Posts In: Yoga

Yoga may not help your body fight cancer but it can help you cope with the emotional, physical, and mental stress of receiving treatment. From the moment you’re diagnosed, you’ll find that yoga has many surprising benefits that can help you, and those around you, make it through this challenging time.

Cancer affects many individuals and families. According to the CBC, almost one in two Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and this can have a significant impact on their lives and the lives of their family members. While more than half of people with cancer will recover, it’s often a long, difficult road.

If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, it’s important for you to have a strong support system, including family, friends, medical professionals, and more. It’s helpful to keep your spirits high and your mental health strong, and yoga is a powerful resource for that. Yoga has a number of benefits that can reduce fatigue and stress, and can help enhance overall quality of life.

The Research on Yoga and Cancer

The American Cancer Society states that yoga can help relieve some of the symptoms linked to cancer and other major illness such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, and more.

If you have cancer, what might you get out of a yoga class? Research suggests you may feel the following:

• Lower fatigue: Research indicates you may have more energy the more classes that you attend.
• Reduced stress: You may feel your mood is more stable, less depressed, and less stressed.
• Better movement: Yoga keeps you limber and can help your stiff and sore body recover from hospital stays.
• Fall asleep more quickly: Research indicates that if you have cancer and suffer from insomnia, yoga can help you fall asleep faster.
• Lose weight: If you lose weight while doing yoga, you may have a lower chance of cancer recurrence.

Along with these benefits, you’ll also experience the benefits of other yoga practitioners, such as lower cortisol, higher oxygen levels in the blood, increased flexibility, and much more.

Adjusting Yoga for People with Cancer

Cancer and cancer treatments may have affected your mobility, strength and energy levels to the point you think you can’t participate in yoga. Don’t fret—you can. You may want to start with our gentler yoga classes, such as Hatha Yoga and Restorative Yoga.

Restorative yoga is an excellent option as every posture is supported by blocks, blankets, straps and eye pillows. It does not take a high degree of physical strength to participate in. You’ll still see the emotional and mental benefits of yoga and feel your stress melt away.

That being said, any yoga class can be adjusted for those with cancer. If cancer keeps you from bending over without pain, moving your arm in a certain way, or some other restriction, our skilled and compassionate yoga instructors can adjust the class so you can still participate without pain.

Sign up for our yoga classes today, or reach out to us for more information or questions. We are here to help!

You’ve probably seen adorable photos and gifs on the internet where a mom is striking a yoga pose and her kids are copying her in the background. At Absolute Pilates, we find those photos and gifs inspiring. Yoga can, and should, be an activity that the whole family participates in. While yoga might traditionally be more popular among women, everyone can find a type of yoga that suits their abilities and challenges them.

At Absolute Pilates, we offer classes for all ages—from young children to seniors. Here’s how your family can enjoy and get the most out of each class.

Hatha Yoga

Hatha style yoga is gentle. During a Hatha class, you’ll focus on relaxation and breathing while trying basic poses. This is the best type of class for any of your family members to try if they are beginners. Seniors will find that this class isn’t too physically challenging and young children won’t be pushed beyond their limits. Everyone will benefit from:

• A calmer nervous system
• Higher energy levels or vitality
• More flexibility and balance
• More strength

Slow Flow and Strength Yoga

Though we call it “slow flow”, this type of yoga is still “yang” or active yoga. It focuses more on building strength with rhythmic, repeated movements. The adults in your family who are looking to build strength may enjoy slow flow yoga. Teenagers with a lot of energy may also enjoy this type of yoga over others. Overall, it’s a more engaging, challenging activity.

Additionally, seniors and those with injuries or physical limitations may find that slow flow yoga improves their functional movement. Beginners can join this class, but it also challenges those who already know some yoga too. If you’re looking for your next yoga challenge, this could be it.

Restorative Yoga

Every pose you take during a restorative yoga class is supported by props, such as blankets, sandbags and eye pillows. This class is more inward focused and helps heal the body, mind and soul. Anyone can achieve the poses because they are supported and the class offers a wide range of benefits.

These benefits include:

• Reducing stress hormones in the body
• Lowering blood pressure and heart rate
• Decreasing chronic pain and discomfort
• Increasing blood flow and oxygen levels

If any of your family members need an escape from their busy lives, this is an excellent class to start with. You’ll feel peaceful, patient, and rejuvenated after each class.

Meditation and Yin Yoga

If yang yoga is active, yin yoga is receptive and calm. In this class, we start with a half hour of meditation, for focus and relaxation. Then we do an hour of yin yoga, which is mostly seated poses that target the deep muscles and connective tissues in the body.

This type of yoga is also very accessible to everyone in the family. Any child who enjoys their quiet time will like this yoga. Older family members won’t feel outpaced or challenged beyond their ability as every pose is supported.

Yoga at Absolute Pilates

Do you have concerns about any of your family members joining our yoga classes? Let us know ahead of time and our skilled, compassionate yoga instructors can make the class more accommodating to their specific needs.  Contact us today for more information about the styles of yoga we offer!

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, anxiety is the leading health issue among children, even elementary school children. Sara Dimerman, a Toronto-based psychologist, told the CBC that school environment, peer pressure, and parental decisions may be at the root of increasing childhood anxiety.

What can parents do to support their child and reduce their anxiety? One study suggests that yoga may help.

Studying Yoga in Children with Anxiety

The study compared two groups of anxious third-grade children. One group received normal care for their anxiety, which included counseling from a social worker and other activities.

The second group of children received mindfulness instruction and participated in ten sessions of yoga for forty minutes before the start of school, over the course of either the fall or spring.

Results indicated that yoga had a positive effect on the children. Those third graders who participated in yoga and mindfulness had, on average, higher emotional quality of life and scored better on a psychosocial questionnaire than their peers who did not participate in yoga.

Researchers also engaged with teachers to discuss the benefits of yoga. Teachers found yoga to be a useful tool in the classroom. According to the study’s authors, teachers “reported using yoga more often each week, and throughout each day in class, following the professional development component of intervention.”

Other research has found that children receive similar benefits from yoga and mindfulness practices. Children with ADD or ADHD, Asperger’s, and depression may all see symptom improvement after yoga. Research also indicates that the emotional benefits of yoga and mindfulness may last for the long-term.

Yoga for Your Child

In the study, researchers designed a yoga program which included, “breathing exercises, guided relaxation, and several Vinyasa and Ashtanga poses appropriate for third graders.”

Our Hatha and Restorative yoga classes fit the bill, with gentle and calming movements that are meant to reduce anxiety and stress. Our yoga instructors can adjust these programs to be achievable for young children. You may also maximize the benefits of yoga by having your child attend classes at an especially stressful or challenging times in their life.

Generally, children tend feel more anxiety at the start of the school year, as well as when they transition into key school years such as grade three, six, and nine. The study’s authors chose grade three students precisely because this year is a challenging transition.

“Our initial work found that many kids expressed anxious feelings in third grade as the classroom work becomes more developmentally complex,” Bazzano said. “Even younger children are experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety, especially around test time.”

If your child is struggling with anxiety, or facing a challenge or transition, signing them up for a yoga class may help them self-regulate their mood and flourish. Contact us today for more information on our yoga programs for children.

At Absolute Pilates, we offer both Pilates and yoga classes, so we often get asked about the difference between the two. While it’s true that they are quite similar, these workouts are different enough that most people have a strong preference for one over the other.

Here we’ll take a look at the key differences so that you can decide which type might be best for you.

The Core Differences

Pilates and yoga are both full-body workouts that focus on improving strength, flexibility, balance and breathing. However, Pilates focuses on the strength aspect, while yoga usually focuses more on flexibility and breathing. Most of the time when you’re in a Pilates class, you’ll be on the ground. In a yoga class, you’re more likely to be switching from standing to ground work, depending on the style.

Another key difference is that many people choose to practice yoga as part their spirituality. Even if you don’t choose to do that, you will still find most yoga classes are meditative and help you focus your mental energy on your goals. Not as many people consider adding their spiritual practices to Pilates, which tends to be more intense. Plus, Pilates involves counting reps and keeping track of sets, which doesn’t leave as much room to think.

You can learn even more about the differences between Pilates and yoga by reading about the specific kinds of classes we offer.

Pilates Classes

We offer several different Pilates classes which all offer something a little different: 

• Osteo-Pilates: If you’re looking to add a little of that yoga flexibility and balance into your Pilates class, this might be right for you. While the class is designed to decrease the risk of fractures for those with Osteoporosis, anyone can participate and reap the benefits of better balance and bone health.
• Stretch and Lengthen: This class also focuses on stretching more than your average Pilates class but has fewer bone health benefits than the Osteo-Pilates class.
• Matwork Challenge: If instead you want to lean into the benefits of Pilates and improve your strength and endurance, this class will challenge you and even boost coordination.
• Mom and Babies: After you give birth, you might be drawn to Pilates because of its focus on the core muscles, which need to recover and strengthen after your pregnancy. This class allows you to bring your little one and is a bonus bonding experience for both mom and baby!

Yoga Classes

Our yoga classes focus on those benefits that yoga does best, including breathing, focus and flexibility.

• Hatha yoga: When most people think of yoga, they imagine Hatha yoga. It teaches beginner poses and focuses on breathing and calming to reduce cortisol and improve your focus.
• Restorative yoga: This class is designed to align your body and mind with slow, purposeful movements that activate the parasympathetic nervous system. The benefits include lowered blood pressure and heart rate, lessening chronic pain and anxiety, and increasing oxygen levels in the blood.

There’s much to be said for the benefits of practicing both Pilates and yoga as you need both strength and flexibility to be healthy. If you’re ready to sign up for a class, feel free to register here.

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