Impact of Relaxation Training According to Yoga in Daily Life® System on Perceived Stress After Breast Cancer Surgery

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to gather information on the immediate and short-term effects of relaxation training according to Yoga In Daily Life ® (YIDL) system on the psychological distress of breast cancer patients. 32 patients at the Institute for Oncology of Ljubljana were randomized to the experimental (N = 16) and to the control group (N = 16). Both groups received the same standard physiotherapy for 1 week, while the experimental group additionally received a group relaxation training sessions according to YIDL ® system. At discharge the experimental group was issued with audiocassette recordings containing the similar instructions for relaxation training to be practiced individually at home (for further 3 weeks). An experimental repeated measures design was used to investigate the differences over 1 month period in stress levels, changes in mental health and psychological parameters. Measures were obtained at three time points during the study period: baseline, at 1 week, and at 4 weeks, by blinded investigators using standardized questionnaires General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL) psychological subscale, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Patients who received relaxation training reported feeling significantly less distressed during hospitalization and after discharge-period than did the controls that did not receive relaxation training. The results indicate that relaxation training according to Yoga in Daily Life ® system could be useful clinical physiotherapy intervention for breast cancer patients experiencing psychological distress. Although this kind of relaxation training can be applied to clinical oncology in Slovenia, more studies need to be done.

Yoga for the Management of Cancer Treatment-Related Toxicities

“…One study recruited patients with non-metastatic colorectal cancer [69] and one study recruited patients with lymphoma [26]; however, the majority of the studies targeted patients with breast cancer [21, 41, 43, 45, 49, 54–56, 63–68, 70, 71]. In addition, patients in 11 clinical trials were undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy while completing the yoga intervention [43, 45, 56, 64–71] and participants in two studies included both patients with ongoing cancer treatments and survivors [21, 26]. Patients in the remaining five clinical trials were survivors who had completed surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy before enrolling in the study [41, 49, 54, 55, 63].…”

“…A diverse set of yoga styles were tested in these clinical trials, including Iyengar, hatha, restorative, and Tibetan, and included poses, breathing, and meditation. Fourteen studies delivered the yoga interventions using a group format [21, 26, 41, 43, 45, 49, 54, 56, 63, 67–71], two studies used home-based yoga program [64, 66], and two studies included both group and home-based formats [55, 65]. The duration of each yoga session ranged from 60 to 90 min.…”

“…Yoga sessions were held one to seven times per week with yoga intervention length ranging from 3 to 12 weeks. Short-term positive effects of yoga on anxiety, depression, and other psychological distress were seen in 12 studies [21, 41, 45, 56, 64–71] and two studies [41, 64] also showed long-term positive effects on psychological distress. Six trials found no significant group differences on psychological distress [26, 43, 49, 54, 55, 63].…”

Beneficial Effects of Pranic Meditation on the Mental Health and Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Survivors

“…The use of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer survivors has shown several benefits, including a significant improvement of vitality, and physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. [60][61][62] Pranic meditation is rooted in the principles of yoga but uses different techniques. It is practiced in a static sitting position, uses exercises of focusing attention to quiet the mind and attain serenity, and allow practitioners to master their ability to absorb, concentrate, balance, and project prana, and to use it toward the recovery and maintenance of their health.…”

Yoga into Cancer Care

“…After examination of the titles and the abstracts, 138 studies met the inclusion criteria - 28 single armed trials [Table 1][32333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859] and 110 randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials: 18 from 1996 to 2008 [Table 2],[606162636465666768697071727374757677] 34 from 2009 to 2012 [Table 3],[78798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111] and 58 from 2013 to 2016 [Table 4]. [112113114115116117118119…”