Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, the creator of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program, said “Nobody can listen to your body for you. To grow and heal, you have to take responsibility for listening to it yourself”, and this couldn’t be more true, or more important, for us as cancer survivors.
In one way, this is a little scary. We have to do this part of the healing ourselves. The medicine, the doctors, the nurses, and our friends cannot do this part for us. But the flip side of that is that we CAN do this part of the healing ourselves! How empowering! Something that is within our own reach and our own control. All we have to do is listen. Tune in. With an open heart and an open mind, without judgement for whatever may be going on inside of us. In whatever ways this may change day to day. We just listen. With love and compassion for ourselves and a recognition of everything that we have been through. With gratitude that we are here today, breathing, and growing. Each day stronger, more resilient, and more connected. We listen.
Yoga practice is so great for encouraging this process. As you move and breathe in your practice, you automatically listen and feel what is going on inside. And you connect to that place where relaxation, peace, transformation, and healing can occur. This is some of the magic of yoga. See you on the mat.
Namaste