Each of the 8 weekly lessons will include gentle and restorative yoga postures, the art of breathing, relaxation and guided imagery experiences.
WEEK 1 - What is yoga? How can it help you improve your quality of life as a breast cancer survivor?
You will share a little about yourself; what has brought you to the program and what you would like to get from it.
WEEK 2 - What is stress and how does it impact your life as a breast cancer survivor? And your life in general?
When possible, you will take a stress test (medical or stress dots) and then share about your stress levels and main stressors in your life as a breast cancer survivor.
WEEK 3 - Breathing, Breath Awareness and Health
Explores the relationship of the breath to overall health. You will experience how breath can both bring on the stress response and help to reduce it, and learn about healthy and unhealthy breathing patterns.
WEEK 4 - Postural Health
Guest Speaker: Dr. Ankit Desai, plastic surgeon
Builds on the awareness of habitual body posture and how it affects health, including the breath, heart and healing. Includes exercises in postural evaluation, an opportunity for you to share your postural issues and final discussion on how physical posture affects your psycho-emotional posture.
WEEK 5 - Body Awareness, Stress and Health
Guest Speaker: Terri Bishop-Brahen, RN, LMT, LLCC MA22716, Certified Lymphatic and Reflexology Therapist
We can only heal what we can feel. You will be introduced to the importance of body awareness and exercise instruction in which you will note areas of comfort and discomfort (pain), stress and relaxation in your body, and draw your experiences on a body map or write your experience and share with the group.
WEEK 6 - Emotional Health
Guest Speaker: MSW dealing with grief, anger and living with a cancer diagnosis
Teaches how positive attitudes can improve your overall health picture as a breast cancer survivor. Also, how you respond to stress can inhibit healing and raise blood pressure. Includes ways to incorporate positive attitudes into your daily life:
WEEK 7 - Energetic Health
Guest Speaker: Acupuncturist
Introduces the awareness of the energetic body, flow of life force and the heart chakra, and how opening the heart is a key aspect of overall health.
WEEK 8 - Spiritual Health
Explores the nature of spirituality as individual and experiential, and examines the relationship between spirituality and life changing events. You will learn a simple mindfulness meditation techniques.
Joan E. Ryan, BS, Certified Professional Yoga Instructor and a 13-year cancer survivor, began her journey as a practitioner and teacher in 1972. She empowers individuals and groups to take control of their bodies, minds and lives while improving their overall wellness.
She has become internationally known for her therapeutic programs to address challenges such as anxiety, arthritis, cancer, chronic back pain, multiple sclerosis, scatica, scoliosis (adolescents and adults), insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome.
Joan has been a Reiki Master since 2004. Trained in the Usui system of energy healing, she offers Reiki treatments and Reiki Levels I, II, III (Master Level) training and attunments, She is a frequent contributing author to nationally distributed magazines.
To accommodate others who may wish to attend this class, we ask that all cancellations be submitted at least 72 hours prior to the start of the class. If you paid a fee for the event, and you submitted the cancellation notice 72 hours or more prior to the start of the event, you can either apply the class fee to another Baptist Health event or request a refund.
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