A large study from the British government shows nature heals.
We’re all part of nature. Returning to it is one of the most powerful things we can do for both our mental and physical well-being. The British government’s recent initiative beautifully demonstrates this truth.
This article details a groundbreaking government-supported program—perhaps the largest of its kind worldwide. Over 8,000 people across England took part, and the results are remarkable.
Participants who engaged in nature-based activities like walks, community gardening, tree planting, and wild swimming experienced significant improvements in mental health. One participant, managing trauma-related mental health challenges, shared, “It works better than medication for me. It works better than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for me. I have my counseling, and that is really valuable, but this is on a par with that.”
So, as the weather cools, don’t let that keep you indoors. Step outside. Take a walk, do yoga, observe the birds, tend a garden—whatever resonates with you. Nature is here to help.
The Paralympics have shown that people with disabilities can be athletes. Their secret? They’ve managed to develop resilience. You, too, can nurture your resilience. And you know what? Yoga therapy can help you to just do that.
Paris 2024 has come to a close.
I was personally moved to tears while attending the men’s wheelchair basketball game between the USA and Spain at the Paris Bercy Arena, as well as a morning of para swimming at the Paris La Défense Arena in recent days. And it’s no surprise… I hold a Disability Card myself, so this is my world.
You have to see these high-level athletes, some with severe physical impairments, fully embracing who they are. They are ready to give it their all, with such strength and determination. It was so emotional to watch the Brazilian athlete Gabriel dos Santos Araujo swim—he won countless medals during these Games. At 22 years old, born without arms, and standing at 1.21 meters tall, he moves like a dolphin. He learned to swim instinctively. “There aren’t many things I can do with my body, so I fight with the tools I have, and I work on them to become stronger.”
Resilience is a natural process of survival
Through these Paralympic Games, I saw firsthand how resilience is a true strength. It doesn’t solve the health issue or the disability you may have, but it helps find a new form and rise from the ashes. Resilience is a natural process of survival.
When you think about it, we’ve all had—or currently have—a disability of some sort, even if only temporary. We’re all struggling with some sort of disease. Not to mention life’s accidents, such as breakups, loss of status, a job, etc.
Whatever your reality may be, I invite you to rise once again, to nurture your resilience. Therapeutic yoga is a practice that helps develop resilience—physically, emotionally, and mentally. So join us for our next workshops in Paris 15th, to give form to this extraordinary life energy.
Because until your last breath, and at every stage of your life, you are here to love, reinvent yourself, create, and contribute to the world.
When you allow yourself to pause, to live more slowly—during a vacation for example—, you’re doing something essential for your physical and mental health. Good news—yoga therapy can also help.
As the summer season unfolds, I wish you a chance to SLOW DOWN, and if possible, to do so in nature’s embrace. It’s vital for healing, for finding ourselves again, for reconnecting, for feeling deeply, and for being fully present in this life we’re given to experience—with all its joys and challenges. Because, let’s face it, we all go through tough times, no matter our age, gender, skin color, social status, or mental and physical health.
But, slowing down isn’t always easy, is it? Caught up in the whirlwind of daily obligations, you might often feel like you’re living on autopilot, without the time to truly connect with yourself.
Ideas, clarity and emotions can emerge
However, when you give yourself permission to live more slowly—like during a vacation—when you stroll through nature, pausing whenever you feel like it, you allow yourself to connect with your feelings, your deepest needs, and even your creativity. Ideas, clarity, and emotions can emerge.
As my friend, reflexologist Rodrigue Vilmen, says, “Doing nothing is still doing something.”
Rite of passage
A few weeks ago, I went “glamping” (mix of “glamorous” and “camping”) in the French Alps. During this trip, I was surrounded by breathtaking landscapes. I lounged around, took short walks, and read under tall conifers. This “doing nothing” unexpectedly turned into a kind of inner journey, where I felt, at times, sadness from unresolved past experiences. Slowing down also means giving yourself the time to feel what’s been buried and unexpressed, allowing it to be released from its emotional hold. Fully experiencing that sadness was healing because it allowed me to accept it, not fear it, and start to move past it.
Renewal in the French Alps!
Starting in September, you can reconnect with this idea of “doing nothing,” this letting go, by joining my therapeutic yoga workshops. Together, we’ll dive into the art of slowing down. We’ll feel, and continue to untangle the knots, tensions, and restrictions that are deeply stored in the body’s tissues. We’ll breathe and learn to live with more freedom and joy.
Almost unknown, yoga therapy can be a powerful ally on the path to well-being. Here’s everything you wanted to know about the practice but never dared to ask.
While yoga is well known in the West, yoga therapy is a very new complementary practice that only a few insiders know about. So, let’s get started and lift the veil.
To understand the origins of yoga therapy, you have to go to the West Coast of the United States and look at one person in particular: Larry Payne. A Californian, athletic, he was an advertising executive in Los Angeles and made a lot of money. On the surface, life was good. But in 1978, at 35, his body spoke out under the weight of stress. Payne saw his blood pressure rise and suffered from chronic back pain. Physiotherapy, medication… nothing worked. Until one day, a friend took him to a yoga class. It was a revelation. For the first time in two years, his back pain disappeared. Payne felt reborn. He continued practicing yoga and left his advertising career to devote himself to the practice.
One of the founders of the International Association of Yoga Therapists
After a stint in India, he returned to Los Angeles and worked tirelessly to make yoga known as a complementary practice. He taught yoga, wrote several books, released videos, appeared on radio and TV shows, and in 1989, he became one of the founders of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT).
What really worked in yoga and why
The association truly found its footing in the early 2000s. It aimed to make the profession of yoga therapist more professional. To do this, it was necessary to determine what really worked in yoga and why. This meant relying on science. That’s what the IAYT did. The association cataloged the scientific studies—more and more numerous—conducted on yoga therapy and certain chronic diseases. A milestone was reached in 2004 when the IAYT brought in conventional medicine professionals for the first time on its advisory board. In 2007, the first yoga therapy symposium was held in Los Angeles. The association published standards for yoga therapist training in 2012. Today, the IAYT has 5,600 members from around fifty countries and 150 training schools. It’s the start of adulthood.
So, what’s yoga therapy?
Many people think that yoga is a physical activity made up of stretching and movements. But that’s not the case. Yogis have known for millennia that the body and mind are one. Yoga therapy therefore harnesses the natural abilities of your body and mind to optimize your well-being. Specifically, the practitioner uses the tools of yoga—meditation, yogic breathing, postures, etc.—as well as psycho-emotional support through verbal communication and active listening to help you feel better.
Yoga therapy, for whom?
I often hear, “I’m too stiff,” “too big”… to do yoga. But yoga therapy is for everyone! In fact, the practice, taught in private lessons or small groups, can help high-level athletes as well as people who can barely move. To give you an idea, I had a therapeutic yoga teacher who was paraplegic!
Yoga therapy, for what?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the world is facing an unprecedented mental health crisis. Yoga therapy is an approach that can be an effective ally in cases of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and insomnia, among others. While yoga isn’t a magic potion, more and more scientific studies show that the practice can relieve certain conditions, particularly chronic pain (lower back pain, arthritis) and those associated with fibromyalgia, for example. It also has a place in the care of people suffering from complications following a stroke, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Similarly, it perfectly complements conventional medical treatments in the cases of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
But be careful, you don’t need to be suffering to benefit from yoga therapy. It can be a valuable aid to living better. And that, in itself, is already a lot.
A therapeutic yoga session is either one-to-one or in a small group.
Yoga can clear the way to our intuition and creativity.All thanks to the practice’s breathing techniques.
Is there really a link between yoga and our intuition? Believe it or not—yes, there is.
The source of intuition is inside all of us. The problem is the mind and the thoughts that stop us from tapping into our inner knowing. The good news is that yoga can help thanks to breathing techniques or pranayamas which can quiet that noise.
How it works
Doing pranayama exercises means consciously controlling your breath. These breathing techniques affect the parasympathetic system to create a relaxing effect. Their benefits are numerous and impact vital functions like digestion, blood circulation, elimination, etc. But beyond balancing the body, breathing offers much more, and affects the mind and mood as I explained in my previous post, “Yoga Therapy Saved My Life.”
That’s already great news but there’s more. Pranayamas, when combined with slow movements and concentration, also influence intuition. This mix of breathing, movement, and concentration helps you become present with yourself, relax deeply and balance your nervous system–all essential to connect with your intuition. This process of “letting go” helps access your subconscious and therefore your inner voice.
To suddenly see clearly
Many people say they suddenly see clearly how to move forward in a tricky life situation during a yoga session. I’ve personally lost count of how many times yoga has given me clarity. Yesterday, for example, I suddenly became aware during my own yoga practice, of which approach and poses to use in an upcoming yoga therapy private so that the session can perfectly answer my client’s needs.
Sources: The Science of Yoga by William J. Broad, Radiance: Create an Amazing Life After Cancer (Kripalu Center), De l’inspir à l’inspiration (magazine Inexploré N. 62, printemps 2024).
My arm lymphedema recently got infected. It’s been a great reminder that I need to listen to myself and my body. At all times.
April 22nd started like any other day, doing yoga.
I had taught a yoga therapy workshop the day before and was feeling super energized. I performed the bridge pose and twisted my shoulders in a way that compromised my circulation. For someone with breast cancer-related lymphedema in my arm, this was a misstep. Off-guard moment. I knew I wasn’t supposed to twist my shoulder that way. The result? My lymphedema got infected.
Since then, I’ve put my foot on the brake. I revisited my schedule—once again—to have more breathing room (I’ve always overdone).
These days, I need nature. I walk. I lay down in the meadow. I read. I create space for myself. Trees, birds and the sky are there for me. To help me repair myself. Yesterday, I practiced yoga for the first time in three weeks, with so much more compassion.
Remember–honor your own wellness journey. In every possible way. That too is yoga therapy.
A nature park, close to home, five miles South of Paris, has been my favorite place to rest.
I’m a multiple cancer survivor. Conventional oncology takes care of my body and cells. Yet, it needs a push. So, I’ve practiced yoga therapy as a complement. To live fully, not just survive.
Yoga was a revelation. I started practicing soon after I was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer for the first time twenty years ago. Something changed deep inside me during my first class: I felt connected to my body. A life-long fatigue arose. I had no clue I was so exhausted. In just one class, yoga had helped me become aware how much I’d pushed through, answering everyone else’s needs. Yoga made me feel instead of think.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the conventional oncology care I’ve been lucky to receive since 2004. It can do miracles thanks to scientific research. Yet, oncology addresses exclusively the physical body while sadly ignoring other aspects of the human experience, whether emotional, mental and spiritual.
That’s why yoga therapy’s been a savior for me. To the extent I’ve become a yoga therapist.
I was fractured
I also vividly remember the summer of 2022 when I received the diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer while vacationing in Paris. Living in Atlanta wasn’t an option anymore. In a week, I decided to let go of the life I’d built in the U.S. for years and call Paris home again. I started my conventional cancer treatment. Everything was coming into place. Except, I felt fractured. How long did I have left? Where did I belong? In Paris, my birthplace? Or in Atlanta where I’d found my true self? Could I be a legitimate yoga therapist while living with this serious disease? I could physically feel the fear and, even more so, confusion and uprooting.
The urgency was therefore to experience groundedness again. The answer? Yoga as always. Day after day, I practiced outdoors, in a Paris suburbia nature park, so I could literally feel and smell this land which was both familiar and new to me then. At the end of each practice, I laid down on the grass (corpse pose), taking in the sun and earth’s energy. Day after day, I felt more grounded, stronger, more stable.
The body and the mind are inextricably bound together
The point of my yoga routine was also to sustain my conventional oncology treatment. This kind of combination is called integrative oncology—when conventional medicine is mixed with complementary therapies. So far, it’s worked.
Seven months after the beginning of my treatment, a PET-scan showed the metastasis in the liver and the right pectoral muscle had disappeared. The following PET-scan’s results, eight months later, were also astonishing. The remaining metastasis, on bones, had reduced by 36%.
So, how does a practice like therapeutic yoga work? What does science say about this ancient meditative mind body practice?
Parc Interdépartemental de Choisy Paris Val-de-Marne (5 miles South of Paris), the green paradise where I practiced therapeutic yoga in the summer and fall of 2022.
First, yogis have been saying for thousands of years the body and mind are inextricably bound together. Second, breath is the key to the interweaving of body and mind. It’s a core element of yoga practice and explains its effectiveness.
Yoga practice is made up of both slow and fast breathing exercises in coordination with the movements of your limbs. When you breathe in a fast way, body stores of carbon dioxide lower without significantly increasing oxygen stores. The phenomenon can result in dizziness, headaches, light-headedness among others. That’s why it must be done right. It also impacts mood. A fast-breathing exercise such as Breath of Fire (Bhastrika) create a feeling of exhilaration.
Yoga breathing affects a person’s mood
On the other hand, when you breathe slowly the repercussions for mood are radically different. The slow-breathing exercise Ujjayi for example, makes a person breathe about ten times slower than a resting adult. This time, slow breathing raises carbon dioxide levels in the bloodstream. The phenomenon brings a person to experience a deep relaxation, calm alertness, and raw awareness. In short, yoga breathing affects a person’s mood. Fast breathing styles tend to excite and slow ones to calm.
Enjoying an increased sense of well-being. Becoming absorbed in the moment. Experiencing life through how I feel and not only through how I think. In conjunction with conventional oncology care, these things can make a difference to help save a life.
Source: The Science of Yoga (2012) by William J. Broad. Yoga therapy is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your health care provider(s). I encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with your health care provider.
Despite metastatic breast cancer remains a difficult journey, more of us live well with the disease. I’m sharing with you eight choices I’ve made that help me live with more joy and hope since my diagnosis 16 months ago.
I need to be heard and seen for who I really am. Especially since it’s Pinktober. So, here’s what I’ve learned these past months.
Statistics speak for themselves. The journey of people living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), like me, is often less of a success story than the journey of people with early-stage breast cancer. Still, there’s more of us who live well with MBC. That’s because researchers are discovering more information through trials, treatments are becoming more effective, and more patients use complementary medicine along with conventional treatments (integrative medicine).
What’s MBC? It’s cancer that’s spread to another part of the body. The conventional treatments? There’s a range from surgery to chemotherapy, targeted hormonotherapy and a variety of new protocols that arrive on the “market” each year. What about the cure? Conventional medicine says “complete remission is possible in some cases” while “there’s no cure”. So, do we need to give up?
Whether cancer is behind me (yet) or not, here’s eight things that help me nurture joy and hope despite the ups and downs.
In the end, I’m the one who makes the decisions What can help me heal? Conventional medicine for sure. What about complimentary medicine? If I use complimentary medicine, which modalities do I blend in my care plan? Since I’m a yoga therapist, yoga is a big part of my care. I also use reflexology, naturopathy, psychotherapy which each play a crucial role. I’m the captain of the boat. I’m the one who decides. I’ve created a unique care plan that serves my body and soul.
I’m my own experiment—not a statistic Statistics can be frightening. I make a point to remember I’m a person, with my own story, my own strengths and my own truth.
I choose and appreciate the people in my life Friends, family members, colleagues, therapists, clients, etc. I’m mindful of who’s in my life. Being surrounded by the right people is simply vital to draw strength.
I connect with my body in the present moment Yoga brings me to the present moment, guides me out of my mind, helps me connect with my body and leads me to listen to what my body is telling me. It’s been a life saver.
I’ve been thinking about the meaning of my life—a lot. It could’ve meant to have a family, or to travel around the world and explore different cultures (although I’ve done some of that), or to fight for climate change. But no. The meaning of my life is about teaching yoga therapy, sharing what I’m learning about this invaluable practice, helping people connect deeply with their body, unknot the knots, put words on what they feel in their tissues so they live with more harmony in all aspects of their life.
Teaching a small yoga therapy group class in person in over a year in Brittany, this past August.
I do what I love—no matter what Sing, dance, take a forest bath, meet with friends, go for a weekend, … I do what I love as much as I can—even when I feel anxious (waiting for results after a medical test can trigger anxiety). The beauty is that, when I do what I love, I nurture my cells with positive energy—which is good for my healing.
I’m spiritually connected The severity of the illness has urged me to connect with Life, the Universe, God (or whatever name you give to that something bigger) in a deeper way. A friend has pointed me to the American Church in Paris where I’ve joined the choir to sing gospel. It’s been a joy. There’s also a small group of women—most of whom I’ve never met—who belong to the same church on the other side of the ocean, somewhere in Georgia, who pray for my healing and recovery, every week. I feel their connection!
The American Church in Paris has been a gem. Here’s a few of my choir friends. From the right, Pablo (our tenor), Lisa (our incredible choir conductor from Feb to June 23), and Isabelle, another alto singer like me.
I’m a resource My experience as a multiple cancer survivor means I have a world of knowledge on resilience and vulnerability. I’ve actually decided to be fine with my vulnerability instead of going against it, it’s my biggest strength. Many can learn from this lesson. I’m a powerful resource. For me and for others.
Banner photo: With my good friends Susan (also a yoga therapist) and John visiting from Atlanta this past August.
I’ve used integrative medicine to navigate metastatic cancer since I was first diagnosed almost a year ago. Integrative medicine means the use of conventional medicine mixed with complementary approaches. I also call these approaches “sacred work”. Results have been quite awesome so far.
I’m so proud of the collage I created in the shape of a mandala in the bi-monthly art therapy group classes that a non-profit offers for cancer people, in Paris suburbia. It took six months to pick images and place them in the circle I’d drawn under the guidance of the art therapist. Creating the collage helped me express how shattered I felt after receiving the diagnosis of a second recurrence of breast cancer with metastasis in bones, the liver and above the breast (right pectoralis minor). I was diagnosed in June 2022 while on vacation in Paris (back then, I lived in Atlanta, GA). The collage has surprisingly helped me bring all the pieces of my life back together, little by little.
I’ve been grateful for my oncologist and the progress made in cancer treatments in the past decade. Still, I’ve known from the beginning that, to have a chance to survive the disease, I’d need integrative medicine.
I unexpectedly decided to stay in Paris, France—to settle—while I was visiting my family last summer. That’s what I needed to do to feel more secure.
I immediately started the conventional treatment—hormonotherapy pills and monthly injections. Yet, I also set up a team of complementary practitioners to help me do the “sacred work” as a pastor at The American Church in Paris calls personal growth.
To put it simply, “sacred work” is everything that’s helped me heal my mind, body and soul—Psychotherapy, naturopathy, reflexology, art therapy, sophrology and, of course, yoga.
I’ve looked into trauma
“Sacred work” can be difficult. In psychotherapy, I’ve looked into trauma. I’ve faced my deep insecurity. I’ve explored how, as a child, I was on the lookout for something to go bad at any time with my mom who was going through depression with suicidal thoughts. I’ve looked at my dad’s fear of losing everything since he’d experienced homelessness as a teen. I’ve checked into my need to become my mom’s light to bring her out of depression and show her that everything’s fine. In relationships, I’ve questioned my life-long belief I couldn’t be loved only for who I was. I’ve looked into the belief that I had to do a lot for the men I chose—men with an oversized ego or who couldn’t stand on their feet.
I’ve done sacred work on my yoga mat too. While practicing yoga therapy, I’ve held space for myself, for introspection. I’ve given time for deepen breathing to unknot the knots, to bring space within and in between the organs, the tissues, the fascia. I’ve felt my body, mind and soul be as one, beat at the rhythm of the universe. I’ve felt my intuition speak, insights arise, feelings emerge. For the “do-er” that I am, yoga’s vital.
My naturopath has recommended natural supplements to help reduce the conventional treatment’s side effects. Her faith in nature has guided me, “You need to physically connect with this land which is your new home now. Go and walk bare feet in nature, do yoga in nature as often as you can.”
February 2023. Almost eight months after beginning my treatment, the PET-Scan showed cancer cells on the bones had progressed but all cancer cells in my liver and pectoralis minor had disappeared. “What do you think, doc?” “That’s awesome!”, claimed my oncologist.
No medical study can prove it but I’m pretty sure integrative medicine’s been instrumental in my healing progress. I still have quite a way to go towards good health of course. Still, almost a year after my diagnosis, I’m ready to teach yoga therapy in person again, in Paris, my new home. And that, to me, is a sign. A mighty good sign.
August 2022, doing yoga in a park in Choisy-le-Roi, the city where I live, 5 miles South of Paris, to feel grounded on my new land.
My whole world exploded when I was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer with bone metastasis during my vacation in Paris this summer (while I was living in the U.S.) After months of silence, I’m getting my voice back. Here’s who I am now.
The explosion happened on June 24, 2022. I had been living in Atlanta, GA for 16 years and was enjoying my summer vacation in Paris—my native city—, when my oncologist announced the unthinkable: “You have a recurrence of breast cancer with bone metastasis”. The PETSCAN showed eight sites on my bone structure where cancer cells had settled. It’s been eight years since my second cancer, 18 years since the disease first entered into my life.
A week later, I made the most radical decision of my life. I came to the conclusion that, if I had a chance to survive this, it would be in France. I decided to settle in my native country close to my mom, with access to France’s universal healthcare and medical system (which is under huge pressure, just like any other medical system in the world). My gut feelings told me to stay put and concentrate on the healing process, not to travel back to Atlanta to move my stuff. To this day, I haven’t returned to Atlanta.
Instead, my Atlanta friends did what I should have done myself. They moved my stuff out of my place in Southwest Atlanta, sold or donated it, and traveled from Atlanta to Paris with suitcases full of my clothes. An incredible movement of solidarity. I still have no words to express my gratitude. Instead, I feel tears coming up.
I’ve felt as if I’ve been dropped in France by parachute, uprooted. Still feeling that way today.
As the medical treatment kicked off in the early summer, the universe sent me help—thank goodness. I was lucky to find a regional park—nature is rare in Paris suburbia, one of the world’s most densely populated areas—close to my place. I practiced yoga every morning in the park’s meadow. Bare feet. No mat. I had to feel and smell the (new) ground I was standing on. Hikers? People walking their dogs? I didn’t care, nothing stopped me from doing what I needed to do to stay somewhat sane.
A bond with my adoptive city
Another “extraordinary” thing happened around the same time. My work (at least part of it) as a yoga therapist and a teacher of French “followed” me in Paris. I’ve continued teaching online to my Georgia students. That’s helped me keep a bond with my adoptive city and stay busy, thinking about something else than cancer.
Finally, I’ve been able to put together a team of complementary medicine healers to help me in this journey where I feel a huge sense of loss. Loss of my health, loss of my Atlanta life and tribe.
Now what? Cancer impacts a person on the physical, emotional and spiritual levels. This time, the diagnosis was an even bigger slap in the face, a stronger mortality wake-up call because of the metastasis. My oncologist believes I will reach complete remission. I feel I can too. When? I don’t know.
A few things are emerging for me.
The emotional work is hard. Still, I’m committed to doing it. I want to know, understand and, most importantly, feel what are the shocks that have led to the recurrence. I’m convinced it’s necessary for my healing.
I’ve been so terrified by the diagnosis that I’ve let it silence me. I’m done with that. I’m finding my voice again. This post is a start.
I’m continuing my work as a yoga therapist and a patient advocate, spreading the word about integrative medicine and integrative oncology. This means the true integration of complementary modalities into health care and cancer care to help us, patients and survivors. Because our lives depend on it.
It feels good to be back—back in the light—showing the world who I am. Thank you for seeing me.
I practiced yoga every morning in this meadow that’s in a park, 5 miles South of Paris. I need to feel and smell the (new) ground I was standing on.
