Oncological yoga in hospitals to accompany cancer patients: "It is a safe space where no one feels judged"

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The greatest effort of Adriana Jarrín (Quito, Ecuador, 1978) since she overcame cancer is to introduce a multidisciplinary treatment in

.

"Not all people with cancer have the resources to pay for an oncology coach, a yoga class or psychosocial therapy, when they need it most."

In this way,

a more holistic view of health is

who has lived in Barcelona for 20 years, "accompanying traditional treatments in a hospital", as is already done in some leading centers in the world.

"It is

where no one feels judged. They will not tell you that you are frivolous because you are worried that your hair or nails will fall out. It is a joint path to healing, although the outcome may be the worst possible and there is no cure.

THE PROCESS HE EXPERIENCED

Her motivation is for the programs to enter public health and help more patients without resources.Ana Belén Jarrín @anabelenjarrin

"Being very young" Jarrín was

and the process was very traumatic, she recalls.

"At first, I received it in

They told me a more serious situation than the disease finally was."

On the recommendation of a relative, her cousin, in her

came into contact with Hatha Yoga.

"She told me that she could do me good physically and mentally, and I really felt that, in addition to listening to the doctors, she could finally do something for myself through my body."

Accept those very human and deep feelings that surface, like fear, she admits, and better relate to a disease that was there.

Since then, he has continued his practice "hand in hand with various teachers in India, New York, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Barcelona", experimenting with different techniques, levels and aspects of this ancient discipline.

A "yogic journey" that he combined with academic master's and doctoral studies on

. His.

But the mat or

called him too much.

"It was my magic carpet, which transported me to different spaces, with people in different situations and conditions."

From

, the most important project of his life.

"I have collaborated with the Spanish Association Against Cancer (ACCE), the Vall d'Hebrón Hospital and I currently work at the Kálida Foundation of the Sant Pau Hospital".

WHY ONCOLOGICAL YOGA

The fact of having gone through the same process places him in the same landscape, he says.Ana Belén Jarrín @anabelenjarrin

For several years he has been training other yoga teachers in this specialty.

And it is not about getting on the bandwagon of the disease or that yoga in itself is not good for everyone without last names, he defends, but about attending to the different phases of the disease.

"You have to have knowledge and training, it is not the same as caring for someone with a low back injury, because you have to

, understanding their entire context."

The first thing he does when treating a patient is to make it clear to her that yoga is not a substitute for any treatment, that it is as good as Tai Chi or Nordic walking if those are the sports the person likes, and that it is convenient to talk to the oncologist about starting practice.

"Having gone through the same situations,

, with a very special complicity and connection."

The stages of the disease are: diagnosis, treatment, post treatment and, in the worst case, end of life.

"Each one with its

."

Curiously, he affirms, after the treatment and the end of his hospital routines "many people feel very lonely and yoga is usually the space in which they continue to have an encounter."

Ecuadorian Adriana Jarrín, attending to patients, in an oncology yoga class.Ana Belén Jarrín @anabelenjarrin

He perceives their fears, understands the hardness of the process and flees from the positivist speeches around him.

"Sometimes you need to express that

. Here, a 30-year-old who would never get along with a 65-year-old if it weren't for cancer creates unparalleled bonding and trust."

Because even with the couple, sometimes, there is a certain distance and misunderstanding, she slides.

"It's about legitimizing their emotions."

Jarrín admits that Covid has reduced public resources in this type of initiative.

That is why he celebrates that more and more people talk about it.

"Public figures like Ana Rosa Quintana, who publicly tell about their illness and

, become inspirational references. Everything we can do as a society for the sake of living better the process and having a good quality of life is very important.

The most emotional part of your job is being able to help other people.

"I don't like to talk about egos, but from my place I have been able to accompany patients on a very human level. It is an experience that unites

of enjoying a wonderful connection."

MORE INFORMATION

Oncology Yoga Network.

In the "Where we are" section there is a map where people can contact teachers from various parts of the country and from other places who have specialized in yoga oncology.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

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