32
august/september 2019yogajournal.com.auCommon chemo drugs are known to depress the
nervous system, says Fukuhara. For the kids she
worked with at Rady, this often manifested as
trouble breathing, balancing, and focusing—and
eventually irreversible neuropathy and numbness in
fingers and toes. During her study, which she
co-authored with paediatric oncology nurse
practitioner Jeanie Spies, Fukuhara found that
stimulating power poses such as Virabhadrasanas
(Warrior Poses) and Vrksasana (Tree Pose) fired up
her patients’ nerves, making them resistant to the
negative side effects of their medications. “It’s like we
were enhancing the nervous system,” she says.
Spies is the founder of the integrative medicine
program at Rady and coordinator of the yoga
initiative. Her warm red hair feels like an extension
of her personality: She geeks out over things like
bone marrow biopsies and witnessing a patient’s first
steps (she beamed recounting Saviour’s as he
bounced around the room). Spies says that what
surprised her most was the profound effect the yoga
sessions had on parents, like Jiao, who face sleepless
nights marked by constant worry and interruptions
from hospital staff. “We turn their lives upside down
with the diagnosis of cancer,” Spies says. “The beauty
of the yoga here is that it gives them a sense of
relaxation and control, even if it’s only for 10
minutes.”
Ping Cao has a petite, fragile-looking frame—but
don’t be fooled. The lines on her soft, worn face, like
the glossy black hair she wears in a tight pixie cut,
are evidence of her perseverance. The Chinese
immigrant is a volunteer yoga teacher with the
O’Shea Foundation who recently finished treatment
for breast cancer. Yoga and, in particular, Sama
Vritti Pranayama—a technique in which you breath
and hold to counts of four (see page 29)—helped Cao
mitigate fatigue and nausea while she was
undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. The
strength she’s derived from the practice and from the
support of other cancer survivors is what she says led
her to start volunteering at Rady.
Research shows that yogic exercises as simple as
pranayama (controlled breathing) can stimulate the
immune system, and Cao begins most of her sessions
in the paediatric oncology unit this way. Today she
sits in a little teal chair beside 17-year old Aimee
De Luna’s hospital bed. Four weeks earlier, De Luna,
a high school senior, was prom-dress shopping at the
mall with her mom when she fainted in the checkout
line. Her paediatrician suspected anaemia, but blood
tests revealed leukemia. As an outpatient, she and
her parents make the 1.5-hour drive from their home
most days so Aimee can get chemotherapy. Today she
smiles, eyes closed, sitting up still in her hospital
gown, a grey beanie atop her head, as Cao guides her
through a bedside meditation and stretching
exercise. They’ve been practicing together like this
for about three weeks now.
“The first time she asked me if
I wanted to do it, I was a hard No,”AIMEE DE LUNA
practices yoga
with breast cancer
survivor Ping Cao
32 during treatment.
august/september 2019yogajournal.com.auCommon chemo drugs are known to depress the
nervous system, says Fukuhara. For the kids she
worked with at Rady, this often manifested as
trouble breathing, balancing, and focusing—and
eventually irreversible neuropathy and numbness in
fingers and toes. During her study, which she
co-authored with paediatric oncology nurse
practitioner Jeanie Spies, Fukuhara found that
stimulating power poses such as Virabhadrasanas
(Warrior Poses) and Vrksasana (Tree Pose) fired up
her patients’ nerves, making them resistant to the
negative side effects of their medications. “It’s like we
were enhancing the nervous system,” she says.
Spies is the founder of the integrative medicine
program at Rady and coordinator of the yoga
initiative. Her warm red hair feels like an extension
of her personality: She geeks out over things like
bone marrow biopsies and witnessing a patient’s first
steps (she beamed recounting Saviour’s as he
bounced around the room). Spies says that what
surprised her most was the profound effect the yoga
sessions had on parents, like Jiao, who face sleepless
nights marked by constant worry and interruptions
from hospital staff. “We turn their lives upside down
with the diagnosis of cancer,” Spies says. “The beauty
of the yoga here is that it gives them a sense of
relaxation and control, even if it’s only for 10
minutes.”
Ping Cao has a petite, fragile-looking frame—but
don’t be fooled. The lines on her soft, worn face, like
the glossy black hair she wears in a tight pixie cut,
are evidence of her perseverance. The Chinese
immigrant is a volunteer yoga teacher with the
O’Shea Foundation who recently finished treatment
for breast cancer. Yoga and, in particular, Sama
Vritti Pranayama—a technique in which you breath
and hold to counts of four (see page 29)—helped Cao
mitigate fatigue and nausea while she was
undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. The
strength she’s derived from the practice and from the
support of other cancer survivors is what she says led
her to start volunteering at Rady.
Research shows that yogic exercises as simple as
pranayama (controlled breathing) can stimulate the
immune system, and Cao begins most of her sessions
inthepaediatriconcologyunitthisway.Todayshe
sitsina littletealchairbeside17-yearoldAimee
DeLuna’shospitalbed.Fourweeksearlier,DeLuna,
a high school senior, was prom-dress shopping at the
mall with her mom when she fainted in the checkout
line. Her paediatrician suspected anaemia, but blood
tests revealed leukemia. As an outpatient, she and
her parents make the 1.5-hour drive from their home
most days so Aimee can get chemotherapy. Today she
smiles, eyes closed, sitting up still in her hospital
gown, a grey beanie atop her head, as Cao guides her
through a bedside meditation and stretching
exercise. They’ve been practicing together like this
for about three weeks now.
“The first time she asked me if
I wanted to do it, I was a hard No,”AIMEEDELUNA
practices yoga
with breast cancer
survivor Ping Cao
during treatment.