Eugene Family YMCA

The YMCA of Austin (Austin, TX)

The YMCA of Austin Livestrong program provides lowcost or free classes with discounted membership at the Y for enrollees. Those who are 18 and older are welcome to enroll, as well as those in treatment with physician approval. With a 1:6 instructor to student ratio, the 12-week long program ensures a personalized experience and covers a variety of important topics from mental health and nutrition to survivorship. Run twice a week for 75 minutes, the evening class creates a welcoming environment for survivors. In one instance, the students closed the curtains and took off their wigs because everyone felt comfortable with one another.

The program notes that one hurdle many people don’t think about overcoming is difficulties in balance posttreatment. To address this concern, the classes include a pre and post program assessment to help students improve on areas of concern, including balance. The well-paced classes provide an opportunity to improve at your own pace and make friends along the way!

Photo provided by the Eugene Family YMCA

YMCA of Greater Boston (Boston, MA)

The Boston Y’s Livestrong program creates a group setting that brings students direct and indirect support. The 12-week long program meets twice a week, (Mondays and Wednesdays 1:30 to 3:00 pm) and is free of cost. Classes are open to both adults and children, and for anyone currently undergoing treatment. A doctor’s approval is required to participate.

Workouts are socially distanced in reserved rooms, and trainers wear masks at all times. Cleaning is done continuously before and after sessions to ensure the safety of students. The workouts follow the Queenax pre-core regime which helps students slowly build up cardio, and with a yoga style class, students can make improvements without overstraining their bodies. Students also celebrate birthdays and enjoy lunch together. The program provides a continuous place of support for anyone willing to participate.

Eugene Family YMCA (Eugene, OR)

This 12-week long program encourages students to “start low and go slow.” Students work with trained staff members who help guide students towards their fitness goals. The programs help improve not only physical wellbeing, but mental and personal health as well.

However because of the program’s popularity, the wait list often holds as many as 40 people at once. To provide access to more people, the Eugene Family YMCA provides a 6-video series, Reclaim, that teaches people cardio, balance, meditation and more, all available on their website.

Because of COVID, the program hasn’t been in person, but they plan on coming back by the end of February 2022.

The Takeaway?

The Livestrong program is one of many free/low cost classes that provide a great opportunity to meet new people and improve your physical condition. Contact your local Y and ask about programs available to cancer survivors.

Though this first step may be difficult, it is an important and necessary one. Take your time making these baby steps as each step, no matter how small, is still a step made towards a stronger you.

Photo provided by the Eugene Family YMCA

Special thanks to everyone at The Livestrong Foundation, the Eugene Family YMCA in Oregon, the YMCA of Austin, the YMCA of Greater Boston and the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas for their time and willingness to share more about this wonderful program with us.

Try this simple practice you can do anywhere, anytime.

Balanced Breath Practice (Sama Vritti pranayama):

Breathe in and out through your nostrils

Inhale smoothly for a count of 4 Exhale smoothly for a count of 4

Breath is continuous and relaxed, no pausing or holding the breath

Continue for about 5 minutes or longer if you have time.

Yoga

There are many variations on this practice, but this foundational breath helps to balance the sympathetic and para-sympathetic nervous systems bringing the mind into a place of calm, focused awareness.

The Power of Breath

By Lisa Coyle, RYT, AYS, Y4C, HHC, Yoga and Meditation Teacher Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist, Yoga4Cancer Certified Teacher Lisa teaches group classes at Good Vibes Yoga Dallas, The Mat Yoga Studio, Uptown Yoga Dallas

Starting Again with Each Inhale and Exhale

The practice of yoga is becoming more and more common in advertisements and media. We see images of lithe, young, mostly white women in poses that seem to defy both gravity and physical capability. So, one can be forgiven for assuming that yoga is just that: contorting one’s body into an impossible form that should somehow lead to inner peace. It’s no wonder that many people feel that yoga just is not for them. It looks too hard. It seems too weird. As someone who was first exposed to yoga at the age of 19 and who has continued to practice, in one form or another, until my current age of 60, please let me tell you that yoga is so much more than what you may think.

Yoga practice is designed to calm the movement of the mind, gain agency over the wanderings of thoughts and begin to respond to our life rather than react reflexively. The main tool used to achieve these goals is managing breathing. Particularly for someone who is dealing with the shock of that initial cancer diagnosis, learning how to manage breath can be transformational. Tari Prinster, a breast cancer survivor and the author of the Yoga4Cancer teaching methodology, says, “Cancer steals your breath; yoga gives it back.”

Yoga looks at each moment as an opportunity to begin again, each inhale a chance to receive fresh oxygen and life energy, each exhale an opportunity to let go. I have been teaching yoga for over 20 years and teaching Yoga4Cancer (Y4C) for 5 years now. One thing my Y4C students always mention is how much they appreciate breathing techniques. It helps them prepare for doctor visits where they will be getting test results and grounds them during chemotherapy treatments or surgery preparations. Focusing on breath curbs the urge to engage in “what if” thinking, which only leads to increased fear and anxiety. Watching the breath rise and fall through the nostrils anchors the mind into the present moment. And in that moment, the mind is quiet. There can be peace.

You can do it now. Rest your attention on the sensation of breath rising and falling through the nostrils. Rise and fall. Rise and fall. Each breath is a new beginning.