Empower Your Health: How Yoga Can Help Prevent Cancer

Taking proactive steps towards a healthier lifestyle can significantly reduce your risk of cancer. Cancerous cells are present in all our bodies. In the yogic system, cancerous cells are compared to criminals in a society. When certain kinds of energy blocks happen in the body, an atmosphere conducive to the growth of cancerous cells is created. Ensuring the flow of energy is good in all parts of the body can prevent cancerous cells from taking hold.

One of the most effective and holistic approaches to maintaining your well-being is incorporating yoga into your daily routine. Yoga brings balance and alignment to all body parts and systems: muscles, bones, organs, and the mind. It’s a holistic path to wellness that focuses on interconnection.

Here are five reasons why yoga should be part of everyone’s cancer-prevention plan.

1. Yoga Strengthens The Immune System

Strengthening the immune system keeps all of the body’s systems working together. It takes a village: the failure of any one system threatens the health of the whole community. Cancer therapies that strengthen the immune system are proving helpful in fighting a wide variety of cancers.

Research shows that yoga boosts immunity. A 2013 study in Norway found that regular practice of gentle yoga and meditation had a rapid effect at the genetic level in circulating cancer-fighting immune cells. Mindfulness meditation also appears to change the brain and immune function in positive ways.

2. Yoga Detoxifies The Body

Detoxification is the vital metabolic process by which dead cells and toxins (like the flu virus, rogue cancer cells, or other pathogens) are excreted from the body. Yoga acts as the muscle of the lymphatic system—the body’s plumbing and trash-removal system. Just as the heart muscle circulates blood, yoga increases lymphatic flow with specific breathing and movement practices. Inversions, a fundamental part of yoga, utilize movement and body positioning to enhance cardiovascular and lymphatic drainage.

Another way yoga detoxifies the body is through compression. B. K. S. Iyengar called it the “squeeze and soak” process, which cleans internal organs the same way a sponge discharges dirty water when squeezed. Abdominal twists, for example, activate internal organs and guide the release of toxins into the lymphatic system.

Yoga also detoxifies the mind. Survivors live with the fear of cancer returning, and this daily anxiety is a mental toxin. We can detoxify the mind by using breath movement, relaxing into gravity in restorative poses, and quietly observing our thoughts in meditation.

3. Yoga Builds Bones

Strong bones are linked to cancer prevention because our bones house bone marrow, where new red and white blood cells are constantly produced. White blood cells are needed to form leukocytes, our natural cancer-fighting immune cells. If our bones are compromised from a break or osteoporosis (a side effect of chemotherapy), so too is the production of a nourishing blood supply and immune protection.

A pilot study by Kripalu presenter Loren Fishman, MD, applied yoga practice to sufferers of osteoporosis and osteopenia. The results showed that 85 percent of the yoga practitioners gained bone in both the spine and hip, while nearly every member of the control group maintained or lost bone mass. Yoga is safer for strong bone building than many gym routines because it puts weight on the bones in a precise, deliberate way.

4. Yoga Reduces Stress

Chronic stress can weaken the immune system and increase cancer risk. Cancer patients and survivors experience stress similar to that endured by military veterans. They are bombarded by frightening information, subjected to invasive procedures, and must endure cold clinics and blank stares.

A 2009 study of cancer survivors developed and tested a concept that measures how we respond to “post-traumatic stress growth,” the positive flip side to suffering with stress. This growth occurs when people make traumatic events a pivotal point in their life, ultimately thriving after cancer. The thriving survivor enjoys blissful moments, which can lead to further change and the ability to find positive ways to manage stress.

Yoga can enhance that positivity. A 2009 study on the effects of yoga on emotions found an increase in positive emotions such as calmness and a sense of purpose in more than 50 percent of subjects. Women participating in a 10-week program of restorative yoga classes gained positive differences in aspects of mental health such as depression, positive emotions, and spirituality (feeling calm and peaceful), compared to the control group.

5. Yoga Aids Weight Management

Obesity is a key, if not the largest, indicator of both cancer incidence and recurrence. In the United States, excess body weight is thought to contribute to as many as one out of five cancer-related deaths. Being overweight or obese is clearly linked with an increased risk of several types of cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends that obese individuals increase weekly exercise to 300 minutes to reduce the chances of cancer or recurrence.

Research on the impact of yoga on weight gain is still in the early stages. One study showed that yoga had a more positive impact on obesity and depression than aerobic exercise. While yoga for cancer survivors often focuses on gentle or restorative methods (which are necessary and beneficial), it can and should be active, and therefore calorie-burning—while also being safe, physically accessible, welcoming, and inclusive. Yoga can help cancer survivors manage weight gain, which improves self-esteem, the ability to function normally, and ultimately reduces the risk of recurrence and mortality.

Yoga can boost your mental and physical fitness by improving sleep, busting stress, strengthening your heart, and more. For thousands of years, yogis have been touting yoga’s mental and physical powers. Luckily, you don’t have to be an expert to reap the benefits—adding just a few yoga poses to your daily routine can help your health in all kinds of unexpected ways.