Last Updated: 08/12/13
Yoga and Cancer
Yoga is an ancient practice combining both the mind and body. The meaning of the word yoga in Sanskrit is commonly translated as “to join” or “to unite,” signifying the joining of mind and body. The stretching, breathing exercises, and meditation involved in yoga may help ease many ailments of those who practice. People with cancer often suffer from a host of symptoms and side effects such as depression, pain, nausea, fatigue and many others. Yoga has been studied to determine if it can aid patients with cancer to ease these and other associated problems.
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Research Highlights on Yoga and Cancer
- Yoga Breathing Helps Patients Receiving Chemotherapy Improve Their Quality of Life
- Yoga Shows Benefits to Quality of Life in Some Breast Cancer Patients
- A Yoga Boost to Smoking Cessation
- New research suggests yoga may help with fatigue-related symptoms in breast cancer survivors
- Yoga Studied to Relieve Fatigue and Stress in Breast Cancer Patients
- Adjustment to Cancer: Anxiety and Distress (PDQ®)-Yoga intervention
- Prostate Genes Altered by Intensive Diet and Lifestyle Changes
Clinical Trials
- Yoga and Cancer Clinical Trials (NCI)
- Yoga and Cancer (Clinicaltrials.gov)
Resources from around NIH and NCI
- NIH Video Reveals the Science Behind Yoga (NCCIH)
- Backgrounder: Yoga for Health: An Introduction (NCCIH)
Selection of NIH-funded research projects
- A Pilot Study of Yoga for Breathing and Quality of Life of Lung Cancer Patients
- Yoga for Women with Breast Cancer Undergoing Radiotherapy
- Efficacy of Yoga as an Alternative Therapy for Smoking Cessation
- A Whole Systems Approach to the Study of Ayurveda for Cancer Survivorship
- Iyengar Yoga for Breast Cancer Survivors with Persistent Fatigue