MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2022 - 11

FINDING YOGA Love Your Bones
it nice and slow. My oncologist encouraged
me every step of the way. She allowed me
to come into her office and practice yoga
with her and her staff. We would move the
chemo chairs and set up our yoga mats
twice a week. She told me that my bones
needed to be strengthened because I was
at an increased risk for developing osteopenia
or osteoporosis as a result of not
only the chemotherapy, but from having
my ovaries removed. She taught me that
my muscles would develop according to
the demands of daily life. Muscle growth
occurs when your muscles learn to overcome
new challenges. You have over 600
muscles that move your skeleton, mostly
attached to your bones via tendons. When
muscles flex, they guide your bones where
you want them to go. Therefore, I practice
yoga every single day. Even though
I cannot always get to a yoga studio, the
simple poses that I learned in class-the
breathing techniques, the meditation, and
prayer-have become a part of my daily
life. Just the act of sitting on the floor
helps to lessen tension in the hips, engages
your core, increases flexibility, and helps
with coordination. From there it became
a family thing. Yoga was introduced to
my children and we had our own little
yoga classes at home and occasionally at
local studios.
I have been practicing yoga for the
past 14 years and have met a lot of people
along the way who sustained injuries.
Because of my limitations when I began
practicing, I couldn't go into deep poses.
I could only do the bare minimum, but
that was enough to start building my
skills slowly, without incurring injury. My
oncologist was happy that I was building
my strength, my core, my muscles, and
my bones after the extreme trauma that
cancer and aggressive treatments had
subjected me to.
Even so, the oophorectomy changed
my hormones forever and I went straight
into menopause at the age of 33. I had
to do all I could to help my body. Yoga
helped me to sleep better and decreased
my hot flashes. After I mastered the basic
classes, I began to challenge myself
and take infrared heated yoga classes.
Sweating is healthy and can also be very
relaxing to your body and mind, leaving
you feeling refreshed and energized. It
" I am excited about getting stronger. Every new
workout routine that I embark on is challenging, but
I am focused on releasing trauma, building my bones,
and becoming a better me. "
was a major milestone going from the
basic yoga classes to the heated yoga
classes. It wasn't enough to just practice
my yoga, I had to take my vitamins and
eat nutritious foods to prevent osteoporosis
and other complications. I focused
on eating plenty of farm-fresh vegetables,
fruits, fish, poultry, and nuts. I
learned that eating too much animal
protein can leach calcium from your
bones, and to limit red meat consumption
to two times a week while keeping
portions small. I also found that cutting
down on soft drinks, fried foods, sweets,
and refined grains all have a positive
impact on bone health.
My yoga practice was improving daily.
I felt it was time to add some weights to
my routine. It's no stretch to say that the
older we get, the harder ordinary activities
MY LIFE MATTERS
SPRING 2022
11
MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2022

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