5 Ways to Calm Your Nervous System with Yoga During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) shines a powerful and important light on being breast aware - knowing what’s normal for us and noticing any unusual changes so that they can be checked early.

During October it can feel a quite overwhelming when the media is saturated with people sharing personal stories of diagnoses and shops, products, and even buildings turning pink. 

It’s important to be able to step away from the frenzy of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and take time to support ourselves.

As a survivor of breast cancer, I know how overwhelming this time of year can feel.  I’d like to share my Five Yoga Practices that help me to ground and calm my nervous system – I hope you find them helpful.

1.   Bee Breath (Brahmari Pranayama)

Brahmari breathing with hands resting at centre of chest

Practise with me here: https://vimeo.com/1122269211

Bee breath is a humming breath.  Hearing our own voice encourages a longer exhalation, which helps to calm our nervous system.

Here’s how to do it:

·      Find a comfortable seat with a tall spine 

·      Root down through the sit-bones and lengthen the crown of the head towards the ceiling

·      I like to place my hands over my heart so that I can feel the vibration of the soothing sound within me

·      Inhale through the nose and exhale making a long humming sound

·      The humming will naturally encourage the exhalation to be longer than the inhalation

Repeat six times, then pause and take a few regular breaths.  Repeat another cycle of six humming breaths and notice how you feel at the end.

2.   Soothing Self -Touch Practice

Soothing self-touch practice with hugging arms

Practise with me here: https://vimeo.com/1122271605

This powerful practice encourages us to use self-touch to soothe our nervous system and reconnect with our body.  It stimulates the hormone oxytocin – known as the feel-good hormone – and helps us feel more connected with ourselves.  The addition of a mantra can help to reinforce the message of sending ourselves loving kindness. 

Here’s how to do it:

·      Find a comfortable seated position with a tall spine and soft breath

·      Rub your hands together to generate some heat and energy

·      Then give yourself a hug, stroking your arms with your hands

·      Repeat the mantra to yourself: “I send myself loving kindness”

Rub the hands again and place the hands at the following places:

·      Abdomen

·      Around waist

·      Crossing hands at chest

·      Holding face in hands

·      Cupping hands over eyes

·      Resting hands at crown of head

Take a few breaths at the end and notice how you feel.  Do you feel calmer?

3. Kneeling Salutations

Kneeling salutation with arms raised to side

Practise with me here: https://vimeo.com/1122278674

Gentle, flowing movements can help release physical and emotional tension. These mindful sequences encourage you to breathe with awareness while moving slowly, creating a rhythm that grounds you in the present moment.

This kneeling salutation opens and closes the body, keeps you close to the ground enabling you to feel safe and supported.

Here’s how to do it:

·      Place a folded blanket under your knees and sit back on your heels

·      Take some centring breaths, then inhale and raise the arms and hips, looking upwards

·      Exhale lower and take your chest to your thighs and arms behind you, turning your head to one side

·      Inhale rise again, exhale fold chest to thighs and turn head the opposite way

·      Repeat 3-5 rounds (1 round = both sides), then rest

4. Supported Child’s Pose

Resting in child’s pose with chest on a bolster

Practise with me here: https://vimeo.com/1122280039

This popular restorative pose allows us to retreat from the world and turn our focus inwards.  As you rest here, allow yourself to drop down and feel the support of the bolster beneath you, surrendering to the ground.

Here’s how to do it:

·      Place a folded blanket under your knees and a yoga bolster (or extra folded blankets) between your legs

·      Fold forward and allow the whole of your front body to rest on the bolster/blankets

·      Take several slow breaths, turning the head to the opposite side for the same number of breaths

3.   Legs on Chair / Wall Pose

Legs on a chair pose

Practise with me here: https://vimeo.com/1122273816

A lovely way to end this calming practice is by elevating the legs, either on a chair or up the wall.  Raising the legs brings a lightness to the legs and can feel both energising and calming at the same time.

Here’s how to do Legs on Chair:

·      Lie on your back with a blanket under your head

·      Place a blanket on the seat for comfort

·      Place your calves on the seat of a chair at a 45-degree angle to the body

Legs up the wall pose

Practise with me here: https://vimeo.com/1122276346

Here’s how to do Legs up Wall:

·      Sit sideways with one shoulder close to the wall

·      Carefully place your legs up the wall

·      Ensure lower back stays in a neutral position – move pelvis away from wall if needed

Final Thoughts

Taking time to care for your well-being through yoga can help you stay grounded, calm and resilient, not only through BCAM, but any time you feel overwhelmed.  Yoga teaches us that there are many things that we cannot control, but we can always control how we choose to react to things around us.  I hope you find these 5 practices nourishing and supportive.