Jnani Chapman is affiliated with Commonweal, a nonprofit health and environmental research institute located in Bolinas, California which conducts programs that contribute to human & ecosystem health. Commonweal's Cancer Help Program offers a week-long residential support program for people with cancer.

The session opened with a reflection technique, The Witness Practice, recommended for beginning yoga work with cancer patients. It is "designed to focus attention on how the body is feeling, enabling us to attend to whatever is happening in that moment."

As a yoga teacher or yoga therapist, being able to love, forgive & accept your SELF may be the greatest teaching/example we can give our students.

"Fixing is the work of the ego. Serving is the work of the soul." ~ Rachel Naomi Remen

How to communicate with those we love who have cancer: Whenever we don't know what to say ... Say, "Honey, I love you SO much."

Question arose ~ Could exercise be "bad" for cancer patients? That is, make cancer spread faster? Answer: No blood flow helps general health. It is important to keep in mind that physical exertion is stress. The body needs recovery time. Exhaustion after exertion results in depletion.

Teach how to breathe with additional focus on extended exhalation. Poor exhalation fails to rid the body of gaseous waste.

Jnani shared a thought-provoking piece written by Rachel Naomi Remen on the difference between service & helping. "Helping is based on inequality ... helping incurs debt. Service is a relationship between equals ... When I help I have a feeling of satisfaction. When I serve I have the feeling of gratitude."

"Accept what is, and know that things change."