LOCALadk Magazine

46 Spring 2019 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk In the Spring of 2017, newly retired from my nearly 20 year career as a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher, I felt inspired to make my next step something that would completely push me out of my comfort zone. My dream was to build a yoga studio and create a small retreat center at our modest house on Augur Lake in Keeseville. Ever y weekend of that summer was dedicated to building the studio/garage. Together, my husband and I pecked away at getting the framing up, the roof shingled, and the sheath- ing on. I had also begun an Ashaya Yoga teacher training to supplement my former trainings, and was fully immersed in the gaining of knowledge and experience. For most ever y year of my life, late summer and fall were a time to prepare for the school year. The fall of 2017, howev- er, marked the first time that my life was not dictated by an academic calendar. It began to hit home that I was in a major transition. I recall feeling excited and ner vous about working toward a new beginning. On the first day of November my life took a drastic turn. I discovered two suspicious lumps, and was subsequently di- agnosed with breast cancer. A cascade of diagnostics, choic- es, procedures, and inter ventions forced themselves into the forefront of my life. Fast-for ward a month and I was having surger y, followed a few months later by chemotherapy. Radi- ation treatments filled up my summer calendar. My friends, family, the mountains, and my yoga practice were my salvation. The chemo nearly broke me. I was sucked of energy, stagnated in my spirituality, and struggling not to identif y with the part of me that was "sick." Thankfully, whenever possible my husband would encourage me to go to yoga. My radiation treatments were five days a week for six weeks. I went to yoga before ever y treatment, except the last few, where the burns were too painful and severe. I re- member ner vously walking in with a silly cotton headband to cover the peach fuzz on my bald head, and how immediately I was greeted with care and love. No one treated me any dif- ferently. Never had I felt so held by a community! Movement and breath work became the only things that brought peace and a feeling of ease when I was experiencing the numerous side effects of the various treatments. It felt like one of the few things I had control over in my life. This is when I began to realize what an intimate relationship yoga and cancer share. Much of the practice of yoga helps you to work to accept what is, keeping you in the present moment and grounding you to your ver y essence. This also is true of cancer. One cannot change a cancer diagnosis, you can only accept, be in the flow of the healing process, and dig deep into the heart of who you are. As I mulled over my new re- ality, one of the first thoughts that came to mind was, I am building this studio to share yoga and the natural world with others. I can help those that have cancer in a ver y specific way, through my love of yoga and my own personal experi- ence. A Journey with Cancer Offers an Opportunity to Serve By Robin Gucker Curtis Rissburger MotoPhotoYogi

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