Dubai: Cancer survivor uses life lessons to become oncologist yoga instructor

Moving to the UAE after surviving breast cancer, Lebanese expat Jessica was going through a rough patch when she saw an advertisement for a yoga teacher training course in Bali. “In my mind, I felt like I had found a purpose,” she said. “So I just packed my bags and left.”

Today, Jessica is on her way to becoming an oncologist yoga instructor, after quitting her full-time job with her family’s business.

Designed especially to help those who have undergone cancer, oncology yoga tailors its words and techniques to accommodate those dealing with the disease.

Jessica was one of the several women who shared their experiences at an event hosted by the Majlis Al Amal, with October being breast cancer awareness month. Celebrating women’s resilience and transformation, it was a platform for women from all walks of lives to share their experience beating the big C.

Cancer guilt

Jessica said one of the hardest things for her to live with was the guilt. “A lot of people including myself have this guilt that they caused cancer to themselves by not eating and exercising properly,” she said. “There are a lot of mental issues surrounding cancer that isn’t talked about a lot.”

According to her, yoga became especially important to her after she understood the importance of it in the lives of patients. “It is one of the activities that prevents cancer from coming back,” she said. “It gives mental clarity and helps patients with the kind of mental guilt.”

She said oncology yoga will help her cater to cancer patients in better ways. “It is about the words we use, the mantras we say and the poses we do,” she said. “For example, we would never say the words ‘corpse pose’ with cancer patients. Also, many of them may have surgery scars meaning they cannot do certain poses. So, we modify it to meet their needs.”

• Not everything we call cancer should be called cancer