By Debi Buzil
Oh dear, not again . . . texts, email, Facebook posts of people just diagnosed. One prominent yoga/musician friend blogged about his testicular cancer, another friend needs a somewhat radical surgery on her “girl-parts.” An email from a businesswoman with cancer asks for a meeting. A young rock-and-roll mom calls me. My BFF’s mother is beginning treatments. I am asked to share my expertise.
You must know that I lived it! I was nursing my almost-2-year-old baby and found a lump. Stage 3 breast cancer (later changed to 2B). How did yoga get me through? The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali became a roadmap to find a firm base to hold on. Chapter 2, or Sadhana Padah, holds practical tools for the eight-fold path. The active presence of spiritual qualities in daily life enhanced my ability to heal.
Physical practice helped me with stress. I attended a weekly Iyengar class. I never missed class—my blessed teacher would put me in a supported pose on bad days and let me rest. I did breathwork and meditation. Eating correctly let the agni or inner fire burn and purify my body. I became aware of the power of my thoughts and worked hard to create a positive inner environment. Elesa Commerse, one of Chicago’s great yoga and meditation teachers, shared Yoga Nidra with me, and it has served me well as one of my favorite tools in my yoga toolbox. Through this practice of conscious yoga relaxation, I became calm. And by being calm I developed strength and insight.
Tapas is the flame we bring to our practice— body, mind and speech. Tapas, this flame or enthusiasm, is about lighting yourself on fire. It is the zeal that gets you on the mat, over and over again. Transformation occurs through the passion you bring to your life.
The “tapas of speech” taught me refinement. Not only did I become conscious of the words I spoke, I started to make choices to create my own reality. I began to change my language. The tapas of my tongue! The Rastafarian mystics shared that “word-sounds have power.” Soon my speech reflected not only my mind and emotions, but the deep heart sound of complete recovery, complete wellness. Cancer became the “little-c” and lost some of its big, scary power. I took treatments at the “chemo lounge” in my “healing chair.” I became a “thriver” as opposed to a survivor. Empowerment? Heck yeah! I did it through my speech. Using kind and gentle words, giving myself uplifting messages became a predictor of my health.
My baby girl is now 8 years old. Her memories of my illness consist of the time I melted my wig cooking dinner. I’ve been through the fire and have come out transformed, just like the phoenix. The stakes are higher when it concerns your mortality, but peace and acceptance are key to meeting any challenge. Oh yes, and did I mention that my oncologist’s name sounds just like the Sanskrit word for bliss? It’s Dr. (A)nanda. Words and sounds have power!
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