Inspired by The Shala’s Breath for Life series, a pilot study at St James Hospital, Leeds took place monitoring the benefits of simple yoga and breathing techniques for people post surgery for lung cancer. The patients specifically wanted to learn tools/techniques to improve breathing, control emotions, manage panic attacks and improve fitness and flexibility.

The test project was for an hour of chair-based yoga, breathing techniques and guided relaxation for six weeks. After six weeks all students had outstanding improvement in scores in pulmonary function tests. Everyone gave feedback feeling less out of breath and better able to control panic attacks and stay calm. All students reported an improved score in anxiety and depression. And nearly 70 percent reported improvement in pain score.

These results are considered outstanding and further research is underway with a view to extending this protocol out within the whole area for all those who undergo these procedures.