| When: |
Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
|
| Where: |
The Cancer Institute at St. Joseph Medical Center, Ground floor Café
|
| What: |
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, the Cancer Institute at St. Joseph Medical Center
launched a pilot yoga program for breast cancer survivors that will continue this winter and spring.
Class is open to any breast cancer survivor.
|
| Who: |
Ann Israel, E-RYT, RPYT, yoga teacher and Cancer Institute Outreach coordinator |
Yoga for breast cancer survivors is carefully tailored to meet patients’ needs based on each woman’s health status. It has been shown to reduce stress, decrease fatigue, and strengthen the body. “According to studies at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, yoga can also boost the ability of breast cancer survivors to handle their treatment and feel more relaxed in daily life,” says Ann Israel, who teaches the weekly yoga class for breast cancer survivors at St. Joseph’s Cancer Institute.
Israel is an experienced, registered yoga teacher (E-RYT), who has trained in yoga specific to breast cancer patients. “We focus on a series of movements that help to move and drain the lymph fluid away from the arms in order to prevent pooling of fluid and swelling on the affected side. This is very gentle yoga,” explains Israel. “Patients often protect and hunch the shoulder on their protected side. Yoga helps their posture, helps them open up, and helps break down scar tissue.”
She works with the class on strength and stamina for the lower body through yoga exercises such as “modified triangle,” “mountain pose,” and “cat and dog.” Survivors who need to can do their yoga seated in a chair.
Israel is also a registered prenatal yoga teacher (RPYT) and has taught yoga for more than a decade.
The cost of the class is $5 per session. To register for the class, call 410-427-2549.
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St. Joseph Medical Center is a 263-bed nonprofit, regional medical center in Towson, Md., and a member of Catholic Health Initiatives. Founded in 1864 by the Sisters of St. Francis, St. Joseph is the only NCI Community Cancer Centers Program in Maryland and has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s best orthopaedic facilities. For more information about St. Joseph Medical Center, visit www.StJosephTowson.com.