Yin Yoga Benefits Cancer Patients: Improving Lymphatic Flow

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed

One of the primary ways that our body has of removing toxins is through the lymph system. There are approximately 600-700 lymph nodes throughout our bodies. These little nodes help to filter out and remove toxins and pathogens that accumulate in our bodies over time. Detoxifying metabolic wastes, pathogens and chemicals that build up in our bodies is critically important if you are a cancer patient. Encouraging the healthy flow and detoxification of the lymphatic system is also critical to maintaining your health in the present and preventing cancer in the future. 

If you are currently contending with a cancer diagnosis, you may feel quite self-conscious about continuing to practice Yoga during the course of treatment. This is a very understandable reaction for many Yoga practitioners, who are facing a cancer diagnosis. During the course of conventional cancer treatment, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, you may feel that your overall health, well-being and vitality are compromised. You may also feel shy or anxious about continuing to practice Yoga during your process with cancer, because you feel fragile physically and/or emotionally. Additionally, you may feel self-conscious about the ways that cancer is negatively impacting your body. 

Of course, each person's process with cancer is unique, and the impact and effect of cancer treatment protocols on each cancer patient is also highly individual. If you are contending with a cancer diagnosis, maintaining an appropriate exercise program is critically important during the course of treatment. Many cancer patients find that Yin Yoga classes are more accessible and manageable during the course of their cancer recovery process. Yin Yoga classes are restorative in nature and each posture is held for an extended period of time, often for 3-5 minutes. 

This slower paced Yin Yoga style is often more relaxing and restorative for many students who are recovering from cancer, instead of moving quickly through a physically demanding sequence of asanas, such as in Ashtanga or Bikram Yoga classes. Yin Yoga postures are also highly effective at increasing the healthy flow of the lymph through the lymphatic system, which will improve the overall functioning of your immune system. Additionally, Yin Yoga poses also help to gently and effectively release the tension that is held in the connective tissues of the body. 

If you have undergone a surgical procedure to remove a cancerous tumor and/or lymph nodes, you may have a sensation of physical armoring or tension in that particular area. Gently engaging in Yin Yoga postures will help to release this tension and will help to improve the lymphatic flow in that area. There are also specific types of massage that will help to improve lymphatic flow. In addition, rebounding, or jumping on a mini-trampoline, is reputed to be highly effective for improving the functioning of your lymphatic system.

Do be aware that it is important to check with your doctor or surgeon before engaging in any form of exercise after surgery or other cancer treatments. If your doctor says that it is safe for you to engage in a Yoga practice, participating in some Yin Yoga classes will help to soothe your mind, improve your flexibility and increase the functioning of your lymphatic system. Practicing gentle Yoga postures regularly will also help to increase your muscle strength, flexibility and boost your overall sense of well-being. 

Preventing a sense of isolation and maintaining your connection to supportive family members and friends is critically important to warding off the depression that is so common to many cancer patients. Participating in classes at a local Yoga studio or health club during the course of your cancer treatment and recovery, is one way that you can easily maintain your connection with other like-minded individuals and help to foster an internal spirit of optimism and hope during your cancer journey. There are also many resources online that offer information about other complementary and integrative approaches to healing cancer, including the benefits of a modified Yoga practice. 

Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York; where she specializes in writing customized, search engine-optimized articles that are 100% unique. She is currently accepting yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com. 

© Copyright – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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Generating Enthusiasm in a Yoga Class: Pacing

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed

As a professional Yoga teacher, one of the underlying goals is to generate enthusiasm in your classes. The word “enthusiasm” is literally translated as “to be filled with the spirit of God.” What a wonderfully uplifting goal to have for the students who attend your Yoga classes! If your students walk off their mats at the end of class and feel like they have been filled with the spirit of God, you will have certainly accomplished a numinous goal, indeed. 

Do keep in mind that many of your students may have rushed to attend your class in the early morning hours just prior to work, or they may have come to the studio directly after finishing work. In either case, many of your students may arrive “on the mat” feeling a bit overwhelmed, rushed, tense, and often tired from a long day. By helping your students to ground at the beginning of a Yoga class, you will help them to both physically and mentally arrive in class, before they begin to flow through the physical postures. 

In addition, by generating a bubbling sense of enthusiasm for the Yoga practice you have created for your students, you will be further supporting them in their own practice. A personal sense of enthusiasm for Yoga can be generated in a number of different ways. One of the most important elements to spreading a contagious, enthusiastic spirit is to embody the spirit of enthusiasm yourself. This may be accomplished in a variety of ways, depending on your own individual relationship with the practice of Yoga. 

For instance, if you connect strongly with a particular teacher or with Bhakti Yoga, you may find that saying a brief prayer, setting an intention and chanting some opening mantras, helps to put you immediately into contact with the divine energy that is being nourished through the practice. Taking a few minutes to remember how Yoga has helped you to personally transform your own life, will further fuel your inspiration to help your students experience the same personal transformation. 

Any of these contemplative techniques will help to remind you of the myriad and profound benefits of Yoga, which will uplift and inspire you. When you are uplifted and inspired about the transformative practice of Yoga, your students will feel your enthusiasm and will become more enthusiastic about the practice themselves. In addition, setting a “do-able” and challenging pace for your class will support your students’ morale during class.

If you set a pace that is too slow for many of your Yoga students, they may become bored and their attention may drift. They may even start to watch the clock, which has the potential to demoralize you as well! On the other hand, if you set a pace that is too fast for many of the students in your class, you may find that their enthusiasm diminishes, because they feel that they cannot safely keep up with the class you are teaching. 

As a professional Yoga teacher, it is part of your job to design a sequence of postures to lead your students through that creates a balanced, safe and effective class. The pacing of your class will depend on the ability and fitness level of each group of students that your are instructing. Being able to flexibly modify the sequence of postures and the pacing of the class that you have prepared to teach, in order to match the ability and fitness level of the group of students in your class is one of the most important qualities of an exceptional Yoga teacher.

In addition, by creating a sequence of asanas that starts with some gentle warm-up postures, builds towards a pinnacle pose during the more active part of the practice, and then gently flows into some calming forward bends and restorative finishing postures, you will allow the heat and the energy of the practice to build up slowly during your class. This type of pacing will help you to germinate enthusiasm during your class, because your students will feel safe, supported and challenged during their time on the Yoga mat with you. 

Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York; where she specializes in writing customized, search engine-optimized articles that are 100% unique. She is currently accepting yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com. 

© Copyright 2015 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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Teaching a Detoxifying Yoga Class: Inversions

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed.

As the spring season begins to enter into full bloom, many Yoga students are interested in participating in a detoxifying Yoga class. The spring season is one of the most optimal times of the year for doing spring-cleaning, both externally and internally. On an external level, you may feel pulled to steam clean the carpets in your house, reorganize your closet and clean out the refrigerator. On an internal level, you may feel pulled to release physical stress and tension, as well as detoxifying negative emotions or painful experiences that are lodged in your body and mind, as part of your spring cleaning.  

A balanced practice of Yoga postures, breathing exercises and meditation techniques is a very effective way of detoxifying the physical, mental and emotional aspects of our being. On a physical level, most Yoga postures increase the flow of the lymphatic system, which helps to rid the body of metabolic waste and toxins that are often found in our food and water. A vigorous sequence of postures, such as the Primary Series of Ashtanga Yoga, helps to flush new blood and oxygen throughout your entire body, which supports the detoxification of build up waste material, known in Ayurveda as “ama.” 

The pranayama or breathing exercises of Yoga help to deeply oxygenate the tissues in the body and balance the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. When these two nervous systems are balanced and working in harmony with each other, you will feel energized, calm and focused, all at the same time! As a Yoga practitioner or teacher, if you weave the practice of meditation into a class, you will be further supporting the illumination of thoughts that may be overly negative or pessimistic, so that you and/or your students will have the opportunity to witness those thoughts and choose to let the thoughts go that are dimming and negative. 

Inversions are generally defined as Yoga postures where the head is below the heart. Any inversion that places the head below the heart area will help to increase the flow of lymphatic drainage in areas of the body that often become stagnant if you don’t shake things up a bit by inverting. Inversions help to increase the circulation of blood and oxygen throughout the brain, which helps to improve memory, concentration and the ability to focus. Inversions are quite energizing for this reason as well. Inversions also offer the additional benefits of fighting disease and boosting your immunity, by increase the functioning of the lymphatic system. 

* Modified Viparita Karani or Legs Up the Wall Pose

Viparita Karani is a wonderfully balancing and detoxifying moderate inversion. It is easily practiced by most students and offers many of the same benefits of some of the more challenging inversions, such as Headstand, Handstand and Plow Pose. This postures helps to ease stress and anxiety, reduce headaches, alleviate arthritis, and lower blood pressure. It also helps to energize tired legs and reduce the pain of menstrual cramps. Because this posture is an inversion, Viparita Karani also improves the functioning of the immune system, as the increased flow of the lymphatic system helps to detoxify the body. 

If you are teaching a Yoga lesson and you would like to include some postures in your class that are particularly effective for detoxification, Viparita Karani is an ideal inversion for many students to practice. Please note that there are a few contraindications for this posture, students who are menstruating or pregnant, have glaucoma, a heart condition or high blood pressure, should consult their doctor before practicing inversions. Although Viparita Karani is usually practiced against a wall, this posture can also be practiced in the middle of the room with a small pillow or folded blanket placed underneath the students’ hips for support. 

Practicing the modified version of Viparita Karani away from the wall will help to increase your students’ core abdominal strength, as well as offering them all of the benefits of practicing an inversion. For those students who have the flexibility, clasping their hands around their buttocks will further increase the stretch throughout the shoulders and neck. Modified Viparita Karani is usually practiced towards the final third of a Yoga session and just prior to a series of finishing postures. This pose may be practiced as a stand-alone inversion, in lieu of a more challenging inversion, if it is more appropriate and manageable for most of the students in your Yoga class. 

Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York; where she specializes in writing customized, search engine-optimized articles that are 100% unique. She is currently accepting yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com. 

© Copyright 2015 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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Teaching Meditation in a Yoga Class: Setting an Intention

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed.

There are many different forms of meditation practiced in the world today. The contemplative practice of coming to a still point in one's mind is found in every religion throughout the world. Although the outer forms of meditation may vary among spiritual traditions, the essential nature of the practice itself remains quite similar, regardless of the outer form. Ultimately, the practice of meditation is intended to lead the meditator to the inner chamber of his or her heart, where the flickering light of divinity resides.

The Ancient Greek word for meditation is “meletao.” When meletao is translated from Greek into English, one of the primary meanings is “to care for.” I think this is a lovely translation of the Ancient Greek root for our contemporary word for meditation. When we engage in the practice of meditation, we are focused on the most fundamental aspect of taking care of our minds and body, by promoting a sense of peace and expansive well-being when we allow our thoughts to come to rest in the still point within our own beings.  

If you are Yoga teacher, including even a brief period of meditation into your Yoga class will support your students in truly being able to rest. According to the classical Yogic scriptures, the primary purpose of practicing the physical postures of Yoga and pranayama exercises is to prepare the body and mind to settle into a deep, meditative state. Many students begin practicing Yoga in order to increase their physical well-being and prowess. By incorporating a period of meditation into your class, you will help your students to understand some of the profound inner benefits of a regular Yoga practice.  

The first recommended step to introducing your Yoga students to this contemplative practice is to explain some of the benefits of meditation, such as reducing anxiety, alleviating depression and lowering blood pressure. You may also wish to read a brief passage from a classical Yogic scripture, such as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, in order to frame this practice in its proper context. The second step to introducing your students to the practice of meditation is to form an intention for the practice itself. There are many different forms of meditation that are intended to nurture and support different emotional states. 

For example, there are many forms of Buddhist meditation that strive to increase certain emotional states within the meditator’s heart and mind. Some of these emotional states include feelings of compassion, forgiveness and generosity. Other practices of meditation are primarily aimed at stilling the thought waves of the mind. These meditation practices encourage a sense of being grounded, present and focused. The type of meditation practice that you teach to your Yoga students will depend on the individual students in your class and on the overall feeling in your Yoga class on any given day.

In other words, if you are planning to lead your students through a meditation session focused on generating feelings of compassion, but you find that your class is very ungrounded and scattered, it may be more effective to offer your Yoga students a meditation visualization that is intended to help them feel more grounded. For instance, by focusing on an internal image of one candle flame, their minds will be more likely to quiet and rest in the stillness within their own beings. This ability to mentally rest, however brief, will help to restore and rejuvenate your students for the day or evening ahead. 

Similarly, if your Yoga students are experiencing a lot of emotional upset around the holidays, and many of them are struggling to forgive family members or friends for their perceived shortcomings, you may find that leading your class through a brief period of meditation that is intended to nurture feelings of generosity and forgiveness is more appropriate. It is not uncommon for many Yoga instructors to feel resistant to leading their students through a session of meditation during class because of a perceived lack of time. However, by sequencing your class in such a way that the physically active portion of the practice finishes 10-15 minutes prior to the scheduled end of your class, you will have an ample amount of time to facilitate a calming and nourishing period of meditation for your Yoga students. 

Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York; where she specializes in writing customized, search engine-optimized articles that are 100% unique. She is currently accepting yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com. 

© Copyright 2015 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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