Onco-Yoga & Mindful Movement

Research into yoga and mindfulness in cancer care has focused most consistently on cancer-related fatigue, sleep quality, anxiety and general quality of life, with encouraging results in supportive settings.

We are careful about what we claim. These practices support how you feel and function during treatment. They do not treat cancer, and no session will ever be presented as doing so.

Practice can be done seated in a chair, or lying down, when standing is too much. On low-energy days a session may be nothing more than breathing and a few supported movements — that still counts.

Movements are modified around surgical sites, drains, ports and any restriction your surgeon has specified. If a movement causes pain, it is removed rather than pushed through.

Two moments come up repeatedly: the days before a scan or result, and the hours after midnight when the house is quiet and worry expands. Structured breathing and short guided meditations give you something concrete to do in both.

These are short, learnable practices, designed to be used alone at 2am without an instructor present.

Before beginning, we ask about your diagnosis, treatment stage, surgeries and any movement restrictions you have been given. Where there is any doubt — bone involvement, low platelet counts, lymphoedema risk, recent surgery — we ask you to confirm with your treating team first.

Inverted postures, deep twists and weight-bearing on affected limbs are avoided unless specifically cleared.

There is no requirement to practise daily. A realistic pattern during treatment might be two guided sessions a week with short breathing practices on the days between, scaled down entirely in the days immediately after an infusion.

Consistency matters more than duration. Five minutes of breathing on a bad day maintains the habit better than forcing a full session and then avoiding practice for a fortnight.

Practise on a firm, non-slip surface with a wall or sturdy chair within reach for balance. Keep water nearby and stop if you feel dizzy, breathless beyond mild exertion, or any sharp pain.

Avoid practising immediately after eating, and take particular care on days when your blood counts are low or you have been unsteady on your feet. If you live alone and feel weak, tell your instructor so that sessions stay seated.

Recovery from treatment is often slower than people expect, and fatigue can persist for months after the final cycle. Gradual, structured movement is one of the better-supported approaches to rebuilding capacity in that period.

Practice at this stage shifts from conservation towards slowly rebuilding strength, mobility and confidence in a body that may feel unfamiliar.

People often conclude they are bad at meditation because their thoughts keep intruding. Wandering attention is not failure — noticing it and returning is the practice itself.

During treatment, when worry is realistic rather than irrational, sitting in silence can make things worse rather than better. In those periods we use anchored practices instead: attention on the breath, on physical sensation, or on a spoken guide, so the mind has something to hold rather than open space to fill.

Breathwork sits at the centre of onco-yoga because it is the one practice available on every kind of day — seated, lying down, in a hospital chair during an infusion. Slow, structured breathing gives the nervous system something to settle around, and it is the part of the practice most people continue long after treatment ends.

Techniques are kept gentle and are never forced or breath-held aggressively. If you have had chest or abdominal surgery, a port, or any respiratory involvement, tell your instructor so the practice is adapted around it.