Next month is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Aside from a tide of pink consumer goods that donate varying amounts to the cause, the month also brings some cool-sounding yoga-related programs.

Om yoga has two big things going on. One is a free class on Tuesday afternoons for women before and after treatment for any kind of cancer. In association with the Libby Ross Foundation, the class is billed as gentle, balancing, and restorative.

The studio is also offering a cancer-related teacher training for already certified yoga instructors October 17-19th. Teachers will learn to address specific physical concerns of survivors as well as give appropriate emotional support.

As a survivor of cancer myself (lymphoma), I found yoga an invaluable part of my healing. I took a class at Integral Yoga, which was part restorative practice, part group sharing. It was wonderful to be in a nurturing environment with people who were thinking about illness in a similar framework as I was--more "how can i grow from this?" than the "why me?" I encountered in other groups. And all the subtleties of yoga seemed larger because I was so sensitive and physically fragile--pranayama and gentle stretching made such a difference.

Please pass this on to teachers and survivors who might be interested. Has the potential to be a great service--there's certainly not enough of this kind of thing around.

Go here for more info or visit omyoga.com.

Please share with us in comment box below if you know of other local classes for cancer survivors.