Lymph edema

[Questioner]

I had a mastectomy last summer and 23 lymph nodes were removed. A serious side effect to this is a condition called lymph edema. The lymph fluid in the arm can pool and painful swelling occurs. It is almost impossible to ever reduce the swelling. I was told I should never carry anything over 15 pounds or wear a heavy bag over my shoulder. I have been doing restorative poses but as I recover from the effects of Chemo I would like to resume a normal practice. I like Ashtanga because it involves the entire body but have been attending classes at the Iyengar Institute here in Los Angeles and find it satisfying as well. Are there any articles that would talk about how and when to start a full practice? So many poses require putting weight on the arms. I would love to start getting my strength back but am really fearful. I would appreciate any input you could give me, either from personal experience or the name of a book you might recommend.

P.

[Mukunda]

First of all I would recommend you inquire about an innovation in lymphatic massage from Dr. Upledger?s Cranial Sacral Therapy School. You can connect to them at http://www.aihe.com or call 800-311-9204. A new book on this subject was just published by a physician with extensive medical research on its benefits. The method has helped many people in most dramatic ways.

As far as yoga goes I would recommend you get my book, Structural Yoga Therapy and do only the Joint Freeing series in the book for one month. That series is designed to return venous and lymphatic fluids in a systematic manner from the lower body to the heart. I do not know of any articles on this subject but you can find a wealth of yoga therapy articles for various conditions at the site - http://www.yrec.org - Yoga Research and Education Center.

[Susan_Whalen]

I had a mastectomy last summer and 23 lymph nodes were removed. A serious side effect to this is a condition called lymph edema. The lymph fluid in the arm can pool and painful swelling occurs. It is almost impossible to ever reduce the swelling. I was told I should never carry anything over 15 pounds or wear a heavy bag over my shoulder. I have been doing restorative poses but as I recover from the effects of Chemo I would like to resume a normal practice. I like Ashtanga because it involves the entire body but have been attending classes at the Iyengar Institute here in Los Angeles and find it satisfying as well. Are there any articles that would talk about how and when to start a full practice? So many poses require putting weight on the arms. I would love to start getting my strength back but am really fearful. I would appreciate any input you could give me, either from personal experience or the name of a book you might recommend.

P.