The University of Calgary is offering free online yoga classes to young adults recovering from cancer, courtesy of the university’s faculty of kinesiology.
The program, Yoga for Young Adults Affected by Cancer, began in May 2020 and was created by Nicole Culos-Reed and Amanda Wurz, two researchers from the faculty of kinesiology who recognized the rarity of cancer diagnoses among young adults and sought to create a program that could bring them together while promoting wellness.
Culos-Reed and Wurz also wanted to break down physical barriers by offering the program virtually.
Currently, the classes are offered three times a week over a period of eight weeks and provide flexible options for class timing to cater to participants’ schedules.
According to Wurz, who researches the effects of the program and teaches the participants, yoga is associated with a number of health benefits, including lessening anxiety and stress. Yoga’s calming effects, Wurz said, are due to its peaceful nature.
“The unique thing about yoga is that it really brings together the body, the breath, and the mind,” Wurz said. “You have the opportunity to kind of settle into how you’re doing, how you’re feeling, and give your mind a little bit of a chance to notice what’s going on and catch up.”
Wurz said young adults recovering from cancer face unique challenges, as they are likely in school or beginning to start families. Due to these competing interests, Wurz added, it is often difficult to co-ordinate supportive care services for them and promote a sense of community.
Considering these challenges, the benefits of yoga and her background as a yoga instructor, Wurz said the decision to offer online yoga classes in particular seemed like an opportunity to promote wellness and bring young cancer patients together.
“Using yoga felt like a really beautiful way to break down some of these barriers,” Wurz said, “That is why from the beginning, we wanted it to be across Canada, because we wanted to bring young adults together from across Canada who might not otherwise have the opportunity to meet.”
Other experts in Calgary have also attested to the beneficial effects of yoga on people living with cancer.
Tyla Arnason is a yoga therapist based in Calgary who leads the Yoga Thrive Teacher Training Program, which teaches yoga instructors how to teach therapeutic cancer-specific classes. She is also an instructor for Yoga Thrive, an in-person yoga program for cancer survivors of all ages that was paused by the University of Calgary due to COVID-19.
For those who have completed treatment and are on the road to recovery, Arnason said yoga can improve strength and mobility.
“They’re moving better. They’re getting back to activities that are important to them,” Arnason said. “They’re sleeping better, their quality of life is better … Probably the biggest piece of feedback that we hear is they feel in control of what is happening to them.”
Participants of the program have noticed many of these benefits. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2012, 33-year-old Marie Van Kopp turned to yoga to regain some of her mobility that she lost after surgery.
Van Kopp was first involved with Yoga Thrive in 2012. Now, nine years later, Van Kopp participates in the online version of the program, and said the virtual classes have allowed her to continue attending despite living away from Calgary.
Van Kopp said practicing yoga has helped her take time to slow down and reflect. After losing partial mobility in her arms and neck, she added yoga helped her gain back flexibility and strength.
Moving forward, Wurz said she and Culos-Reed are discussing how to transition Yoga Thrive online while incorporating participant feedback and their research findings into existing online programming. The pair are also exploring different sustainability models to continue offering the program indefinitely.
All of the changes, Wurz said, are intended to improve the classes for the participants, and offer a sustainable and specific program for a unique demographic.
“This [program] is filling that gap and offering them a chance to connect and also take care of their physical and mental well-being,” Wurz said.
Featured image by Unsplash.
