Bob, 70, lives with an incurable blood cancer and regularly attends Park Yoga Bournemouth. Hear how it’s impacted Bob’s life…
“My first impression was, that’s not for me, I won’t be able to do that – but of course that’s not true. As a former soldier and rugby player, I thought, I can’t do yoga, but I can, and as our instructor always says to us, listen to your body and do as much or as little as you can.
One thing that might have put me off, when I first went down, was thinking this is going to be a load of women in leotards, and I thought I’d be the odd one out. But when I got there about 15 to 20% of the people there are male of varying ages.
When I was in my 40s, I had a mental health issue and a breakdown, so I’ve been on antidepressants ever since. So, I do Park Yoga for my mental health; yes, physically I find it demanding, getting into some of the positions, but mentally, for that hour, you’re focused on the sounds, the blue skies, and our instructor’s soothing voice and all those good things and you can try to forget all that other stuff that’s going on in your life. So mentally it helps me.
Physically, I’m cycling better, I’m rowing better. My lower back is a lot better than it used to be, I was always having problems with that. And I was always pulling muscles in my calf and that hopefully has kind of gone.
I was diagnosed 10 years ago with a very rare blood cancer called Waldenstrom Macroglobulinaemia, it’s a kind of lymphoma, non-Hodgkin ‘s lymphoma, but a rare type. And it’s incurable, but manageable. I had eight months of immunochemotherapy back in 2015. My attitude is that I’m going to fight this all the way, and I encourage others in my situation to try and be as physically fit as they can be.
Plus, our instructor’s said to us that if you want to lie here for an hour that’s absolutely fine, and I thought – yeah, I could do that, just lay here and chill out, but I don’t, I get stuck into it.
I come away from a session and I feel good, I’ve enjoyed it, and I think I’m definitely coming back next week or, you know, what a shame I’m away next Sunday, I won’t be able to go to Park Yoga.
If you’ve never done Park Yoga before, I would say you’ve got to come and give this a go. Forget all your sort of preconceptions, nobody’s looking at you. If you fall over, it doesn’t matter, because somebody else is falling over as well. Just go and enjoy it and see how it affects you mentally and learn more about your body.”
Park Yoga is suitable for all physical levels and abilities, and no experience is necessary – last year 30% of our participants had never tried yoga before. There’s no need to book, just turn up with a mat (or towel or blanket) and enjoy the session. Visit our venue page to find your closest Park Yoga location.