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• Posted November 25, 2024

Yoga Helps Women Deal With the Mental Stress of Cancer

A cancer diagnosis can bring overwhelming stress and depression to women, but new research suggests yoga can help ease that emotional toll.

“A wellness intervention that integrates yoga and psychological tools may strengthen the connections among the mind, body and spirit, leading to a better and more meaningful quality of life,” said study senior author Deidre Pereira. She's an associate professor of clinical and health psychology at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville.

The new research involved 51 women who'd been diagnosed with some form of gynecological, gastrointestinal or thoracic cancer.

According to a university news release, they "enrolled in a 10-week, in-person, group intervention that used breathing and relaxation techniques, mindfulness meditation, psychotherapy skills and gentle yoga aimed at improving physical and mental quality of life."

Based on answers to detailed questionnaires, Pereira's team found women reporting a lowering of their symptoms of anxiety and depression after completing the program.

When it came to the physical symptoms of depression, the program was especially helpful to women of color, the researchers noted.

“Quality of life during and beyond cancer treatment is a critical component of whole-person cancer care,” explained study co-lead author Elizabeth Kacel, a recent graduate of the clinical psychology doctoral program at UF.

It's the program's use of yoga/meditation alongside psychotherapeutic training that really seemed to help, she added.

“The combination of both perspectives provides a powerful foundation that patients can stand on in coping with the ups and downs of cancer survivorship,” said Kacel, who is now a clinical health and cancer psychologist at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center.

The study was published recently in the journal Integrative Cancer Therapies.

More information

Find out more about yoga's psychological benefits at Harvard University.

SOURCE: University of Florida, news release, Nov. 22, 2024