Yoga Bear, a 501(c)3 non-profit, provides more opportunities of health and wellness to cancer survivors through the practice of yoga. By partnering with local yoga studios, we provide classes to survivors free of charge.
YOGABEAR at a Glance:
- Eleven regional chapters: Atlanta, Arizona, Chicago, Cleveland, Colorado, Florida, New York, Southern California, Texas, Washington D.C., and headquarters in San Francisco
- 170+ partner studios in our “Share a Mat” campaign (view map )
- 30+ volunteers and contributors across the country
- 2000+ cancer survivors benefiting from Yoga Bear’s services
- Funded through private donations; along with grants from the Western Athletic Club and the Clif Bar Family Foundation
- Founded and incorporated as a tax-exempt 501(c)3 in 2006
- Breast cancer: 44 percent
- Blood cancer**: 31 percent
- Ovarian: 10 percent
- Other: 15 percent
Yoga integrates awareness of breath, relaxation, exercise, and social support--elements that are key to enhancing quality of life in people with cancer. Yoga practice may assist cancer survivors in managing symptoms such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, pain, and fatigue.
- American Cancer Society: Yoga can be a useful method to help relieve some symptoms of chronic diseases such as cancer... and can lead to increased relaxation and physical fitness... it may enhance quality of life.
- Psycho-Oncology Journal: Researchers conclude that yoga resulted in a 50% reduction in depression, a 12% increase in feelings of peace and meaning, and a significant improvement in fatigue symptoms for women with breast cancer.
- University of Texas Anderson Cancer Center: An increasing number of survivors are embracing a holistic, mind/body/spirit approach to living with and beyond their disease. Research suggests that spirituality even improves quality of life through a strong social support network, adaptive coping, lessened depression and better physiological function
- Wake Forest School of Medicine: pilot data suggest potential benefit of Restorative Yoga (RY) on emotional outcomes and fatigue in cancer patients. This study demonstrates that a RY intervention is feasible for women with breast cancer.
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine: yoga is associated with beneficial effects on social functioning among a medically diverse sample of breast cancer survivors... yoga appears to enhance emotional well-being and mood and may serve to buffer deterioration in both overall and specific domains of quality of life.
- Exercising several times a week helps decrease body fat and hormones associated with cancer prognosis. By decreasing these factors, a woman post-breast cancer can decrease her risk of a recurrence by as much as 91%.
Yoga Bear is a volunteer based non-profit 501(c)(3) that incorporated in December 2006 in San Francisco and now operates in 25 states throughout the US. Yoga Bear supports the belief that cancer patients and survivors can benefit from yoga as a complementary treatment in cancer recovery. Dedicated to providing patients and survivors with more opportunities for wellness and healing, Yoga Bear matches them with local yoga classes free of charge.
Since its founding, Yoga Bear has expanded to connect hundreds cancer patients and survivors with more than 170 partner yoga studios across the nation. Yoga Bear also provides on-site yoga classes in hospitals (George Washington University Hospital, Kaiser, Maimonides, and Mt. Sinai), cancer centers, and support groups such as The American Cancer Society and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Yoga Bear is creating a supportive community for its constituents by being devoted to issues concerning quality of life for cancer survivors. Providing yoga instruction to those with a limited income due to treatment costs is Yoga Bear's top priority.
Advisor Kelly McGonigal teachers a class to Yoga Bear
students in Golden Gate Park, August 2008
YOGABEAR Board of Advisors:
Kelly McGonigal, PhD, Advisor
McGonigal is a leading expert on the mind-body relationship and the psychology of yoga. She received her doctorate in psychology from Stanford University and teaches yoga, meditation and psychology at Stanford. As a passionate advocate of integrative mind-body approaches to healthcare, she is excited to work with Yoga Bear because it represents an ideal model for integrating yoga into an existing network of support for cancer patients and survivors. McGonigal is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal for yoga professionals and healthcare providers, and is the author of the upcoming book, Yoga for Chronic Pain (New Harbinger 2009). She has presented at many conferences, including the Body Mind Spirit Conference, the Inner Idea Wellness Conference, and the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research.
Tari Prinster, Advisor
Prinster published an abstract entitled, One-Size-Does-not-Fit-All: Teaching teachers how to teach yoga to cancer survivors, and was selected to present it at SYTAR Conference, 2007, sponsored by Intentional Association of Yoga Therapists. Prinster is a frequent presenter at Yoga Journal Conferences.
Tara Stiles, Advisor
Stiles connects healthy approaches to activity, exercise, food, awareness, and everyday feeling good with a wide audience around the world. Her work reaches out through a broad array of channels including mainstream print and television, web video and news sites. She's a popular contributor to The Huffington Post, Women's Health, and Men's Health, covering many aspects of yoga including basic how-to and preventive health care. Tara is recognized for her bold, fun and approachable style, breaking down ancient tradition and ideas into useful practices for everyone. She's also the founder of New York-based yoga studio Strala, where her teaching centers on building strength while helping people to live health and feel good.
Jasan Zimmerman, Advisor
As a cancer survivor, Zimmerman is particularly interested in cancer advocacy, especially for children, young adults and long-term survivors. After being diagnosed and treated for neuroblastoma at six months old, he had thyroid cancer at ages 15 and 21. Now healthy, he looks forward to making a positive contribution as a cancer survivor. He became involved in cancer advocacy after attending the Livestrong Summit in 2006 and now serves on the Board of Directors for the Silicon Valley Wellness Center. Jasan is a molecular biologist at Genencor International, a biotechnology company in Palo Alto, Calif. He has a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in microbiology and molecular genetics.
Halle Tecco, Founder, Executive Director
Tecco founded Yoga Bear in 2006, after she was inspired by a paper she read on yoga and cancer while interning at Columbia Hospital. A lifelong cancer-advocate, and 8-year yogi, she has grown Yoga Bear from 4 partner studios in San Francisco to national organization it is today. She is an advocate for survivorship, healthy living, social justice, and grassroots organizing. Tecco serves on the board of Great Non-Profits, and will graduate from Harvard Business School in 2011. She has a Bachelor of Science in Finance with a minor in Entrepreneurship from Case Western Reserve university.
Click here to view the rest of the team.
“Share A Mat” Campaign
How studios benefit:
- It costs them little to zilch to provide services that help improve the quality of life for cancer patients.
- Karma points!
- Studios increase community’s awareness and build their presence through access to Yoga Bear events and networks.
Candidates must apply to be a Yoga Bear participant; individuals are matched to a studio based on their preferences and attend classes at their given studio just as any other student may. No strings, no hassle, and best of all, no fee!
“Healing Yoga” Project
Over the past year, Yoga Bear has been operating a pilot program with several hospitals. Our volunteer instructors are providing cancer patients at George Washington University Hospital, Kaiser, Maimonides Cancer Center, and Mount Sinai with free yoga classes. Our goal is to expand this project in hospitals across the US, while transforming Yoga Bear into a self-sustaining non-profit organization. The Healing Yoga Project in NYC is organized by Michelle Robbins, NYC Chapter Director.
Research on Cancer for Yoga
We care about issues of cancer and survivorship ...
- Cancer affects an estimated 1 in 3 individuals
- Recent innovations in medical technology have led to earlier diagnoses and better treatment of most cancers. As a result, more people diagnosed with cancer are living and surviving each year.
- The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates there are over 12 million cancer survivors in the US.
- Although many public health initiatives address early detection and prevention, public health efforts to address cancer survivorship are not as common.
- Survivors face numerous physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and financial issues at diagnosis, during treatment, and for the remaining years of their lives.
Cancer survivors face many health issues, even after they complete treatment ...
- Many cancer survivors face late or long-term physical side effects. All cancer patients live with the possibility that their cancer will recur or spread (metastasize). Some patients also may develop secondary cancers, some of which may be a result of treatments used for their original cancer.
- One of the most common long-term side effects for women is early menopause, which also increases the risk for osteoporosis.
- Certain types of cancer treatments can age or damage vital organs, causing long-term health problems. These may become apparent only as the survivor ages or develops other medical conditions years after therapy. Some chemotherapy drugs are known to be toxic to the heart.
Survivors experience psychological, emotional and spiritual impacts ...
- Many of these affect quality of life and can show up many years after treatment
- Many survivors live in fear that their cancer will come back at some point.
- It is estimated that 70% of cancer survivors experience depression at some time.
- Survivors who have experienced amputations, disfigurement and loss of organs often grapple with how they relate to themselves and other people. A negative body image and low self-esteem can affect a survivor's ability for intimacy with a partner, which has a major impact on quality of life.
We want more survivors to have access to yoga classes ...
- Cancer is expensive and drains ones' resources
- The cost of treatment for the first year alone can exceed $100,000
- "Luxuries" such as yoga are no longer possible for many
- Insurance rarely covers "alternative" therapies like yoga
"I want to thank you for giving me this experience as it has been very instrumental in my recovery and self integration. The teachers have been very supportive and instructional to my particular situation, the closeness has allowed me to actually get to the classes and I have learned many new poses."
-Mary Isham, Cancer Survivor, YB Participant, San Francisco
“I wholeheartedly recommend yoga for people undergoing cancer treatment. Yoga not only conditions your body in numerous ways, but it grants you emotional balance and soothes your nervous system following the rigors of medical intervention. Visiting the Yoga Bear community can provide you with the resources and friendly exchanges necessary to survive and thrive."
-Dr. Meg Jordan, PhD, RN, Global Medicine Hunter, Health Radio Network
"Yoga has been very helpful in relieving the psychological and emotional stress of the cancer experience, as well as helping to deal with the effects of the physical therapies. It has helped me to relax, to deal with the nausea and fatigue of chemotherapy, and to simply not feel so sorry for myself. The exercises helped rehabilitate my arm and shoulder after lymph node surgery. Yoga is now helping to mitigate the effects of chemotherapy-induced menopause, particularly the mood swings and hot flashes. I think every oncologist should be encouraged to recommend it to patients. It has been a very important factor in my recovery. The chemicals and radiation address the physical problems but yoga is also a powerful therapy for the psychological and emotional stresses associated with cancer. The psychosomatic aspect of illness is well known and yoga is an enormous aid to maintaining a positive attitude. The best part of Yoga Bear's program is the feeling of support and generosity. It was like receiving a present after all the awfulness of the cancer therapy. I am very aware that others have suffered and are suffering far worse than I did and it would be wonderful if every one of them could be given the gift of yoga."
- Janet Boileu, Breast Cancer Survivor, YB Participant, Washington D.C.
"I
am delighted to be a recipient of your service at Yoga Bear! I thank
all of you for donating your time and energy to help cancer patients
and survivors. I believe that yoga can benefit a cancer patient and
survivor in many ways. Community building, physical as well as
emotional support, and nurturing are essential to the healing process
from cancer." -Miyoko Nida, Hodgkin's Lymphoma Survivor, YB Participant, San Francisco
“Yoga is a powerful tool for the therapeutic treatment of the various non-communicable diseases that are prevalent in this country today. Although there are vast improvements to be made in providing equitable resources for the detection and treatment of cancer, with the increasing percentage of cancer survivors in the U.S., it is essential for survivors to continue providing themselves with physical and emotional treatment. As a cancer survivor, I came to understand the secondary affects of cancer treatment through my personal struggle with early stage arthritis and the diminished capacity to engage in intense physical activities at the age of 24. As someone who has always been active, I sought alternative means of exercise and found yoga to be the solution. Yoga provided me the balance between physical and emotional treatment. I was able to build physical strength and flexibility while engaging in meditative exercise. I whole heartedly recommend Yoga Bear as a therapeutic means of treatment for both the cancer survivor and for those currently fighting cancer.”
-Nichole McCalvin, Cancer Survivor, MPH
Studio Testimonials:
"Strala's classes
and workshops focus on building strength while helping people to live
healthy and feel good. Our teaching emphasizes the therapeutic and
preventive health benefits of yoga. We're very happy to be working
with Yoga Bear to offer these wellness and healing benefits to cancer
survivors."
- Tara Stiles, Strala Yoga, New York City
"I want to provide this particular [cancer] community with access to my studio, to yoga, and to the community we have created at Centered City Yoga. The loss of my brother to bone cancer was enough to compel me to provide other survivors with at least a way to proactively deal with their symptoms, their pain, their sense of hopelessness."
- D'ana Baptiste, Owner of Centered City Yoga, Salt Lake City
“Peachtree Yoga Center thanks
Yoga Bear for giving us such an easy way to help with a good cause.”
- Graham Fowler, Owner of Peachtree Yoga Center, Atlanta
"I
believe that yoga sustains health. The inclusion of yoga into a
person's life who is living with cancer is a beneficial integration."
- Monica Cullinane, Director and Co-owner of Academy of Yoga, Grand Junction CO
###