Yoga for Cancer Therapy: Human Resilience is Infinite

On April 6-8 we are excited to host Dr. Ingrid Yang, M.D., J.D., E-RYT-500 again at Prana for a continuing education intensive for certified Yoga teachers on “Cancer Therapy Yoga.”

Ingrid has been teaching yoga since 1999, cancer therapy yoga since 2006 and has been leading this training since 2009. She specifically designed this training for certified yoga teachers to learn how to teach cancer yoga therapy with skill and confidence. In addition to being a passionate Yogi and former Yoga studio owner, Ingrid is a physician specializing in rehabilitation medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, with a particular emphasis on spinal cord injury, sports medicine and cancer rehab.  Here is a brief interview with Ingrid:

You’ve been offering this training for 7 years. What is the most profound change you see in your trainees while they undergo this training?

How much more confident and comfortable students become to teach cancer survivors and the courage they find within themselves to teach this population.

The great thing about trainings is that you spread your transformative work exponentially through your students/teachers. Where are some of these teachers teaching now? 

Many students have gone on to teach training to their respective students, but also at cancer centers, community centers, and even at hospitals in both group classes and one-on-one in the inpatient setting.

Some of your students are cancer survivors themselves. What have you learned by working with this population?

The capacity for human resilience is infinite.

Part of this training helps teachers with poses which address pain management. What yoga techniques can help with this?

meditation, meditation, meditation, pranayama, and more meditation!

How are eastern and western philosophies merging when it comes to caring for people who are dealing with cancer?

More and more allopathic physicians and oncologists are adopting yoga techniques of embodiment, breathing techniques and meditation.

Where do you see the future of cancer therapy going in the future?

Integrating all modalities of healing for whole-heart and comprehensive medical therapy — acupuncture, meditation, yoga, physical therapy, and more!

Ingrid Yang, M.D., J.D., E-RYT-500 is co-author of Hatha Yoga Asanas and founder and past director of Blue Point Yoga, a yoga center in Durham, NC, where she developed this training while she was employed as a research associate at Duke Medical Center’s breast oncology department. At Duke, she focused her research on breast cancer and genetic and protein signatures demonstrated in chemotherapy treatment. Having worked closely with cancer patients in both clinical and yoga settings, Ingrid is uniquely qualified to inform and inspire teachers to lead cancer patients though the healing process of Yoga. She currently resides in Chicago and leads workshops, trainings and retreats nationally and internationally. www.ingridyang.com

Find out more about the upcoming Cancer Therapy Yoga Teacher Training on April 6-8, 2017 at Prana Yoga Center in La Jolla/San Diego.