Yoga: Restorative
Intended Audience
All members including people living with cancer, family members and significant caregivers.
Program Description
Restorative yoga is a gentle, therapeutic, medically-based practice of relaxation and renewal. The poses require little effort, allowing the body’s parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) to be stimulated, thus restoring the body’s balance, and calming the sympathetic nervous system. As the body returns to its natural state of balance and harmony, energy is replenished, stress is diminished and the potential for healing is optimized.
“This class is fabulous! No worries about being fit or flexible – it’s gentle, relaxing and safe.”
“The facilitator pays attention to everyone’s needs; she is like an angel.”
“This program is therapeutic, healing, calming – highly recommended for healing.”
Benefits and Impact
Yoga has been widely suggested to have a potential role in the health of people living with cancer; many studies report that yoga can improve health-related outcomes such as quality of life, fatigue, cognition, stress, and sleep quality in cancer survivors (Danhauer et al., 2019; O’Neill et al., 2020; Zetzl et al., 2021). One study on the effects of a breathwork-focused yoga program also observed improvements in fatigue, stress, and quality of life (Dhruva et al., 2012).
What to Expect at a Session
Participants can expect to be gently guided through a number of restful poses using supports and props. There is no pressure to perform; this is a designated time to honour the body in its present state, without negativity or judgement. The focus is to ‘just be’, inviting relaxation and experiencing the meditative aspects of each poses. This class is all about replenishing energy stores and allowing the body the opportunity to heal.
Program Frequency
1.25 hours per week
16 weeks per program
1 program per session
Winter, spring/summer, fall
Optimum Class Size: 6-10
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