By now I am sure there are few among us whose lives haven't been touched by the affliction of Breast Cancer. Whether it's a spouse, relative, friend or neighbor virtually everyone's network circle includes someone who is suffering or has suffered from this pervasive disease. Our discussion this month is based on a recent paper entitled "Randomized Controlled Trial of Yoga Among a Multiethnic Sample of Breast Cancer Patients: Effects on Quality of Life" that appeared in the August 20, 2007 Journal of Clinical Oncology, Alyson B. Moadel, Chirag Shah, et.al.

For the study, 128 patients from an urban cancer center were randomly assigned to a 12 week yoga program or to a 12 week waitlisted control group. The groups were ethnically diverse, with 42% African American and 31% Hispanic. The yoga group participated in one gentle yoga class per week. The yoga program was developed by coauthor Chirag Shah, an Oncologist and RYT, in conjunction with experts in India and the United States. The program consisted of physical stretches and poses, breathing exercises, and meditation. All activities were performed in a seated or reclining position, with props for support as appropriate.

The results are hardly surprising to those of us who have felt the benefits of regular yoga practice for ourselves. The study concluded that yoga is associated with beneficial effects on social functioning among a medically diverse sample of breast cancer survivors. In other words, quality of life for patients improves with regular yoga practice and outcomes are likely improved. Looks like it's taken around 7, 000 years to get to that conclusion scientifically, but then wasn't it only about 15 or so years ago that Time informed us that men and women are different?

Studies in North America, Europe, and Asia have shown that women who exercise at moderate to vigorous levels for more than three hours per week have a 30%-40% lower risk of breast cancer. This reduced risk was found in women regardless of their family history of breast cancer and in women at every level of risk for breast cancer.

Generally, the higher the level of activity, the more risk is reduced and while activity throughout one's life is important, activity at any age can help lower breast cancer risk. With this wealth of data indicating clear benefits of our yoga practice, we can better appreciate how we can help ourselves by continuing and deepening our practice and also help others by encouraging them to participate in a regular practice of their own.

Copyright 2007 George Carter. All rights reserved.