How free yoga classes are helping cancer patients

2 days ago

Ellen Knightin Ludlow

News image — Rachel Massey said the classes were "gentle and relaxed", making them ideal for people living with cancer

BBC Photo of Massey, who is looking into the camera and smiling. She is wearing a blue headscarf with yellow stripes on it, with her curly brown hair just visible underneath it. Massey is wearing a dark grey t-shirt with a large light blue flower motif just visible. She is stood inside a hall, with has light green and white painted walls and a wooden floor. Behind Massey is a black fold-away chair and a green yoga mat. — Rachel Massey said the classes were "gentle and relaxed", making them ideal for people living with cancer

Attendees of free yoga classes for people who have been diagnosed with cancer have been described how the sessions have helped them.

Shropshire's Lingen Davies cancer charity has paid for a number of wellbeing sessions across the county, including yoga and sound baths at the Mascall Centre in Ludlow.

The classes are designed to be inclusive, with seated modifications for some exercises in order to help people at all stages of the disease.

Rachel Massey, from Ludlow, said the class was "perfect, because it's gentle and it's relaxed".

Massey was diagnosed with a primary brain tumour in 2018, and after surgery at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Parts of her tumour could not be removed, but her condition is "stable" and Massey describes herself as "living well with cancer."

The classes in Ludlow were important for people in her position, Massey said, as "you're moving your joints".

"If you've had chemotherapy and you've been lying in bed, you tend to stiffen up," she explained.

"Also, getting out and meeting other people is really, really key."

Ellen Knight/BBC Photograph of Burrows looking into the camera and smiling slightly. She has long, dark brown hair worn in a plait, and has the right side of her head shaved. She is wearing a dark green, long sleeved top and a necklace with a green leaf-shaped pendant. Burrows is pictured inside a hall with green and white painted walls with a wooden floor. Behind her are two black fold-away chairs and two dark green yoga mats. — Marie Burrows is a yoga facilitator, and said the sessions were "fully subsidised" by cancer charity Lingen Davies

Leading the sessions is Marie Burrows, from Marches Movement.

Taking a "permissive" approach to exercise, Burrows explained that her classes "have been developed specifically for those who have had a cancer diagnosis".

She added that speaking to participants after the sessions was "wonderful" as there was "a sense of achievement and often surprise at how much people are able to do".

The funding from Lingen Davies meant the sessions were "fully subsidised so that people can access it no matter their financial situation," Burrows said.

"The aim is to create a space where people can begin to reconnect with their bodies and gain a sense of agency, after going through something which can be very distressing."

Ellen Knight/BBC Photo of Morris looking into the camera and smiling. She is wearing a dark blue, long sleeve top and a pair of dark-framed classes. Morris has short, light brown hair. She is photographed in front of a brick wall that's been painted light green. — Suzanne Morris said the classes she attended were "very soothing" for her

Suzanne Morris, who is from Ludlow, was "diagnosed with invasive, very aggressive breast cancer" in October 2024, and has been in remission since October 2025.

"I'm still coping with side effects from all the treatment," she said, adding: "I feel very lucky that I'm still here."

The yoga sessions have been "very gentle and very soothing", Morris said, explaining that she was "starting to feel at peace" with her cancer.

"For me, it's about a connection between your mind and your body, because cancer treatment doesn't just affect you physically," she added.

"I think yoga gives you that sort of pathway to peace with what's happened in your life and that's a big deal for me just now."

Ellen Knight/BBC Photo of Lesley looking into the camera and smiling slightly. She is wearing a bright pink t-shirt with a light yellow cardigan over the top. She has long dark hair that is tied back into a ponytail. Lesley is pictured stood in front of a brick wall painted light green, with a shelf behind her. On the shelf are some framed certificates, and a stereo. — Lesley said being surrounded by people with lived experience of cancer really helped

Craven Arms resident Lesley was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer a decade ago, followed by a brain tumour that was successfully removed eight years ago.

Previously, she had "done a little bit of yoga", but explained that "it was difficult because I tried it after my brain tumour".

The classes led by Burrows have been helpful, she said, as the innate "understanding of the cancer that we're all going through" fostered a sense of community.

"We're never really free of it, and we never know if it's going to come back, and we all have lots of side effects," Lesley said.

"For me, it's great that the teacher understands our journeys."

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