Yoga Therapy Across the Cancer Care Continuum

Facing cancer calls for skilled, equitable, and compassionate support. Yoga therapists are part of an evidenced-informed health care team uniquely qualified to support whole-person community care throughout the continuum of the cancer experience, professionally and with tender-hearted humanity. Yoga Therapy Across the Cancer Care Continuum: Explores a model of evidence-informed yoga therapy integrated into health care, outlining a practitioner's philosophical, educational and research knowledge, and their skillfulness in curating accessible and sustainable practice, imbued with coregulated therapeutic connection. Details the unique emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual challenges at each phase of the cancer care continuum. Focuses on the client/patient (their beliefs, lived experience, and current whole-person response) and the wealth of compassionate practice that helps to nourish their agency and their inner and outer resourcing, including friends, family, community cancer support, and the unique culture in which they live. Explains unique problems associated with type and stage of cancer (and comorbidities), as well as common problems associated with conventional therapies (surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and stem cell transplant) and their effect on the whole person. Offers practical and professional considerations for yoga therapists, including scope of practice, insurance, waivers, clinical notes, and essential referrals to oncology colleagues. Gives the unique perspective of 38 yoga practitioners with exceptional expertise working with rich and diverse patient/caregiver populations including age and ability level, gender identity and sexual preference, and ethnic and racial groups, and in various locations, including hospital (in-patient, out-patient, ICU, infusion center, radiation department), clinic, studio, retreat center, in-home, and via internet delivery. Offers possibilities for the future of evidence-informed yoga therapy in oncology, closing the gap between knowledge and practice. Yoga Therapy Across the Cancer Care Continuum is essential reading for all those who are touched by cancer: patients, survivors, patient advocates, caregivers, and all those in their service including oncologists, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, yoga practitioners, and other health professionals interested in yoga as an evidence-informed therapeutic intervention.