Marcia’s 5 yoga poses to support you through treatment

Please check with a medical professional before you practise yoga and remember to listen to your body throughout. If something doesn’t feel right in your body, ease off. 

1) Knee to Chest Flow

Benefits:

• Stimulates circulation of the lymphatic system
• Connects breath to movement and brings awareness of the breath
• Releases hips and lower back
• Stimulates digestion

How to:

1. Lie on your back in a straight line, drawing chin slightly towards chest, legs extended
2. Inhale and take your arms over your head (or as far as is comfortable for you)
3. Exhale and hug right knee to chest
4. Inhale and take your arms overhead and release right leg long
5. Exhale and hug left knee to chest
6. Inhale and take your arms overhead 

Repeat for 10 rounds, alternating between sides and synchronise breath with movement. 

2) Cat/Cow

Benefits:

• Builds strength and flexibility in shoulders
• Mobilises the spine
• Improves circulation
• Connects breath to movement
• Builds awareness of whole body

How to:

1. Start in Table Top (all fours) position on a yoga mat (or place a blanket under knees for padding)
2. Place the shoulders over the wrists and hips over knees (spine neutral)
3. Spread the fingers wide, root down through the palms and press down through the shins so you’re resisting gravity
4. Initiate the movement from the tailbone: inhale lift the tailbone and draw the chest forward as you arch the back into Cow
5. Exhale and curl the tailbone under, rounding the spine into Cat and broaden into your shoulder blades

Repeat 10 times, synchronising breath with movement, keeping a slow, fluid, mindful flow, noticing how you feel as you move your spine.

3) Extended Child Pose

Benefits:

• Stretches shoulders and armpits
• Releases spine
• Opens hips
• Calms the nervous system

How to:

Start in Table Top, with a neutral spine, and place a yoga brick or book in front of your right hand. 

1. Place the hand on top
2. Inhale, lift tailbone and lengthen chest
3. Exhale, curl tailbone and take sitting bones to heels, take an inhale in Child
4. Exhale, curl tailbone, rounding the spine to Table Top
5. Inhale, lift tailbone, lengthen chest forward
6. Repeat 5 times on right side, then repeat 5 times on left side. 

Practise slowly with awareness, particularly if you are feeling any tightness or resistance due to scar tissue. 

4) Tree Pose

Benefits:

• Builds leg strength
• Strengthens feet and calves
• Mobilises and strengthens hips
• Develops balance
• Focuses and calms the mind

How to:

1. Stand on a hard floor (non-carpeted) in Mountain Pose and use a wall or chair for support if you need to
2. Find a gaze point and fix your gaze
3. Come onto the ball of your right foot and turn out your right leg, keeping your pelvis facing forward
4. Option 1: Keep the foot on the floor
5. Option 2: Raise the foot to the inner calf
6. Option 3: Raise the foot to the inner thigh. Press the lifted foot into the leg and the standing leg into the foot
7. Work with the option that’s right for you
8. Root down through the standing foot, and draw the energy up through the leg, spine and crown of the head
9. Take the palms to the heart in Prayer position
10. Lightly engage the abdomen

Breathe for 5 full breaths and don’t worry if you wobble – it’s all part of the process! Repeat on left side.

5) Legs Up Wall or Legs on Chair Pose

Benefits:

• Combats fatigue
• Restores energy
• Improves circulation in legs
• Calms the nervous system

How to:

This pose can be done with the legs up the wall or resting on a chair.

Wall version

1. Sit on a blanket sideways to the wall and carefully swing your legs around and up the wall so that your lower back is resting on the blanket 
2. If you have tight hamstrings you may want to take your buttocks further away from the wall, or slightly bend the knees 
3. Have another blanket close by to place under your head.  Rest the arms down by your side, palms up, and close the eyes, softening the face muscles and using each exhalation to let go

Chair version

1. Place a blanket on the seat of the chair and lie down with a blanket under your head
2. Shuffle down so that your legs are at a right angle on the seat and the back of the knees are at the edge of the seat
3. Soften your whole body from face to feet and focus on your exhale, feeling your body let go to the support of the floor beneath you

Stay here for 5-10 minutes, or until you feel ready to come down. 

To come out of the pose, bend the knees, roll to one side and come up sideways with the head coming up last of all.

Marcia has launched ‘Yoga for Breast Cancer’ online classes and sees clients individually for private yoga therapy sessions. No previous experience of yoga is necessary. Find out more on her website or Instagram @yogaforbreastcancer.