Yoga Snaps Depression In Women With Breast Cancer

By Staff

Wednesday, February 25, 2009, 17:00

Yoga with not only providing emotional benefits to women with breast cancer also extends to reduce depression in them.

A ten week programme of 75 minutes of Restorative Yoga has made positive impact on the mental health like depression, positive emotions, and spirituality (feeling calm/peaceful) of women ailing from breast cancer than those who were in the control group.

Restorative Yoga is a milder type of Yoga, similar to the other Yoga classes, but more passive and gentle with the aid of props such as cushions, bolsters and blankets to provide complete physical support for total relaxation with less physical effort. This paves way for the practice of Yoga for people in different health levels more easy.

Forty four women ailing from breast cancer took part in the study out of which twenty two took part in the Yoga sessions while 22 were wait-listed in the control group. Thirty four percent were undergoing cancer treatment while the remaining lot had already done with their treatment. The result of the questionnaire completed in the beginning and the end of the ten week programme vouchsafed for the wide range of mental health benefits that Yoga lent to the women who attended the classes compared to those who were wait-listed.

Women who started with higher negative emotions, lower emotional well being and fatigue showed significant signs of improvement than the control group. The wait-listed people were later invited to undergo this promising Yoga session.

In the words of lead researcher Suzanne Danhauer, Ph.D., based at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "Evidence from systematic reviews of randomised trials is quite strong that mind-body therapies improve mood, quality of life, and treatment-related symptoms in people with cancer. Yoga is one mind-body therapy that is widely available and involves relatively reasonable costs"

"Given the high levels of stress and distress that many women with breast cancer experience, the opportunity to experience feeling more peaceful and calm in the midst of breast cancer is a significant benefit," the expert added.

This study was published in a special issue of Psycho-Oncology focusing on physical activity.

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Disclaimer:

Before practice, please consult your doctor in case you are suffering from ailments. It is recommended to practice under the guidance of experts.