While we may wish for a cure for cancer to be discovered as soon as possible, the reality is that it hasn’t been found yet. However, that hasn’t stopped many people from proclaiming that they have found such a cure. One such doctor, Hansa Raval, M.D. of the US Army, made a claim at a 1982 seminar in Oklahoma City, and she claimed that the cure for cancer was not a new drug or a new diet, but rather, the practice of yoga.
Her claim has never been substantiated, and few physicians even so much as noticed that this claim came and went, but what is most interesting is that many other studies seem to indicate that the practice of yoga, applied daily, can have an incredible positive effect on the patient and can help them fight back against the disease.
Dr. Raval’s claim is based on some research she did where she tested the physical and emotional response to disease while they practiced Raja Yoga on a daily basis. She noted that many patients who previously suffered from headaches and arthritis noticed a significant decrease in pain and frequency of attacks.
Her research also showed that some patients involved in her study successfully fought their cancer, which led to Raval’s claim that yoga can, in fact, cure cancer. This is based in part on her other rogue claim that most cancers are created first in our minds, and that they are physical manifestations of our negative emotions.
She claims that cancer, and in fact, almost all diseases, can be treated by medicine, but are only cured in the mind. By using meditation, and the practice of yoga to help clear and focus the mind, as well as bring about more mind-body awareness, patients are able to direct enough positive energy througout their bodies to eliminate the deleterious effects of cancer and other diseases.
Obviously, Dr. Raval and her research are not well accepted by most mainstream doctors, but yoga has shown to have beneficial results on diabetes patients and also on asthma sufferers, so it might not be too far off to say that yoga can be an effective treatment method for patients suffering from cancer.
In her studies, Dr. Raval focused on the more spiritual nature of yoga rather than the exercise, but decided against making this a secular practice. Patients could worship as they pleased, but the yoga therapy practiced was highly based in meditation and through coming to understand the connection between mind, body and soul through movement. This was not a strenuous exercise program, but rather, a calm and gentle approach to learning yoga.
Since yoga has been scientifically proven to increase circulation and improve blood flow through the body, and as it acts as a form of exercise, no matter how light, it has obvious benefits to all people, but these benefits are brought to light when they are applied to people suffering from terminable disease. However, by getting healthy and active through the practice of yoga, you can treat many symptoms and bring added joy to your life, and that is never a bad thing.
