Yoga for cancer patients in West Palm Beach

Rambling Ron at the Sari Center

Nestled on the eighth floor of a Flagler Drive medical office building, the Sari Asher Center oozes a peaceful feeling as soon as you enter its doors.

The West Palm Beach center offers complementary therapies to enhance the quality of life of cancer patients, regardless of where you had surgery and treatments. Among its offerings are yoga by-donation classes taught on Tuesday and Thursday mornings by famed instructor Priyanka Shanbag.

On a recent Tuesday morning, she has eight students, seven women, including one in wheelchair, and one man. The wheelchair user, a woman named Elba, eases out of her chair and onto a yoga mat before class starts.

Gentle introductions

Shanbag makes everyone feel comfortable by having each person put an adjective in front of their first name as a way of introducing each other. She goes first, and calls herself: Precious Priyanka. Elba is "Enthusiastic Elba," and Mary calls herself  "Merry Mary," adding that it's her first time here at the Sari Center. Amy dubs herself, "Annoyed Amy" because she is just feeling annoyed.

All okay, Shanbag says, because it's important to go with your feelings.

She has the students sit on their mats in a relaxation pose and begins by telling them: "The first sign of relaxation is the ability to close our eyes." While the students are in this pose, she goes around the room and stops at each one to caress their shoulders and upper arms. Touch plays an important role in this class.

Priyanka Shanbag in eagle arm pose

Importance of touch

Then she has the students massage their own feet, to improve circulation and stimulate the thousands of nerve endings in the feet, especially important for diabetics.

She often reminds them to take a break when you need one, but "don't stop breathing."

As she talks them through a sleeping pigeon posture, she says, "Today, you will breathe out whatever you are holding onto that makes you sad, angry...forgive yourself...let go of anger, replace it with calm. Let go of your fears, replace them with trust."

Later, she tells as they are in the sleeping pigeon on the other leg, "Make a commitment to be strong and resilient and let go of something toxic that is holding you back."

Intentions matter more

Shanbag offers her usual flows of yoga postures. She doesn't modify her practice at the Sari Center, but she encourages each student to modify the poses, depending on how they feel physically on that day. "I can give you instruction," she says, "but only if you are able to do the pose." Intentions matter more with her than perfect poses.

While the students are doing their versions of the warrior pose, she says, "Go inside yourself and find what makes you strong, what makes you graceful."

Massaging Merry Mary's back

While the students are lying on their mats in their savasana pose, Shanbag goes around the room, stopping at each person to caress their shoulders and arms, gently massaging their scalps.

As they sit up tall, she tells them: "The true practice of yoga has just begun....Yoga prepares you for life. It's not about waiting for the storms to pass, but learning to dance in the rain."

The affirmations take on a heightened meaning for this group of cancer survivors.

After class, Shanbag asks Mary how she liked it. "It was incredible," she gushes. "When I had breast cancer, I went through a very dark period and lost a lot of friends.

"I just wanted to have someone hold me, and you did that today."

Yoga for the able bodied

Shanbag just started teaching an 8-week yoga class at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Temple Israel at 2815 N. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. There is a fee for this class. Call (561) 833-8421.

She also teaches at the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Those classes are by donation.

And now, for my numbers

I had my best walking day last week on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, when I walked:

Steps: 11,957

Miles: 6.0