How yoga helps cancer patients
The methodology of oncology yoga is offered in public hospitals as a complementary therapy due to its scientifically proven benefits.
BarcelonaAdriana Jarrín was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was only 26. Luckily, it was detected early and chemotherapy saved her life, but both the shock of the diagnosis and the entire process had a profound emotional impact, in addition to significant physical weakness, she recounts. "A cousin recommended I start doing yoga, and it was truly an incredible encouragement and helped me tremendously." "Above all, the feeling of doing something for myself helped me cope better with the illness," she explains. That was in 2005, and today Jarrín dedicates her life to helping other cancer patients. She not only offers oncology yoga in several hospitals, but also trains teachers of this type of yoga at the Radika Foundation and has written a book. Yoga in times of cancer (Editorial Platform).
After her own illness, Jarrín trained as a yoga teacher and thoroughly studied all the existing scientific literature on the subject. A 2014 study by the American Cancer Society, for example, demonstrated that "regular yoga practice not only helps reduce fatigue, but also significantly increases vitality levels during and after cancer treatment."
"Oncology yoga is a complementary therapy to medical treatments, within the framework of integrative oncology, and in fact, it has been offered for more than 20 years in leading international hospitals in the United States, England, and Germany," explains Jarrín. Its benefits are both physical and emotional. The methodology of oncology yoga takes movements from hatha yoga, the most classic variant of this discipline, and adapts them to each patient's situation. On the one hand, it's aimed at the physical rehabilitation of body parts affected by surgery or cancer treatment, such as the arm in the case of breast cancer. And on the other hand, "studies have shown that practicing yoga significantly reduces the sensation of pain, which in turn reduces the need for medication, a significant benefit for patients receiving treatments with such high levels of toxicity," explains Jarrín. Physically, oncology yoga also helps "reduce fatigue, improve sleep quality, increase range of motion, and restore muscle tone," she adds.
"Many yoga classes are very directive with specific instructions, but in oncology yoga it's always 'if you feel like it,' 'if you feel comfortable,' or 'when you're ready, do this movement,'" explains the yoga teacher. This exploration of one's own body helps in rehabilitation and at the same time facilitates "reconnection with your body," which is key to the emotional aspect.
The emotional factor and breathing
Oncology yoga, says Jarrín, can help "improve mood and manage the emotions" generated by the disease, from anger to fear or sadness, offering "a certain empowerment in the face of the illness." "Cancer can cause a feeling that your body is betraying you," she explains, and this yoga practice "fosters a loving reconnection with your body, which is achieved, for example, through gentle movement," especially conscious movement. In fact, Jarrín rejects "the war narrative" with which the disease is often confronted. "You have to be strong, fight against it, be brave... But being vulnerable is perfectly legitimate," she says. "We don't offer psychological therapy because we aren't trained for it, but one of our techniques is active listening to give patients a space to share their feelings with other patients who are going through those fears, and to express how we express ourselves regarding stability," she explains. That's why it's recommended that oncology yoga groups be small, with six to eight patients per session, because it's a therapy that must be adapted to each individual's needs.
One element that distinguishes yoga from other gymnastic or movement disciplines is its connection to breathing, which is "fundamental because it creates the bridge between movement and the nervous system," explains the expert. "The unique activity of our parasympathetic system that this also has is the regulation to generate changes in the cardiac nervous system," she says. Recent studies in cancer patients who practice yoga—such as one from 2018 published in Journal of Behavioral Medicine– Studies have shown that it reduces levels of inflammatory cytokines and, therefore, facilitates the immune response. Furthermore, the 2018 guideline published by the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO), supported by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), highlights the benefits of oncology yoga compared to other integrative therapies during and after treatment. For this reason, more and more clinical guidelines recommend oncology yoga. "We always speak in terms of its contributory nature, not its curative properties, when it is a complementary therapy," says Jarrín. In fact, the International Network of Oncology Yoga, of which Jarrín is a member, is already working in fourteen public hospitals throughout Spain, including centers such as Hospital Clínic, Vall d'Hebron, and Hospital de Mataró. It is not covered by public healthcare; they have sought funding, but "the results are proving very good," she assures. They started in 2023 in three hospitals, and demand has been growing as integrative oncology also expands. "We are witnessing a transformation," says Jarrín, "this holistic view of treatments is growing exponentially, and that is very important."
