Kolkata Hospital Aims At Holistic Healing Through Yoga To Alleviate Anger, Depression In Young Cancer Patients

Yoga is not a full cure for such diseases, but an important part of the treatment and helps in healing the young patients mentally, physically and spiritually, believes the cancer hospital in Kolkata.

Kolkata: In pandemic times, several people have turned to yoga to keep themselves mentally and physically fit. It has proved to be hugely beneficial for Covid patients recovering from the viral disease besides offering multiple benefits to those with life-threatening conditions such as cancer.

Yoga has a healing effect on everyone and all age groups, be it a seven-year-old child Cutie, who is fighting the most difficult battle of her life against cancer. Even as the seven-year-old finds it difficult to keep the equilibrium of her body and requires support to walk, she doesn’t miss her yoga and music therapy sessions.

Suffering from brain cancer, Cutie is determined and religiously follows the yoga sessions to recover from the after-effects of chemotherapy and other complications due to the treatment. She is exempted from asana like tadasana which involves body balance, but yoga is closer to her heart.

Cutie is under treatment in Saroj Gupta Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in south Kolkata along with many other kids like her. Yoga has brought a new lease of life for many cancer patients such as Cutie who finds solace with yoga practice.

Cutie is not alone and Sukhdev, a blood cancer patient is equally excited about performing yoga sessions as much he likes playing football. From Tadasana to pranayama, yoga offers such patients the much-needed break from their regular therapies.

The yoga teacher also ensures that positive energy is maintained in these sessions since kids have less strength - mentally and physically, and hence it is important to improve both.

“When we do yoga then the body and mind are in sync because of breathing techniques which offer them relaxation. Such patients have a fear of the disease because of which there is anxiety, anger, mood swings especially in kids when they are getting these heavy dosage medicines and chemotherapy. So we do music with yoga to enrich their lives,” informs the yoga teacher.

“India has set milestones in making Yoga an international name across the globe, but back home it is a part of the holistic healing approach,” says Dr. Arnab Gupta, Medical Director, Saroj Gupta Cancer Hospital, Kolkata

“In this hospital, we don’t just cure with science. My father established this hospital with a holistic approach because only science cannot cure cancer so we add yoga and music for every patient. My father believed that for one kid you have to cure two more patients which include their parents. So we use yoga to help cure cancer patient kids faster,” he added.

The hospital feels there is no other way to do justice to the healing of patients during challenging times that have increased symptoms of depression and anger in the little patients. The doctors monitor the therapy and classes too.

“We decide on the basis of diagnosis that we will give patient chemotherapy or radiation. The patient is already under pressure so we only ensure that we give him what is needed beyond medicines we use a holistic approach and we give them exercises not with dumbbells but with yoga and body movements,” says Dr Vineet Shah.

“This helps in their speedy improvement of health and also with kids, it heals them mentally, physically and spiritually,” added Shah. Yoga is not a full cure for such diseases, but an important part of the treatment.

The kids have dreams in their eyes not knowing how much and what they will be able to turn into a reality, but it is the determination of winning every battle that ensures victory will be in their lap.