om actions
my body needed to balance and continue
to be nurtured through this time. I filled the
freezer with soups and easy nutritional meals
and kept getting on my mat daily. Hannah
observed the way my practice would change
as I became more in tune with my body, and
looking back now I can see this is when it
started. Day Two post operatively I was on my
mat and Viparita karini never felt so good.
I was supported with many, many blankets
and as my legs felt heavier and heavier on
the chair I could almost feel each layer of my
body relax and rejoicing that time was being
given to recuperate.
Making adjustments
I was used to having to adapt my practice
prior to cancer due to cervical spondylosis,
lumbar degeneration and an arthritic knee,
but this was so new. And finding the new
‘normal’ changed every day (and it still is!).
I kept following the advice from the
book and received care and guidance from
Hannah, so much so that at seven weeks
post op and with the consent of the medical
team, my husband and I flew off to Quinta
Mimosa, Portugal, for a week of yoga with
Rachel. It was hard at times, always having
to change and modify my practice from the
general class; I have never used so many
props! Setubhandha Sarvangasana saw
me relaxed, recuperating with the help of
seven bolsters, four blankets, two sandbags
and a strap! Never before had I needed
to listen to my body more than now; each
asana needed thought and consideration,
how not to strain, how to work around the
post-operative swelling and scar tissue and
what and where to use the props. Support
physically translated to support mentally,
which left me emotionally stronger.A new normal
We returned from Portugal and I started
three weeks of radiotherapy. My range of
movement was ‘excellent’, and I beat the“Asanas penetrate deep into each layer of the body and ultimately
into the consciousness itself ” BKS Iyengar
odds having fair skin with the anticipated
side effects on my skin. I followed before,
during and afterwards the ‘cooling’
sequences from the breast care book
and had continued adjustments and
observations during my one-to-one’s. My
yoga teacher gave me the confidence to
trust my body and to keep listening to it.
So, I am now 12 weeks post op and I am
still using more props than before but I have
returned to my weekly classes (gently!) as
being in the class is so important to me.
There have been times of frustration and
impatience. I have found it hard to keep my
mind on an even keel, but balancing the
support from family, friends, my yoga, my
garden, walking by the sea and sometimes
just being still has taught me acceptance
and an inner peace. This, I believe, has
come from listening on a different level to
what my body needs at the very core. It is
exciting to think about how my practice will
develop in time.