Downward Dog Helps Cancer Patients

downwarddog.jpgSeems cancer has another enemy and it comes in the form of yoga! Yoga has been around for over 5,000 years, and is practiced by nearly 20 million or so devotees in the United States alone. The Hindu philosophy is widely practiced for health and relaxation, and even if you’ve never attended a yoga class, you most likely have heard of some of the poses, among them downward dog! The downward dog pose, demonstrated by Eddie in the photo above, has lots of benefits and if done properly and consistently, the most noticeable benefits include:

~Stronger hands, wrists, low-back, hamstrings, calves and Achilles tendon
~Decrease in back pain by strengthening the entire back and shoulder girdle
~Elongated shoulders and shoulder blade area
~Decrease in tension and headaches
~Deepened respiration
~Decreased anxiety
~Increased full-body circulation

To top off all of the benefits of downward dog and yoga, there’s a new study which shows how yoga can help cancer patients deal with pain, cope with the stress of their illness and speed up recovery. Just click on the link to read more, then spread the word to practice yoga a little bit more! xoxo ~Zo