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All the people who participate in the yoga classes of the Salut Plus Foundation benefit from its effects, regardless of the degree of seriousness of their illness.
Comments such as,"although one starts the class with a low tone, feeling bad, one comes out different, more cheered up, with strength to move forward, noticing how body and mind have been transformed", are common.
Yoga gives them a sense of control over their own lives (they do something for themselves that helps them feel better), increasing self-esteem, self-confidence and improving their self-concept. I see that yoga also facilitates the expression of emotions. On the other hand, the classes offer a social support that many, due to the disease, have been losing. On a psychological level, it facilitates a better acceptance of the diagnosis, as well as the consequences and limitations of the disease. In addition, I believe that the practice of yoga reinforces coping behaviors that are vital in each diagnosis, reducing psychosocial stress and improving the adaptation to their daily life.”.
Claudia Massé
Director of the Salut Plus Foundation
(Foundation for the psychosocial care for the chronically ill)
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I was quite skeptical about yoga, but I have found it to be a transformative experience. After the class it even changes the way I think, the way I see the world... and the effects last 3-4 days."
Amina
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I don't cry of sadness, I cry of freedom."
(First class of a patient one month after a mastectomy)
Caroline
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I have never felt as good anywhere as during the sessions."
Yolanda
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Yoga is being one of the great aids of my pancreatic cancer (which not only affects the organ but the whole body, mind and spiritual interior). During chemo I always did yoga before going to the session. My body relaxed, my mind calmed down and this allowed the chemotherapy to enter my body more smoothly. With this method I got the side effects to decrease drastically. During the treatment, yoga helped me to be more vital, stronger and the tiredness was reduced as well. Then I had surgery and I have been left without 5 organs (including the pancreas) and yoga continues to help me. It helps me to acquire the muscle strength I need, it helps me to concentrate, to breathe, with pain... but above all it helps me to remember that I am a person who loves life, loves important people, and that I love myself very much. Today I couldn't live without yoga".
Rosa
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Yoga was an unknown world for me, I am normally quite skeptical about these topics, but I have discovered that it is different. It has taught me many things that I apply in my daily life".
Dolors
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I think many people don't know how yoga helps. I am doing very well, I had done classes before, but not like the ones here, they are very thorough and help me to relax a lot".
Concha
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It has been perfect for me! I leave as good as new, super relaxed".
(Person with metastasis who started the class with very little mobility and high levels of anxiety)
Lola
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When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I had been disconnected from myself for a long time... That's when I started doing yoga. I had practiced before and knew it was just what I needed. It was like coming home. I felt my cellular memory slowly awaken and I became aware of every part of my body again... from then I knew that I will never feel alone again".”.
Maria Rosa
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I have polymyalgia. I came to the yoga class with a lot of pain in my knees, especially in one of them, which was swollen. During the session it subsided until I forgot about it. By the end of the session, the pain was completely gone".
Yolanda
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5 months ago I was diagnosed with lung cancer, 2 months ago I had surgery. I breathe with difficulty but today, at the end of my first yoga class, I felt that I could breathe more easily".
Jacint
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Since I have had the disease it is the first time I have been able to inhale deeply without coughing, before it was impossible for me."
(Person diagnosed with sclerodemia with pulmonary fibrosis talking about her first session)
Gemma
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I came in a wheelchair and at the end of the class I was able to walk on my own, with the slight help of a crutch".
(A person with metastasis and several brain tumors who in recent weeks had lost a lot of mobility on the left side of her body and had to use a wheelchair to get around. The practice of yoga facilitated the release of accumulated fear and tensions allowing the body to optimize its functions and recover some of its strength and mobility).
Esther
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Me operaron de cáncer de boca hace cinco meses y, debido a problemas funcionales que me causaban mucho dolor, tuvieron que volverme a operar hace un mes. Tengo siempre incomodidad, tensión y dolor en esta zona. Hoy, después de la sesión, estas sensaciones se han anulado completamente. Me sucede normalmente cuando me duermo, pero hoy lo he podido hacer de forma consciente. Esto ha hecho que me pueda sentir igual que antes de la operación y haya podido experimentar que yo no soy el cáncer, sino mucho más «.
(Testimony of a regular yoga practitioner reflecting how regular practice generates cumulative effects).
Esperanza
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At night, if I wake up with a lot of anxiety in my chest, I do the Yoga breaths and I can relax and go back to sleep. Since I started the classes I am much better, much calmer and I feel more at ease with myself. I am happier".
Maria Lluïsa
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I cry when I feel this reconnection with myself, I had forgotten that this harmony existed within me".
(Person who in the last year had undergone mastectomy and brain aneurysm surgery)
Helena
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The sudden diagnosis of a stage IV cancer with metastases in the brain plunged me into a state of great stress and suffering. From the first day I started practicing yoga three times a week and learned to dissolve it and access a deep peace. One year after diagnosis this discipline has become a new habit through which I can take control of my well-being."
Enrique
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The leukemia treatment caused me a lot of pain in my joints that, thanks to the practice of yoga, I have been able to alleviate a lot."
Mariona
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I was operated on for stomach cancer in the middle of the lockdown. The treatments (since then I have no stomach) and the loneliness in which I lived because of the pandemic caused me suffering and anger that I have not allowed myself to express until now. I was afraid to feel it and that is why I repressed it. During the first yoga session, which I did six months after the operation, these blockages began to mobilize. The next day I cried for the first time in a long time... In the second session I could feel my breath flowing, something I had not experienced since before the diagnosis. Yoga has given me tools to release so much suffering and, together with psychological therapy, it is helping me to feel much better".
Montserrat
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I came to the session with a lot of anguish and stress. I am asthmatic, last week I was admitted for an anxiety crisis, I also have a chronic nasal irritation due to strong allergies that prevents me from breathing through my nose. I am currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer for which I have received chemo and radiation. I came out of the session breathing much better, at times I even felt like I could breathe through my nose. I feel much more relaxed and my anxiety and stress have gone down a lot".
Joana
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I have always been an extremely demanding and high-strung person. As a result of cancer and three herniated discs my physical and mental tone dropped a lot and I could no longer meet this high level of demand. At the same time I have permanent pain in my lower back and trouble sleeping. All this has led me to depression. In this respect yoga has helped me a lot. I have learned to relax for the first time in my life, I can relieve my pain (sometimes at the end of the session I don't even remember it) and it helps me to sleep better. All of this is mainly thanks to the breathing techniques (especially the lung emptying, which helps me a lot to release anxiety). I feel that practicing yoga also reduces my depression. In general I feel better".
Josefina
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I have metastases and although I have doubled my chances following the initial diagnosis, I live with continuous nervousness. The psycho-oncologist told me to try to rest for 10 minutes every day, but I could not. I started yoga thinking that it would be impossible for me to endure the hour and a quarter of class... not only does it fly by but I manage to relax! Something that was impossible before".
Fina
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Today, after my first yoga session, I have had the very clear vision that I desire and deserve peace. I have understood that the people with whom I have conflicts also have their reasons and I have decided that I am going to do my best to solve them".
Ana
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Essentially, yoga has helped me in terms of personal and spiritual evolution. I have literally felt myself growing and opening up. It has been like an inner cleansing that has removed me emotionally, freed me from grudges and facilitated acceptance. Now I feel much more connected with myself, more fulfilled and grateful, where before I was not so much. On a more physical level, I feel it has helped me to increase my lung capacity and, on a mental level, my concentration.
Eva
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Because of the cancer and the treatment my legs hurt a lot and, in general, I didn't feel well at all. My daughter convinced me to go to yoga classes. At the beginning she accompanied me and did the class with me. I remember I couldn't even sit on the mat! Over time I began to feel better, more agile, to lose weight, my pain began to decrease... Little by little I have developed the habit of practicing every day at home. Now, when my husband is watching TV, I go into the next room and do yoga, breathing techniques, etc. For me it's a before and after".
Natalia
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I have done Yoga every day since the beginning of my treatment, which has included a double mastectomy, a hysterectomy, chemotherapy, etc. Yoga has been a fundamental part in the recovery of my balance and well-being. It has helped me to relax (it was impossible for me), to lose the fear of separation, to harmonize my body, to strengthen it and to stabilize and calm the mind".
Anika
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Three years ago I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. At that time I was in a very bad way, with many ups and downs, I had permanent physical ailments that took me continuously to rehabilitation, a very negative view of life and great sadness. It was very difficult to adjust my medication. I even lost my voice for 3 weeks.