Yoga helping patients heal

Provided

Yoga instructor Tari Prinster (center) leads attendees, who are breast cancer patients or survivors, at the Libby Ross Foundation Yoga Retreat last year at Wild Dunes.

Before surviving breast cancer, Jessie Manley likely wouldn't have participated in a yoga class, but now she realizes the benefits for many women who have gone through her experience.

The 61-year-old Columbia resident has participated in two yoga retreats as well as weekly yoga classes held by the Libby Ross Breast Cancer Foundation, which reaches out to breast cancer patients and survivors with Pose for Pink Yoga Program events in New York, California, Alabama and South Carolina. A group of women will arrive Saturday for the third annual retreat at Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms.

"I had reservations about yoga," says Manley, who works as an electrical technician at SCANA. "I made it clear that I was a Christian and serve one God, but they (instructors for Libby Ross) made it clear that the yoga was about helping to heal our bodies and mind. They are very skilled with the way they handle your body."

Lori Ross, a native of Columbia who lives in New York, created the foundation in 1999, the year after her mother, Libby Ross, died of breast cancer.

"I started the foundation because she didn't feel like she had the support services she needed," says Ross. "I love yoga because it's a mental, spiritual and physical healing process through breathing and movement. It's a way of using your body to heal yourself."

The retreats and classes are designed to help women after surgery, when the entire upper body needs to be strengthened and stretched. Yoga postures may help to break down scar tissue, build strength and increase flexibility. Deep breathing helps to oxygenate the cells and can assist the body-mind connection by serving as the link between the two.

According the the foundation's website, the group celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2010 and has had an impact on the lives more than 10,000 women in that time.

The retreats are designed to provide a weekend of pampering and support to patients and survivors. While the retreat at Wild Dunes -- featuring housing, healthy food, yoga and more -- costs about $350 for the weekend, some of the attendees get scholarships.

Typically, 35 women participate in each retreat.

Ross, who remains involved as foundation chairwoman, says other foundation efforts to enhance the lives of those with breast cancer include the Pink Ribbon Kit Program, which provides gift bags filled with comfort items and self-help tools. To date, the foundation has given more than 3,000 gift bags. Also, the foundation continues providing funding toward research and early detection to the South Carolina Comprehensive Breast Center.

The Libby Ross Foundation has been helped with support from both long-term partners, such as Swarovski North America, Kimara Ahnert and It's About Eve, and individual donors.

The retreat also offers women who have made the breast cancer journey a chance to bond.

Cathy Cauthen, also of Columbia, was diagnosed in October 2006, had a mastectomy but no chemotherapy or radiation, and attended her first retreat in the fall of 2009.

Like Manley, she says yoga helps restore strength and range of motion, especially for upper-body areas that have been altered by surgeries. She says other women had to deal with the after affects of chemo and radiation.

"The Libby Ross people are very good at helping patients and survivors deal with that," says Cauthen, an attorney for Edens & Avant. "It's a great thing. It's sort of like the retreat; Everyone in there has gone through a common experience, and the women feel an immediate bond."

If you would like to help a breast cancer patient or survivor enjoy the benefits of yoga through the Libby Ross Breast Cancer Foundation, go to www.thelibbyrossfoundation.com or call 212-831-9592.