One Song

This entry was written by Beatrice Marx, a breast cancer survivor, yoga instructor and LBBC volunteer:

Yoga has always been a part of my life, but it wasn’t until I was diagnosed with breast cancer that I dove deeper into its roots. I found that yoga could help me cope with my newly changed life. It became a significant factor in how I approach my health and my life.



Like many, I initially tried yoga for its physical aspects. The mantras, affirmations and the meditation didn’t interest me. I just knew that I wanted to beat breast cancer and to not let it change me. If anything, I wanted to grow because of it. I wanted to make a positive out of a negative. As I practiced yoga after my first surgery, I focused on regaining strength and flexibility and slowly began to realize the beautiful connection between my breath, body and mind. I felt that I could get through anything with grace and dignity.


As a woman living with breast cancer there are many long waits, doctor visits, test results, scans, the “chemo chair”, etc. As you wait, you watch your loved ones go through the waiting along with you. What gave me peace during this time was focusing on my breathing. Even if you have never tried yoga before, we have all had moments where we’re aware of our breathing. I recommend breath awareness to all, especially to those diagnosed with breast cancer. Close your eyes and just follow your breathing. Follow it as it travels through your body and find it as it calms and relaxes every muscle and nerve. Feel the smile as it slowly creeps over your face. This is yoga. Peace in any situation.


Each day, I put one foot in front of the other as best I can. All of us are awakening to health and to joy at our own rate. Sometimes a discomfort brings us into a much deeper connection with who we truly are and allows new blessings to enter our lives unexpectedly. It is my wish for all women to realize their potential for grace and healing. We are all part of one song with many melodies. Sometimes joyful, sometimes sad, but the song continues and so must we.

 Will you be apart of something bigger than yourself? Help us raise $200,000 for women affected by breast cancer at the 8th Annual Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer. The first 50 people to register and form a fundraising team during March will receive a free watch from White House Black Market! Get more details by visiting our Facebook page.

Remember to Breathe

This post was written by Jeanne Egan, a breast cancer survivor & Yoga Unites for LBBC participant:


Prior to having breast cancer two and a half years ago, my day usually began with two Oreo cookies for breakfast accompanied by a couple big cups of coffee. I was usually sleep deprived, so a little sugar and caffeine in the morning seemed to be just the perfect things to get me going.


“Mommy, can I have a cookie for breakfast too?” My children would ask, not understanding why they couldn’t partake in this decadent morning delight. “When you're a grown up you can have whatever you like for breakfast,” I would flippantly respond. Looking back, I realize that my cavalier attitude towards my health was foolish.


“Diagnosis cancer” forced me to rethink a lot of things. First was my diet and second was my exercise regime. I rarely ate fruit and never took a vitamin supplement. I have always liked vegetables but I certainly wasn’t getting enough of them. I had been a runner for many years, but in the two years prior to my illness my running was sporadic. Oddly enough, I had dropped five pounds.


After finishing my chemotherapy and gaining weight, I decided I need a more holistic approach to my health. I cut out red meat, began to take flaxseed oil and vitamins, and changed to a diet of mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. As far as my fitness regime, I continued to run but I bought a yoga DVD at the grocery store and began to learn Anusara yoga on my family room floor.


The changes in my body were almost immediate. Because there is so much focus on breathing, I achieved a deep relaxation while strengthening and stretching my entire body. I felt longer and more flexible than I used to. My core became stronger and my balance improved.


I finally got up the nerve to attend class at a yoga studio. Now, I enjoy Vinyasa classes with advanced practitioners and RePose Yoga with other cancer survivors. Each session brings me something different. As I participate in a moving meditation, I begin to know each and every part of my body just a little bit better, thus experiencing the healing effects of this ancient practice. Each time I emerge from my yoga class I am reminded of the importance of nurturing my body and my mind.


I'm looking forward to the Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer event and the opportunity to share this experience with family, friends and other breast cancer survivors on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. Yoga can be a valuable part of a healthy lifestyle as a breast cancer survivor. It helps bridge the gap between the mind and body. It teaches us about the divinity in each and every one of us. Most importantly, it reminds us that we all have a unique gift to give to the universe. All we need to do is to remember to breathe.

Check out Jeanne's blog.


Even if you’ve never tried yoga before, this event is a great way to support women affected by breast cancer while focusing on healthy living. It’s a powerful experience to see hundreds of members of the community practicing yoga with the city skyline as a backdrop. If you don’t live in Philly, don’t worry! You can still help us raise $200,000 for the nearly 200,000 women that will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Why not form a fundraising team with family, friends or co-workers? There are plenty of ways to fundraise and our cool incentives provide great motivation. Check out the Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer website for more information.

A Snapshot

We can tell you how amazing Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer is (which we do). But pictures also speak for themselves...




Unfortunately nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone. That's why we've set a fundraising goal of $200,000 for this year's event. Will you help us? Check out the website and become a fan of Yoga Unites for LBBC on Facebook. And of course...spread the word!

A Shared Experience

This entry was written by Dorel Shanon, a breast cancer survivor who has attended Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer every year:

Dorel in action

My daughter Ari attended her first Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer event with me when she was in second grade. I went by myself the first year after completing treatment for breast cancer. It was a magical, powerful and incredibly transformative experience that I will never forget. That morning allowed me to take one more step in moving beyond my experience with breast cancer. I was excited to bring my daughter with me the second year. What I didn't realize was that the event would begin to define a partnership for us over the next six years.


Ari loved her first Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer event, and her small and incredibly energetic body moved effortlessly through the various poses. While the meditative moments were probably challenging for her, she enjoyed it and soon began taking a children’s yoga class in our neighborhood. We also began using yogic breathing techniques together whenever she was anxious or stressed. Although Ari’s yoga practice is now relegated to the annual Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer event (she prefers soccer, softball and other sports), she’s learned so much from participating in the event. It's also turned her into a successful fundraiser.

A few years ago, Ari decided to raise funds for LBBC by creating a fundraising team for her Bat Mitzvah project. Though she would probably describe herself as somewhat shy and not a natural fundraiser, she raised $3000 for LBBC that year. She also created her own team, Team Dreams, and brought about 25 people to the event. Last year Ari and I partnered together to raise money for her team and raised about $5000. We spent the morning on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, surrounded by her friends and many of their moms. It was amazing to see the young girls moving and stretching their bodies to Jennifer’s calm and inspiring meditations, holding graceful poses while we, the moms, tried hard to keep up! It was wonderful to see them take in the calm and focus that comes with the practice of yoga, especially in their otherwise insanely hectic lives. It was also moving to see this group of teenagers surrounded by breast cancer survivors.


That first Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer event gave me the opportunity to share with my daughter the importance of deep breathing to quiet the mind and create an inner peace, even for a moment. As she reminds me, it wasn’t always helpful or even possible to do this, especially during a temper tantrum! But now it’s not unusual for her to come to me when I’m feeling particularly stressed or anxious and say: “Mom, just take some deep breaths and focus. You’ll feel better if you do.”

I am filled with joy every year, when we walk up the steps of the Art Museum for our morning of yoga. The event, in and of itself, has given us a wonderful, shared experience. Beyond that, Ari has learned some important things from Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer: to strive to be fully present in each moment, to be grateful for the wonders of her body, and all it has to offer, to be in community with others whose lives have all been touched in some way by breast cancer, and to give back to an organization that has given so much to me and to our family.

Want to join this amazing event? Visit the event website and get involved by forming a fundraising team. Like Ari & Dorel, you can help us reach our goal of raising $200,000 for women affected by breast cancer.

From Survivor to Thriver

This post was written by Edie Weinstein, who attended last year's event.

In early 2009, I reconnected with a friend whom I haven't spoken with for 30 years. He introduced me to his wife Andi Morris. A Center City Philadelphia area Realtor, Andi is also a two time breast cancer survivor, who shares, “I was diagnosed when I was 37 and then when I was 43, I was re-diagnosed.”

With the initial diagnosis, she was frightened and shocked. With the second diagnosis, came anger, “because I was working so hard to get beyond breast cancer.” Andi has a full, rich life that includes travel, returning to work and volunteering for an amazing organization called Living Beyond Breast Cancer. She is also an active board member for the organization.

I came face to face with this thriver, (my definition: someone who has surpassed survivor mode and reaches out to help others because of his or her own experience) when I joined a group of 200+ brave souls who gathered on the steps of Philadelphia Museum of Art, on May 17, 2009. This same structure made famous by the pounding feet and upraised arms of Rocky was the holy ground for a gentler endeavor; the 7th Annual Yoga Unites For Living Beyond Breast Cancer. More than $100,000 was raised on a day that carried wind gusts which threatened to blow us into the Schuylkill River!


When I arrived at the event, the gray clouds loomed ominously and the steps were already puddled and slippery. As I stood from the next-to-top tier of the steps and gazed downward, I looked with delight at the rainbow sea of mats and people gathered. All ages, body sizes, levels of yoga-expertise, some familiar faces from the yoga community (which I have come to know has some of the biggest hearts in the world) some new companions in the mission to support survivors in re-creating their lives...family of choice and chance, we were becoming.

As for Andi? Her team of friends surrounded her during the yoga event, coyly calling themselves “Andi's Girls,” a double entendre' in reference to her reconstructed breasts.

To help ensure that others keep laughing in the midst of their own challenges while they live with and beyond breast cancer, please visit the Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer website. Form a fundraising team to help us reach our new goal of raising $200K for women affected by breast cancer!

Edie Weinstein is a free-lance journalist, speaker, social worker, Bliss Mistress, PR Goddess, Joy Coach and Cosmic Concierge, as well as an interfaith minister. Her website is http://www.liveinjoy.org/.

Seven Year Pitch

One of our volunteers, Cheryl Dudley, started a fundraising team for Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer last year. She was our top individual fundraiser and brought in over $2,000. This is her story:

I saw last year as a critical benchmark for me. Having been diagnosed with breast cancer seven years earlier at 43, there was enough time behind me to wonder if it could happen again. I was particularly anxious about getting my mammogram last year. When contacted by LBBC about putting a team together, I had decided I wasn’t going to do Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer again – despite the fact that my diagnosis date corresponded with the first year of the event. I wanted to get my clean mammogram again and continue my busy life. But, after getting the clean results of my mammogram for the 7th year in a row, I felt euphoric. And I wanted to express my gratitude in a tangible way. After all, LBBC was with me at the beginning of my journey... as they have been for so many others.


The tangible way for me to express my gratitude was to put together a fundraising team for the event. I named it the "Seven–Year Pitch," in honor of my seventh cancer-free mammogram. I was concerned at first about raising the money. But I looked beyond that and pledged to do my best in reaching my goal of raising $2,000.


The website made it easy to fundraise. It provided a visual way of tracking our individual and team progress in raising funds for LBBC. I checked the site at least daily (sometimes several times a day!) once we got started to see how the money was coming in, and who responded. I was surprised by how much was given. Those I didn’t expect to respond did, as well as those I knew in my heart would contribute in some way. When we surpassed our goal, I wondered if our original sights were too low, or if our friends and supporters were more generous than what we anticipated. Perhaps both.


The team name was centered on my own survival and very helpful in terms of getting family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances to participate with me. I was 7 years clean and wanted to make a pitch to those in my networks to celebrate with me. The name was also a way to push past any dread and to claim “7” as a marker of good things yet to come.


The rainy Sunday of the event didn’t dampen our spirits. We extended our arms in appreciation for each who joined with us, not just on the steps of the Museum that day, but beyond that place and much further than our eyes could see.


Cheryl is proof that you don't need to live in the Philadelphia area to participate in Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer. All you need is an idea. Cheryl reached out to her networks to ask others to join with her--you can do the same! Family, friends, co-workers, Facebook friends...they're all willing to help. All you need to do is ask. Check out our website for more info and to get fundraising tools.