RESOURCES
CARE PACKAGE
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Below is a list of additional resources (a printable pdf here) that I encourage you to seek out as and when you feel ready to. Seeking advice from someone who has the skills to give you healthy coping strategies, leaves you to spend quality time with the people you care about.
Maggies offer support for both you and your family. They are all specially trained to help individuals whose lives have been affected by cancer. They can talk through what support you need, physically, mentally and financially. Best of all you don’t need to make an appointment, you can just walk in.
Kate Swaine is a highly recommended nutritionist who specialises in Gastrointestinal Health, Immune System, Cardiovascular Health, Metabolism, Hormone Health and Detoxification. She’s also certified in functional medicine, upon running tests, she can target nutrition and hormone deficiencies using a carefully tailored diet to supercharge your healing journey.
The core principles of ECY is to empower people and communities by improving access to the therapeutic benefits of yoga by working across cultural, economic and health barriers that inhibit people from taking part. All of their classes are suitable for beginners, as well as being trauma informed.
Talking to children about cancer
It can always be difficult how to approach the subject of talking about cancer to children. Cancer Research has some good advice on how to talk to children in a way that helps them understand without feeling overwhelmed.
Psychotherapy and Counselling in Edinburgh
In addition to the therapy sessions available at Maggies, Edinburgh based Wellsprings offer affordable sessions at a sliding scale, depending on your income.
Knitted Knockers are special handmade breast prostheses for women who have had breast cancer and undergone mastectomy or lumpectomy. Traditional breast prosthetics can be hot, heavy and sticky.
Support, space and direction can also be applied to practicing asana (postural work). It cultivates one to slow down and listen to the messages and signals the body is telling us. This is where we get into the very exciting topic of fascia, with much research findings causing ripples throughout the movement industry. Following surgery, the roll and glide qualities of fascia are compromised, creating problems elsewhere in the body. Introducing gentle movement can help to smooth out the fabric, oxygenate the cells and aid a faster recovery. Joanne Avison explains the magic of fascia beautifully in her podcast: The Joanne Avison podcast.
☞ Restraints: This conjures up images of a restrictive nature, however when put in place, these restraints act as a loom from which threads can be woven to create a strong, fluid tapestry. In yoga philosophy, also referred to as Tapas (Heat, discipline, setting and observing boundaries). It's a fine balance between discipline, stability and non attachment in all areas of our life.
☞ Listen/Silent: Our urban environment is littered with noise, so much so that some find silence an uncomfortable feeling. Once the internal dialogue quietens down, we begin to connect with the true essence of ourselves, like the cessation of ripples on water, we begin to see the depths of the pond with greater clarity. Svādhyāya is Sanskrit for self study, this is where the seeds of Dharma are uncovered, our responsibilities and purpose in life. You realise what you came here for, what you came to be a part of.
☞ Trust: Allowing ourselves to be supported by the ebb and flow of universal energy and that we have what it takes to weather the storms. There's a resilience that permeates our nervous system when we take on adventures. When I say adventure, the invitation here is to be creative with the concept of what 'adventure' means, it can be showing up in your community for the first time, taking a different route to the shops, lifting your gaze and smiling at a stranger. This sows the seeds of reverence, gratitude and awe in everyday life.
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