Nine years ago, this October 28th, I finished treatment for iiic colon cancer. I was 47, and had been a Resource Specialist for over 25 years, mostly in San Diego. But my chances of recurrence were high, so I retired early, thinking that I had about five years to live (if I was lucky). Chemotherapy was devastating to me and not having a job was depressing and scary. I worked at home to rebuild my strength and my life’s purpose. Always a yoga enthusiast, I found I couldn’t do what I was used to doing. Others must be having the same issue – trying to find a way back to a ‘new normal’? I became a yoga teacher and yoga activist. I am a listserv consultant on many cancer sites and made a yoga cd, gave away over 3,000. The YCS cd is now available for free download, and in Spanish, too. Russian is the next language and I hope to have it translated into as many languages as possible. I speak at cancer symposiums and teach YCS yoga in San Diego. I am putting a 45 hour teacher training on line by January 2013. We hear so much about yoga to rebuild and regain strength, but for me, it was about dealing with the emotional, physical and psychological effects of cancer where yoga has done its greatest healing. I specialize in teaching patients in therapy and long-term treatment.

Jean Di Carlo-Wagner, M.A., E-RYT500, yoga therapist is a 12-year colorectal cancer survivor (2003). She used yoga to help herself regain a 'new normal' and then became a yoga teacher to help other survivors. Her work is free to cancer patients at YogaBeing.net. Jean attends cancer conferences and speaks on the benefits of yoga for cancer survivors. Survivor, advocate, activist, teacher and friend.