Yoga class in Peters Township serves cancer patients, survivors
As a woman who has battled cancer, Kate Olson knows what often is recommended for recovering from treatment.
“You would sometimes hear, ‘Oh, you should do yoga for calming yourself down and for getting your range of motion back after surgery,'” the Peters Township resident said. “But the thing is that people who are in this particular population sometimes feel a little intimidated coming to a regular yoga class.”
To help provide a more accommodating atmosphere, Lakeview Yoga in Peters, which Olson owns and where she instructs, will host a free class for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 24.
“I think it’s important for our community, considering the prevalence of cancer now in our culture, that we have these classes that help people, because it really does,” Olson, who had a bout with melanoma a few years ago, explained. “Depending on the level of interest, we hope to be able to add this class to our regular schedule.”
Instructing the class is Lisa Schollaert, a Smith Township resident originally from South Fayette. She completed a 45-hour program last year to become certified by yoga4cancer, a research-based, specialized yoga methodology that addresses the specific physical and emotional needs resulting from cancer and its treatments.
“During the workshop, I will be working with everyone individually, so that they can take this home and practice at home,” she said.
Schollaert gave an example of how she would work with someone who has lymphedema, a condition usually caused by cancer treatment that results in fluid retention and tissue swelling.
“You kind of focus on the diaphragm and the breathing, because that is what’s going to move the lymph fluids,” she explained. “And you’re going to have limitations with some of your movements because of it.”
She was prompted to look into a specialized yoga program after her best friend received a diagnosis of breast cancer.
“I knew there were a lot of postures that were not going to be good for her and a lot of postures she wasn’t able to do,” Schollaert said.
Her research led her to Tari Prinster, a master yoga teacher who founded yoga4cancer and authored the book “Yoga for Cancer: A Guide to Managing Side Effects, Boosting Immunity, and Improving Recovery for Cancer Survivors.”
“She focuses a lot on breast cancer, because she had it and is most familiar with it,” Schollaert said. “But we need to look at other types of cancers, and I know she is in the process of doing other kinds of training. She is growing, and I will be taking those classes.”
Prinster’s book touts yoga as a means to “detoxify” the mind.
“A cancer survivor lives with the fear of cancer returning, and this daily anxiety is a mental toxin. By applying the same physical techniques, we detoxify the mind by using the movement of the breath, by relaxing into gravity in a restorative pose and by managing negative thoughts while meditating.”
In Schollaert’s opinion, Lakeview Yoga serves as an ideal venue to put such theories into practice.
“The atmosphere is nurturing and caring here,” she said. “It extends to all the instructors, and I think that’s what makes it such a wonderful studio.”
For more information, visit www.lakeviewyogastudio.com/workshops.