props like blocks, bolsters, blankets, eye bags, chairs and straps. Most of the postures are done on the floor and held for several minutes, with various body parts supported by props. During a slow-paced restorative yoga class, your spine gently moves through its whole range of motion: backward, forward, twisted and sideways.
One Woman's Story
Lynn Felder had always been a healthy, active person. Then she developed ovarian cancer. During her surgery and six rounds of chemotherapy, Felder says her yoga practice kept her sane. Felder became a certified yoga teacher and owns the Arts of Yoga studio in North Carolina. She teaches restorative yoga to cancer patients and other people who need it. She worked in conjunction with the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center on a study of restorative yoga's effects on stress reduction and symptom management in women with ovarian cancer and breast cancer. "Cancer tried to take away my body," she says on the Wake Forest website. "Yoga gave it back." Practicing yoga during chemotherapy was a way she found to participate in her treatment, she said.
