Who and what show up alongside cancer?
When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 at age 53, our family was shaken to its core. Along with the shock, the fear, and the immediacy of rearranging our lives around her comfort and care, here's a list of what else showed up – not just for her, but also for her husband, my brothers, and me: a swarm of friends, stockpiles of meals, and endless compassion. Three years later on the day she died, I'll never forget her two best friends marching in unannounced and most welcome with a vat of soup, a roasted turkey, and armfuls of flowers only to be replaced by armfuls of US, embraced in their tender, stand-in mom love.
The only thing missing in our whole experience of her illness and loss was the knowledge we have today of how modern medical research has proven all the ways in which yoga tools can be a powerful part of a cancer treatment, care, and recovery plan.
If you or anyone in your orbit is experiencing life with or adjacent to cancer, consider joining guest teacher and yoga therapist Cheryl Fenner Brown for a six-week series on Zoom, starting Tuesday Feb 15, to explore gentle, evidence-informed yoga practice and education on how yoga can help on a cancer journey. Appropriate for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers who are looking for a way to incorporate self-care and build community. Sign up per topic or for the whole series. Each class focuses on a different symptom, meets Tuesdays at 12:00p on Zoom, and will be recorded and available for one month following the class.
▪Feb 15: Yoga Nidra for Healing
▪Feb 22: Pain & Lymphedema
▪March 1: Anxiety & Insomnia
▪March 8: Neuropathy & Cognitive Fog
▪March 15: Cancer-Related Fatigue
▪March 22: Digestive Distress
Reach out with questions, and take heart in the promise of healing in all its forms.
With love,
Annie