Posts In: Yoga Benefits

Yoga may not help your body fight cancer but it can help you cope with the emotional, physical, and mental stress of receiving treatment. From the moment you’re diagnosed, you’ll find that yoga has many surprising benefits that can help you, and those around you, make it through this challenging time.

Cancer affects many individuals and families. According to the CBC, almost one in two Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and this can have a significant impact on their lives and the lives of their family members. While more than half of people with cancer will recover, it’s often a long, difficult road.

If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, it’s important for you to have a strong support system, including family, friends, medical professionals, and more. It’s helpful to keep your spirits high and your mental health strong, and yoga is a powerful resource for that. Yoga has a number of benefits that can reduce fatigue and stress, and can help enhance overall quality of life.

The Research on Yoga and Cancer

The American Cancer Society states that yoga can help relieve some of the symptoms linked to cancer and other major illness such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, and more.

If you have cancer, what might you get out of a yoga class? Research suggests you may feel the following:

• Lower fatigue: Research indicates you may have more energy the more classes that you attend.
• Reduced stress: You may feel your mood is more stable, less depressed, and less stressed.
• Better movement: Yoga keeps you limber and can help your stiff and sore body recover from hospital stays.
• Fall asleep more quickly: Research indicates that if you have cancer and suffer from insomnia, yoga can help you fall asleep faster.
• Lose weight: If you lose weight while doing yoga, you may have a lower chance of cancer recurrence.

Along with these benefits, you’ll also experience the benefits of other yoga practitioners, such as lower cortisol, higher oxygen levels in the blood, increased flexibility, and much more.

Adjusting Yoga for People with Cancer

Cancer and cancer treatments may have affected your mobility, strength and energy levels to the point you think you can’t participate in yoga. Don’t fret—you can. You may want to start with our gentler yoga classes, such as Hatha Yoga and Restorative Yoga.

Restorative yoga is an excellent option as every posture is supported by blocks, blankets, straps and eye pillows. It does not take a high degree of physical strength to participate in. You’ll still see the emotional and mental benefits of yoga and feel your stress melt away.

That being said, any yoga class can be adjusted for those with cancer. If cancer keeps you from bending over without pain, moving your arm in a certain way, or some other restriction, our skilled and compassionate yoga instructors can adjust the class so you can still participate without pain.

Sign up for our yoga classes today, or reach out to us for more information or questions. We are here to help!

At Absolute Pilates, we offer both Pilates and yoga classes, so we often get asked about the difference between the two. While it’s true that they are quite similar, these workouts are different enough that most people have a strong preference for one over the other.

Here we’ll take a look at the key differences so that you can decide which type might be best for you.

The Core Differences

Pilates and yoga are both full-body workouts that focus on improving strength, flexibility, balance and breathing. However, Pilates focuses on the strength aspect, while yoga usually focuses more on flexibility and breathing. Most of the time when you’re in a Pilates class, you’ll be on the ground. In a yoga class, you’re more likely to be switching from standing to ground work, depending on the style.

Another key difference is that many people choose to practice yoga as part their spirituality. Even if you don’t choose to do that, you will still find most yoga classes are meditative and help you focus your mental energy on your goals. Not as many people consider adding their spiritual practices to Pilates, which tends to be more intense. Plus, Pilates involves counting reps and keeping track of sets, which doesn’t leave as much room to think.

You can learn even more about the differences between Pilates and yoga by reading about the specific kinds of classes we offer.

Pilates Classes

We offer several different Pilates classes which all offer something a little different: 

• Osteo-Pilates: If you’re looking to add a little of that yoga flexibility and balance into your Pilates class, this might be right for you. While the class is designed to decrease the risk of fractures for those with Osteoporosis, anyone can participate and reap the benefits of better balance and bone health.
• Stretch and Lengthen: This class also focuses on stretching more than your average Pilates class but has fewer bone health benefits than the Osteo-Pilates class.
• Matwork Challenge: If instead you want to lean into the benefits of Pilates and improve your strength and endurance, this class will challenge you and even boost coordination.
• Mom and Babies: After you give birth, you might be drawn to Pilates because of its focus on the core muscles, which need to recover and strengthen after your pregnancy. This class allows you to bring your little one and is a bonus bonding experience for both mom and baby!

Yoga Classes

Our yoga classes focus on those benefits that yoga does best, including breathing, focus and flexibility.

• Hatha yoga: When most people think of yoga, they imagine Hatha yoga. It teaches beginner poses and focuses on breathing and calming to reduce cortisol and improve your focus.
• Restorative yoga: This class is designed to align your body and mind with slow, purposeful movements that activate the parasympathetic nervous system. The benefits include lowered blood pressure and heart rate, lessening chronic pain and anxiety, and increasing oxygen levels in the blood.

There’s much to be said for the benefits of practicing both Pilates and yoga as you need both strength and flexibility to be healthy. If you’re ready to sign up for a class, feel free to register here.