Cancer Recovery: Part 2 Treatment

About This Class

This 58-minute class is the second installment in Hilaire Lockwood's Cancer Yogic Journey series, focused specifically on the treatment phase of cancer. Rather than a physical asana practice, the class is almost entirely breathwork, guided visualization, and yogic philosophy, designed for students who may be bedridden, post-surgical, or otherwise unable to move their bodies. Hilaire draws from her own 14-year experience with metastatic, treatment-resistant thyroid cancer to create a deeply personal and emotionally resonant session. She introduces key yogic concepts—the Klesha of Abhinivesha (clinging to bodily life), fight-or-flight response, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi, and Jnana Mudra—as frameworks for processing the psychological and emotional weight of treatment. The pranayama practice moves breath sequentially through the low back body, kidney region, back of the heart, belly, chest, throat (with a gentle Ujjayi introduction), and finally the forehead and crown in an expansive "brain breathing" exercise. Each segment is held for several breaths, with the intention of oxygenating, nourishing, and energetically healing each region of the body. A central visualization asks students to grow "wings," fly above their suffering body, and blanket it with loving-kindness (metta) from above—a metaphor Hilaire returns to throughout the class. The session closes with a group Om and a Namaste, emphasizing that healing does not necessarily mean cure, but that every positive breath and present moment matters profoundly.