Presentation:

This is an opinion about a personal point of view studying the possibility of carrying out a specific type of yoga self care based on the idea that we can change this world to better trough activities like the everyday yoga.

To propose some ideas centered specifically in the prevention of illness and in the promotion of healthy life habits and to care for the patients with a new instrument, yoga approach. The idea is first to improve the preparation of the citizen, teaching them how to care themselves and then to others with yoga methods. Another thing to suggest it's the necessity of formation in the field of the relaxation techniques for the hospital personnel so subjected by the environment to problems of stress.

It is fundamental the promotion of healthy styles of life between the health teachers and yoga self care population in general. So this project is based on two points, the prevention of the sanitary professionals characteristic pathologies (the promotion of healthy work habits) and yoga yoga self care for cancer patients.

As health is the more valuable own a person has and a part of life which we have control over, we need to tend to take care of ourselves on a day to day basis. Great part of our life is in regard to our state of health so for most people happiness is to have acceptably good health.

Yoga is a method of practical exercises, whose objective is the correct operation of all the systems that compose the human organism.

The human being delays time in realising the influence of life habits and actions in the organism. Normally during the childhood and youth we acquire a style, a way of living that is difficult to modify in the rest of life. An elevated percentage from the illness that suffers a person are originated for those habits maintained along the years. Even being conscious of its wrong effects, we sometimes are incapable of changing, but in a determined moment someone may search to sincerely improve the style of life, one of this moments is when disease comes.

What is cancer?:

A continuous, abnormal and relatively autonomous cell proliferation, result of the permanent alteration of some cells that gets transmitted to the cell family (because the new cells have at least the same defect as the mother).

Is a disease caused by the loss of the cell self control over the cell reproduction capacity, so it reproduces continuously, they can not control division and comes into a continuous division.

Cancer is the last state of the carcinogenic process. The tumoral cell growth may be solid or not. Only one mutation is not enough, it seems to require the accumulation of several mutations and the Apoptosis, or the capacity the cell have to auto detect some abnormality and commit cell self programmed death or "cell suicide" does not work. Cancer is still now a "Unknown Aetiology" disease after so much effort, time and people doing research on it.

Treatment:

Surgery: If any cancer is operated, it means it has good prognostic because tumors that have chance to care are often removed. Quimioterapy: Mostly for General Remission as Metrotexate, Cisplatino, SulfonilUreas (experimental). Radiotherapy: Mostly for Partial Remission over localized areas. Some new treatment is very aggressive and includes bone marrow transplant or even complete (liver for example) organ transplant.

In the last 15 years, research carried to the identification of the approximate 40 - 50 Oncogenes an their ProtoOncogenes followed in the last 8 years by the discovery of the tumor suppress genes, open a road to the actual intense investigation on cell cycle control. Because more knowledge means more chances to control proliferation, to identify lesions on the DNA, to know cancer subtypes and its specific cancer pharmacology, in order to try to manipulate it.

What causes it?:

Cell Mutations, the transformation of the ProtoOncogenes (it push the Cell Growth) into Oncogenes or the inactivation of the AntiTumoral Genes (it stop the Cell Growth). There is some kind of suppress genes who detect the altered points, vigilant that detect defects on the DNA chain to repare. A change in the nucleotides sequence alter the DNA structure creating chromosome translocations and so new proteins with new characteristics and altered functions (even non functional or no protein at all).

Diverse mutation agents:

Radiation (physical), Chemical carcinogens, Virus (biological), Inheritance (genetic) as for example: Fragile points on the genome, or the lack of DNA repairers and controllers. Related with Life Stile as the significant amount of the ginecologic cancer directly related to sexual relations or the most frequent Neoplasic diseases that are avoidable: Smoking 35%; Diet 50%, Occupation 5%. A important danger is the sun light, the Sun burns more day by day meaning more melanomas in future.

Human being is free to do what he likes and we do what we want, sometimes what we want is not what is convenient to us. We may do something knowing it is wrong, expecting to be free from its reactions.

Cancer is a very costly matter for society and for the individual person too. To care cancer is expensive, but to create a cancer in ourselves it requires a big amount of money also. And we pay a lot for it (example is Tobacco, the cost of a normal smoker in 15 years is: 1 packet a day x 365 x 15 =.. ......). Government gets money on taxes, multinational business sells here what is produced but can not be sold there.

Fresh food, simple food, Fruits, vegetables and vegetarian food are not so costly items on the supermarket. Other very elaborate products are expensive and more contaminated with additives. Not everything we buy in supermarket are really needed things, many of them are just for taste, usually the costliest ones.

It will cost billions to go deep in the Human genome research (and that is wonderful) to know how to repair and how to care. But what about those diseases we often generate in ourselves?, what we do produce with our industries and life habits? Why not to do a simple research on a close culture, on "us"?. .its very cheap on money, but very expensive if it shall be paid with regularity, self control, green diet, and right life. Why is it so difficult to change our daily routine, to get discipline, to control our habits. It seems that we would like to change what is far and difficult, but we can not change what is near and easy... our own life style. Everything will not be solve if we change but it will give good example (...who smokes more than the citizen inside the hospitals?).

A percentage of the cancer is due to human activity, commercial interest, lack of legislation and ignorance. Some food additives are not necessary, are just for improving the appearance of food preparations. Of course it may be said that there may be a genetic predisposition on the person to get cancer, but this does not mean that the disease it will be same whatever done before. It is true that if for example, to create a specific cancer five mutations are required, and a person inherits four... then a simple mutation is decisive. The battle against cancer is a battle against us, we have created the nuclear contamination, the petrol engines and the smoking.

Other point is the demographic studies that indicates population goes old and more invalid as 4th Age group is increasing gradually if compared with the 3rd Age group and it will grow significantly more. This means that more resources and more attention will be required from society for old people. Nowadays the 1st cause of death is cardiovascular diseases and secondly the neoplasic ones, the morbidity rates indicate 1st the osteoarticular, 2nd the heart circulatory and 3rd, (this is important) the demency, so we can be in the beginning of new psicophisical pandemics of the 2000 year joining Alzheimer and cancer for example. This will demand a especial development of yoga self care science.

Yoga and cancer:

Where cancer meets with life habits, there Yoga starts to be useful. Yoga is a non costly approach to cancer, because it's based on prevention thorough education, education by example, and example by regular practice, hygienic diet, physical exercise, constancy and self control. The yoga is a valid instrument of improvement in two situations: on one hand has a preventive character, that is to say, teach how to live healthy; and on the other hand presents a corrective character, so that allow us to change erroneous habits. The process of change suggested by yoga methodology is gradual and based in learning from the own experience and regular maintenance of practice.

Traditionally has been considered that theoretical study of yoga separated from the practice is of little utility. We need physical control in order to adapt us better, learn to breathe and to control some exaggerated reactions. We rely on two types of techniques: postural exercises and respiratory exercises ( "asanas" and "pranayama" in their original denomination in Sanskrit). Asanas for the physical control; they correct the vertebral column and they balance the muscular tone. The pranayama improves the respiratory functions (ventilation and perfusión) and permits a general improvement.

What is different on us? what is similar on us?, Yoga means union on what is same on all, it means the human quality to care. Yoga view is not exclusive of yoga, is just a specific angle of the general Human vision. If we see everything as a part of a whole planet body always complete and incomplete at the same time, society may grow up in technology with respect to the Nature, inside the human being and outside in the environment.

Yoga helps us to wake up everyday with a good physical sensation, mental attitude, humour and preventing irritations. Because, as a continuous physical irritation can develop a neoplasic (premalign eritoplasia or leucoplasia in the mouth for example), a continuous emotional irritation can influence us badly.

Yogic Approach:

When something happens Inside, interpretation of the happening is according to our background and the understanding of it affects the behaviour and relations with truth.

A CHANGE in the behaviour comes from to see it seriously and clearly, even for the first time someone can see life with perspective. But then how to adapt...?, with acceptance or not?, because to be ready to accept means to be ready to die. It is rare the person who is conscious that he is dying. Cancer is a strong change for person and family in several sides: more tolerance, a general change on values, intense feelings for the person and for the people around and wish for escaping from reality.

The person who has cancer may take the decision to fight or to accept. Both are right because not to struggle and accept the end of life may give peace and I do believe everyone can get some help from his own religious scriptures which are written to help the person to realise it. Acceptance will save many things as a lot of energy, money, stress and time as to fight may require a lot for no real result and expensive treatments for cancer are a business.

Yoga as primary prevention, before the disease. Because there is an influence of our direct responsibility, life style, actions, habits over cancer relative risk and the inheritance predisposition and external influences that originates neoplasic mutations are strongly related to human activity, yoga education may help to avoid unhealthy mistakes as far as possible. Most frequent neoplasic diseases are avoidable and where cancer meets with human life style, there yoga education starts to be useful. But yoga isn't a miraculous care but a life discipline.