Tackling the effects of breast cancer through yoga in Gaza

The Positive Energy Club launched the yoga initiative to help promote positive mental health among cancer patients as part of Pink October which aims to raise awareness about breast cancer

by Mohammed Asad

The Positive Energy Club in Gaza today organised a yoga session for cancer patients in an effort to help them build strength and eradicate negative energy.

Tahreer Murtaja, head of the Positive Energy Club’s board, said she was happy the event could be held as part of Pink October, which spread awareness of breast cancer among women.

Yoga, she explained, is important because of its positive impact on the psyche, which is reflected in a patient’s resistance to disease and can lead them to stabilise.

OPINION: Israel’s siege is halving Gaza patients’ survival rates, it’s time to act

Women in Gaza have many struggles to contend with including the terrible living conditions, poor economy, the 14-year-old Israeli siege on the enclave, and the lack of access to the necessary medication to overcome diseases.

In studies of women with breast cancer, yoga has been shown to reduce fatigue and improve quality of sleep, physical vitality and overall quality of life, according to Breastcancer.org.

The Positive Energy Club organises a yoga session for cancer patients in Gaza on 1 November 2021 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.