How Exercise is Beneficial for Cancer Patients

Many common cancer treatments & surgeries are intrusive and have painful or uncomfortable side-effects that make exercise & participation in even the most fundamental of activities a challenge. Patients are usually told to take it easy after being diagnosed or undergoing surgery and treatments. Many health professionals say that patients diagnosed with cancer should perform moderate exercise for several minutes in a day to experience improved rates of successful recovery.

A cancer diagnosis is a very stressful event that triggers major depression & anxiety (Xanax). It can take minds hostage, compel you into negative thinking, or makes it difficult for you to think straight at all. In doing so, it can darken the landscape of your minds, making you hyper-focus on your worries. It can also leave you feeling ungrounded because of the excessive existential threat that accompanies potentially terminal illnesses. Many experiences like these are because of high levels of activation of your inborn stress system.

On the other hand, an exercise creates a very unlike neural picture. It turns energy towards the brain regions accountable for sensory and creative experience and away from our stress-system. It can change our mental landscape and open up our thought space to non-cancer related areas. It can also support in processing some of your worries because it allows experiencing how they are affecting you physically. It can ground you in the present and provide with a stable and unified perspective point. With a stable perspective that is grounded in our bodies and the present moment, you are then often capable of envisioning how you can move forward one day at a time.

Here are some best exercises for cancer patients that should be done by them with the timing that suits them and for as long as feels suitable.

Cat-Cow:

In this exercise, you have to go on your hands and knees. If your knees are sensitive, this can be done with a soft cushion underneath you or on a bed. The exercise will be arching and curving your spines towards and away from the floor. You can also shift side-to-side if that feels great.

Shoulder Rolls:

You can find yourself in a comfortable standing or seated position for this exercise. You are going to roll your shoulders forward, up towards your ears, back, and then down away from your ears. You can repeat as lots of times as feels comfortable and then switch directions and start the roll with moving your shoulders back.

Spinal Twist:

In this exercise, you can bend one knee and bring that knee across your body, allowing your spine to rotate along with the knee. Finally, you turn your heads to the opposite side of the knee. You can breathe into this position for as long as feels good and then slowly switch sides before returning to the first side again.

Side Stretch:

You can remain seated or standing for this exercise. We will start by reaching your arms up to the ceiling and then, clasping your hands together and breathe for about 30 seconds while you continue to reach up. Then, you can side-bend your spines over to the left and reach your right hand towards the left, as you breathe. Finally, you can return to center and let your arms drop down to sides.

Dancing:

This is one of the best exercises for cancer patients. You can find a place where you feel comfortable and turn on some music that connects you with yourself, your joy and your inspiration. Then, allow yourself to dance to the music in any way that feels authentic, fun and personally expressive.

In the middle of stress, it’s more significant than ever to connect to, care for and celebrate your bodies, even if it feels like they possibly failing you. You can be aware of your fears and worries, but let them pass instead of your mental landscape. By these and similar exercises, we can care for your bodies and strengthen your spirits even if you are suffering from cancer.