
About

Claire teaches yoga4cancer, an evidence-based oncology yoga practice designed to mitigate side effects of cancer and its treatments.
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Oncology yoga helps to: ​
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build strength and flexibility
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strengthen the immune system and the lymphatic function
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reduce cancer related fatigue
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improve sleep and reduce anxiety
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increase bone density
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help manage common side effects like lymphedema, constipation and neuropathy.
How yoga helped me recover from breast cancer
Yoga was never something I was really drawn to but rather was something I did when I felt tired or run down and was looking for a gentle form of exercise. That all changed when at the age of 43 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. ​
'I was constantly rushing. I had anxiety, slept poorly, needed coffee to get going in the mornings and alcohol to wind down in the evenings..'
​I was working full time and primary caregiver to my two young girls aged four and six. I was constantly rushing. I had anxiety, slept poorly, needed coffee to get going in the mornings and alcohol to wind down in the evenings. I constantly felt guilty for not being more available for my children and simultaneously for not having the capacity to commit more to work. My relationship with my husband was strained and we argued frequently. Breast cancer forced me to take stock of my life. It also opened the door to yoga.I started yoga to help my physical recovery after surgery and immediately connected with the practice. It felt good to move my body again, to feel energy move through me and to start to regain my strength. I continued to reap the physical benefits of practice, however over the months that followed I found it was my emotional wellbeing that was profoundly impacted through yoga.


Through the teachings of yoga I came to understand that I had neglected to nurture my spirit and for too long ignored the undercurrent in my mind calling me to stillness and presence to awaken my true self. Finding yoga didn’t just help me recover from breast cancer. Practicing yoga helped me to forgive myself for trying to do it all, for being human. Today I continue to practice yoga daily. It remains my constant guiding light that that offers me refuge and helps me find courage when I am lacking.
My experience of yoga is not unique. A 2017 review of 24 studies of women with breast cancer found that yoga was better at reducing depression, anxiety and fatigue compared to psychosocial interventions such as counselling. Further, research assessing the impact of yoga on cancer patients has also found consistent improvements in quality of life as well as biomarkers of stress, inflammation and immune function. Yoga is not a cure for cancer, however its ability to improve physical, emotional and spiritual wellness and bring about peace make it an appropriate therapy for people who are experiencing or who have been through the trauma of cancer.
About Claire
​Claire is a registered yoga teacher with additional specialist training in oncology yoga. Claire worked for many years in the corporate world before a life changing diagnosis of breast cancer at 43 years of age prompted her to change course in career to support people impacted by cancer. Today Claire teaches oncology yoga to cancer patients and survivors within health services and other cancer support organisations and also facilitates yoga classes via Zoom.


Finding peace in solitude
Practising yoga can be a deeply personal experience, catalysing change on an inner level that gradually permeates our external lives such that we begin to function from a higher state of being. In this place we are able to separate the essence our true self from the mind created self which helps us to overcome negative emotions such as fear, anger, sadness and resentment.
Practicing yoga in a group can be a beautiful way to share the collective energy of participants and is something I recommend, however sometimes a quiet space is needed for a teacher to guide you through a tailored practice and hold space for you to be, exactly as you are, as you move through the practice. Each private session will support your physical requirements but may also elicit shifts in perceptions and ways of thinking that help you to transmute negative feelings and experience the fullness of life through present moment awareness.
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Yoga is for every body

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If Claire has a message it is that everyone can benefit from practising yoga. Modern day stressors impact our quality of life and can lead to serious chronic disease however practising yoga has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety and improve our sense of well being. Yoga is not about being super flexible or looking like someone on an Instagram post, but rather it is the connection between mind, body and spirit, and when these are in sync, that is where the magic happens.