Yoga and Breast Cancer

Yoga may help ease pain and replenish energy in women coping with breast cancer, suggests a small study from Duke University Medical Center.

For two months, 13 women with cancer that had spread beyond the breast practiced gentle poses, meditation, and breathing exercises regularly. On the days after they did yoga, the women were remarkably more relaxed and experienced less pain and fatigue.

Yoga's ability to lessen stress is key to its positive impact on the body, says Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., director of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's Integrative Medicine Program. "When they're diagnosed, many women still have to be active mothers and continue to work," Cohen says. "Doing an activity that lets them focus on themselves is really useful."

More Whole Living Tips

See some At-Home Yoga Positions.