Yoga for Breast Care: What Every Woman Needs to Know (Rodmell Press), written and illustrated by Bobby Clennell; click Yoga for Breast Care to order on Amazon.
Breast health is a sensitive subject, and breast problems leave women feeling vulnerable on many levels. In Yoga for Breast Care, senior Iyengar Yoga teacher Bobby Clennell, author of The Woman's Yoga Book and Watch Me Do Yoga, offers a comprehensive program of asana (poses) and pranayama (breathing techniques) to support breast health. Beginning with a description of breast development and structure and the lymphatic and hormonal systems, as well as breast conditions including pain, fibrocystic breasts, dense breasts, and more, Yoga for Breast Care then presents a variety of asana and pranayama divided into categories according to the position the body assumes: standing, sitting, twisting, inverting, bending forward or backward, and lying down. Also included are active and restorative sequences for immunity, energy, cyclic and noncyclic breast pain, cysts, and for pregnancy and nursing mothers. Practices for breast cancer survivors include sequences for those who have recently undergone breast cancer surgery and are receiving intensive chemotherapy or radiation treatment and for those with decreased mobility and numbness in the arm, shoulder, and chest. Whether readers have experienced problems with their breasts or not, this book provides positive and practical methods for raising awareness and regaining confidence in the body.
Through her extensive training in the Iyengar Yoga system, and with women's health issues as a focus, Bobby Clennell has broad experience teaching sequences of postures that give beneficial results. Divided into five parts, this book is designed for beginning and seasoned practitioners:
- Part 1: About the Breasts discusses breast development and structure and the lymphatic and hormonal systems, and gives an overview of yoga poses and how they effect breast health.
- Part 2: Breast Problems describes various breast conditions, including pain, fibrocystic breasts, dense breasts, PMS, pregnancy, breastfeeding, menopause, and breast cancer.
- Part 3: Yoga Poses for Breast Care outlines a variety of asana and pranayama to help women care for their breasts. Yoga poses are divided into categories: standing, sitting, twisting, inverting, bending forward or backward, and lying down.
- Part 4: Practicing Yoga answers FAQ and offers active and restorative sequences for immunity, energy, PMS and noncyclic breast pain, cysts, pregnancy, nursing mothers, and breast cancer.
- Part 5: Everyday Breast Care makes lifestyle suggestions.
Rodmell Press Yoga Shorts
Paper: 978-1-930485-33-4 • E-book: 978-1-930485-84-6
Reviews:
YogaWeekly
Reviewed by: Brette Popper
…Bobby [Clennell]'s just come out with new book called Yoga for Breast Care and its message is important for all female yogis and their teachers that work with them. In the introduction she gets right to it:, "many women…have a love/hate relationship with their breasts." She goes on to explain that ancient societies "rejoiced in the connection between breasts, fertility, and nourishment." But that in the world we live in today "breasts have become fetishized, are objects of embarrassment or fear, and are exploited to serve marketing and sell products."
This modern disembodiment of breasts has made it difficult for women to make to take into account the significant "stress and imbalances" that effect the breasts when caring for themselves. Not surprisingly given Bobby's almost 40 year career as a yoga teacher she recommends a regular yoga practice.
Yoga for Breast Care discusses breast development, structure and problems. It also covers various asana or postures that are particularly beneficial to a woman's overall breast health such as Half Moon Pose to increase circulation in the breasts, Camel Pose which relieves tension in the chest and Shoulderstand that keeps the endocrine and lymphatic systems healthy. It also discusses everyday breast care…the need for good nutrition, a clean environment and a reduction in overall stress.…
Namaskar
Reviewed by: Lisa Kazmer
…On the heels of the internationally successful The Woman's Yoga Book and a children's yoga book Watch Me Do Yoga, Bobby's newest book, Yoga for Breast Care: What Every Woman Needs to Know (Rodmell Press), dives deeper into a woman's relationship with her body and how yoga has the power to bolster, restore, and maintain health. "Our breasts are supersensitive" she writes "like the canaries that were once taken into coal mines to register levels of toxic gas, our breasts are early responders to stress and imbalances in the environment. The chest area — breasts, lungs, and heart included ± is attuned to our relationship within the family and in the world around us."…
New York Journal of Books
Reviewed by: Birgit W. Patty
"Yoga for Breast Care is recommended for women who want to take a positive approach to developing a balanced yoga practice that they can continue with confidence for a lifetime of breast health."
Yoga for Breast Care: What Every Woman Needs to Know provides a program focused on asana (postures) and pranayama (breathing practices) intended to support breast health, whether or not the reader already has experience practicing yoga, and whether or not they experience breast problems. Author Bobby Clennell takes the proactive approach of preventing problems rather than (and in addition to) relieving them.…
Interview with Bobby Clennell
It's All Yoga, Baby
By Roseanne
Many of you know that IAYB is a burlesque loving yogi, so I have seen many many breasts, of all shapes and sizes. One of the things I love about burlesque is how breasts are the star of the show. They are unveiled, played with and celebrated. A burlesque show may one of the few places in our culture where breasts are active agents – they are uninhibited and unconstrained, they spin and bounce, and they even make things move.
Beyond this little subculture, however, breasts are often a source of anxiety for women. Breast health is a sensitive subject that leaves women feeling vulnerable on many levels. The threat of breast cancer looms, as the World Health Organization estimates that more than half a million women worldwide died from the disease in 2011. There are also other potential breast problems, including fibrocystic breasts and complications from breastfeeding, PMS and menopause. And finally, no woman is immune to the cultural and societal pressures for breasts to look a certain way, leading to modifications and augmentations that may pose even more health risks.
Yoga teacher and author Bobby Clennell has dedicated her career to women’s health, so it’s no surprise that she would shift her focus to the breasts. After many years of teaching a yoga class for breast health at the Iyengar Institute of New York, she has compiled her vast knowledge into a new book, Yoga for Breast Care: What Every Woman Needs to Know (Rodmell Press).…
Bookshipper Blog
Reviewed by Tina Avon
I absolutely love the Yoga books from Rodmell Press and this book is no exception.
As woman, we face a particular challenge when it comes to breast care - worrying about healthy breasts is a full time job.
I have long believed that health and yoga go hand in hand and this is what Yoga for Breast Care focuses on. In this trade paperback sized book, I have found some easy yoga poses that are geared towards the health of my breast. The book is a combination of yoga poses and important information about breast and health.
The poses are easy to do and actually serve to relax and manage stress, which is one of the huge issues in our every day lives.
Written in a language that is easy to understand, the poses and the information are geared to help all of us feel healthier and more comfortable with our bodies.
I particularly enjoy the pose that is actually on the cover of the book. It is wonderful for the whole body, including my very achy back.
Another wonderful addition to my yoga library. Thank you Rodmell Press.