Exploring Yoga and Cancer

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Exploring Yoga and Cancer applies the insights of modern medical science and yogic understanding. An in-depth analysis is provided of how cancer develops, including at the subtle levels of being, the principles supporting yogic cancer management, and how yoga practices work to help reverse and manage the effects of cancer.

This book explains what cancer is and how it forms, and looks at the various causes. It examines how the yoga practices works to aid those with cancer. Detailed advice and information to assist the formation of yogic management plants for different people with different types of cancers is offered. The final section present an introduction to research in the field of yoga and cancer.

Dr Swami Yogapratap, MBBS (Mumbail, was born in 1975 in Mumbai, India, and grad- uated in medicine in 1998. He was raised in a yogic environment, his parents being disciples of Swami Satyananda Saraswati, and in 2000 he was initiated into poorna sannyasa by Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati. Since then Dr Swami Yogapratap has been based at Rikhiapeeth ashram, where his duties include serving in the Sivananda Charitable Clinic, which looks after the health care needs of the rural village population.

Surprising as it may seem, today both yoga and cancer share one common attribute - both are common household names and familiar to one and all. The difference, of course, is that people want more and more of the former and less and less of the latter! Be that as it may, there is no denying the fact that cancer is on the rampage and if the latest statistics are to be believed, one in three to five people stand the risk of contracting cancer during their lifetime. With figures as scary as those, one is tempted to say that we are in the grip of an epidemic, nay, verily a pandemic of cancer. It has become a topic of concern for all healthcare providers the world over. The incidence of cancer has grown exponentially over the decades and has reached alarming proportions, causing enormous and widespread suffering.

Tons of research has gone into unravelling the mystery of cancer. Yet, the solution seems as elusive as trying to locate the rat amongst its underground maze of rat burrows in a field. As we manage to locate one and seal it off, we come across still another offshoot leading yet elsewhere, and of course the rat is nowhere to be seen. A herculean task with no end in sight! Almost every tissue in the entire body is susceptible to contracting cancer, and once cancer takes root, it can spread almost everywhere. And when we manage to come up with some treatment module, the disease ups the ante by releasing newer tricks and subverting the efficacy of the treatment. Clearly, it is an uphill task even if we do not take into consideration the pain, agony and trauma inflicted on patients and the lifelong gut wrenching and helpless situation of the relatives who have no option but to see their beloved ones fall prey to the ravages of cancer.

Perhaps that is why Swami Satyananda felt it necessary to elucidate the role of yoga in the management of this vast pandemic. When I was entrusted with the task of writing a book on yoga and cancer, my main problem was not what to include, but quite the opposite. I needed to decide what not to include! I realized that we are so over-bombarded with facts, articles and information about cancer that we are literally suffering from information overload. It becomes very hard to sift through and to pick and choose the right facts and to make the correct decisions. Here again, the advice of Swami Satyasangananda came to my rescue. She advised me not to get caught up in the maze of information, but to think as a doctor and approach yoga as a doctor (not as a medical professional), analyze it and present cancer in a yogic perspective. And that is precisely what I found to be most useful. I used the minimalistic approach and have concentrated on the concepts and principles rather than worrying about research quotations. Thanks to the widespread use of the internet, which is now available to one and all, information about research quotations can easily be had by those interested, at the click of the mouse.

My earlier medical and surgical experience in dealing with cancer patients, especially those undergoing cancer surgeries, also stood me in good stead here. Patients, after their initial shock, trauma, denial and guilt at having cancer, I recalled, always wanted to know what cancer exactly is and why it is caused, so that they can also be in a better position to understand the magnitude of the problem and devise means to ease the situation. They were not interested in grand theories and postulates. Their objective was simple. They wanted something practical and real to manage the situation and help tide them over the crisis and get them back into the mainstream of the society. Getting cancer meant that they were racing against time. Their questions were no-nonsense, direct and to the point. For them, the countdown had not only begun, but was nearing completion. Time suddenly was at a high premium. Their priorities were reversed almost overnight: they had their lives at stake after all.

Many of the patients did not know exactly what cancer was and were very inquisitive about its details. "Doctor, but why did I get cancer when I never did anything wrong?" and "What is it that actually happens to me in cancer and how does it happen?" That, I reasoned, would be the logical starting point. Keeping these requirements in mind, I went to task, started with the bare facts and built up the castle piece by piece, trying to logically derive the next step from the first. This comprises Part 1 of the book wherein we explore the concept of disease in general and cancer specifically, and get into the nitty-gritties of the disease, which remain the same, no matter where it is located in the patient. The objective here is to familiarize the reader with the various aspects of the body, disease and cancer formation with the basic assumption that the reader is generally unfamiliar with these concepts. For those who are already conversant with these topics could find it worthwhile to take a second look at the facts. For these nuggets of information are like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle; each separate unit makes perfect sense yet refuses to fit into a smooth complete picture. Often we need to develop a new perspective towards the same old facts, so that they can make sense when seen as a whole.

Expounding on yoga in a non-classical style, yet retaining its essence, became the next requirement; how can one use yoga without understanding the ABC of yoga? Although yoga is widely practiced today, the information available is more about the simpler avenues of yoga and the practices contained therein. To be able to use the entire repertoire of yoga, it becomes imperative to understand yoga, its roots and the basic concepts which form the building blocks of this vast system.

**Contents and Sample Pages**