1. A revamped Westboro Lululemon store depicts the Gatineau Hills in autumnal glory, rendered in a mosaic of 12,520 hand-painted tiles. Emily Robin, a
former store employee, co-designed the art. Mercury Mosaics painted the tiles. ‘I grew up cross-country skiing, hiking and biking with this incredible and
quintessential Ottawa backdrop,’ says Robin, ‘and I thought it would be special for the community to have it year-round.’ JULIE OLIVER/OTTAWA CITIZEN
Mural depicts Gatineau Hills — in 12,520 tiles
ELIZABETH PAYNE
OT TAWA CITIZEN
Julie Truelove remembers her
first session of yoga therapy. The
Ottawa woman had recently been
diagnosed with breast cancer and
was terrified.
“Isatdownandwithin10minutes
Iwasbawlingmyeyesout.Itisafear
and anxiety you can’t describe.”
This isn’t the kind of yoga many
peoplewillrecognizefromstudios
that have multiplied around Otta-
wa in recent years. “There are no
downward dogs here,” says Anne
Pitman,anOttawainstructorwho
practises yoga therapy at the Ot-
tawa Integrative Cancer Centre
and is co-founder of the city’s first
yogatherapyschool,whichissetto
offer classes in the new year.
Yogatherapyinvolvesseemingly
subtle exercises such as breathing
orverygentlemovementsthatPit-
man says can make a huge differ-
ence for many people with cancer
and other ailments.
“Itissogentle,”Pitmansaid.“For
a long time, I thought it should be
called something else. It is very
subtle work, and people are sur-
prised that such subtle movement
has such a huge effect.”
Pitman said yoga therapy can
help people deal with the anxiety
and fear that come with cancer,
which enables them to undergo
medical treatments such as che-
motherapy and surgery.
“Yogahasanincredibleeffecton
depression and anxiety. It is very
effective.”
Yoga is an ancient practice, but
modern research is beginning to
reveal some of its benefits. A num-
ber of studies have linked yoga to
lower stress and anxiety and a re-
lated lowered sensitivity to pain
in people who practised yoga for
a number of months versus those
who did not. A randomized con-
trol study published in the Jour-
nal of Clinical Oncology in 2014
concluded that yoga damped both
fatigue and markers of inflamma-
tion — which is linked to pain and
depression,amongotherproblems.
More research is being done, but
practitioners say clients feel the
difference yoga therapy can make.
Pitman says she worked with
one man with late-stage prostate
cancerwhowasinalmostconstant
painandgotlittlerelieffromdrugs.
After a session of yoga therapy,
she said, he was sometimes pain-
free for a few hours. It also helps
surgery patients to keep moving,
which improves overall mobility
and helps to reduce swelling.
Pitmansayssheviewsherthera-
pyastraumaworkbecausesomany
cancerpatientsreactphysicallyto
the diagnosis and potential treat-
mentasiftheywerephysicalblows.
“Sometimes people come in and
have no idea why they are so anx-
ious—theirbodyisstillprocessing
theshock.Itislikethemindistry-
ing to catch up.”
Working with cancer patients is
just one aspect of yoga therapy.
Cassi Kit, co-director with Pit-
man of the Ottawa School of Em-
bodied Yoga Therapy, works with
people with chronic pain, ortho-
pedic injuries, anxiety and mood
disorders, and traumatic brain in-
juries.Shecollaborateswithother
health-care professionals to help
clients recovering from motor
vehicle accidents. Her clients are
often referred to her by lawyers,
and the work she does is usually
covered by their insurance.
Unlike physiotherapy and mas-
sage,yogatherapyandthetraining
for it, have only recently been reg-
ulated, through the International
Association of Yoga Therapists.
Pitman, who has taught yoga for
30 years and has a master’s degree
in kinesiology, was asked to visit
a patient at home who was being
treated for cancer. That was the
beginning of her understanding of
howyogacanbenefitpeopleunder-
goingcancertreatment.Inaddition
to one-on-one therapy, she con-
ducts weekly group classes at the
Ottawa Integrative Yoga Centre.
Many people describe being di-
agnosed with cancer as a kind of
“out of body experience,” Pitman
said.Themovementandbreathing
ofyogacanhelpthemfeelthatthey
are “returning to their body.”
“Movement is medicine. … We
can help people be strong enough
to finish their treatment and feel
better while they are in it.”
The Ottawa School of Embod-
ied Yoga Therapy, the city’s first
yoga therapy school, will consist
of a series of courses totalling
more than 800 hours of training
held at various locations, in ad-
dition to seminars, practice and
course work. Students must have
completedyogateachertrainingto
qualify.Moreinformationisavail-
able at oseyt.com. The school is in
theprocessofbecomingaccredited
withtheInternationalAssociation
of Yoga Therapists.
Pitman said she hopes the ac-
creditationsystemwillstandardize
the practice and result in accred-
ited treatments for yoga therapy
being covered by health insurers,
asphysioandmassagetherapyare.
Julie, meanwhile, said her yoga
therapysessionshelpedeasesome
of the stress that came with a diag-
nosisofcancer.“Ithinkjusthaving
aplacetocomethatwasn’tthehos-
pitalwasalwaysreallycomforting.”
epayne@ottawacitizen.com
Yoga embraced to ease
cancer’s pain and anxiety
Gatineau police are applauding
the actions of a two-year-old
girl’s older sister who saw a
man at a store grab the toddler’s
hand and try to walk away with
her. According to police, on
Nov. 5 the girl and her family
were in a pharmacy at 535
Chemin Vanier in Aylmer. A
man was at the checkout buying
a number of items, near where
the two-year-old girl was stand-
ing. When the man finished
paying, police said, he reached
over and grabbed the little girl’s
hand and began to walk toward
the exit. The girl’s older sister
saw what was happening, rushed
over and grabbed her sister’s
other hand, while alerting store
employees to the situation. The
man fled. On Friday, Marinko
Marijancevic, 64, of Aylmer was
charged with attempted abduc-
tion.
Girl saved sister from
abduction, police say
B R I E F S
Ottawa Fire Services gave an
all-clear at a federal govern-
ment facility on Leeds Avenue
on Tuesday after three work-
ers were taken to hospital by
a supervisor, complaining of
breathing difficulties. Emer-
gency personnel were called to
the Crown Assets Distribution
warehouse at 1275 Leeds Ave.
The building was cleared and
fire personnel conducted tests.
No unusual readings were found
and the source of the odour
remains undetermined.
No hazardous gases
detected after scare
A man was taken to hospital
today after a collision between
a tractor-trailer and two half-
tonne pickup trucks at the
intersection of Hawthorne Road
and Stevenage Drive. The colli-
sion occurred at about 11:35 a.m.
at the intersection just west of
Highway 417 in the city’s east
end, police say. Details remained
unclear, but paramedics assessed
three people at the scene and
one was taken to hospital with a
suspected arm fracture.
Man hurt in collision
involving three trucks
Police in MRC des Collines are
looking for a fraud suspect who
passed at least one counterfeit
US$50 bill at a La Pêche store.
The first incident occurred Sept.
24 when the man exchanged a
phoney American bill for Cana-
dian currency. He was back Sept.
30, this time looking to exchange a
Canadian $100 bill and some U.S.
notes. The store clerk refused and
the suspect left. Anyone with in-
formation is asked to call Det.-Sgt.
Tomy Bourque at 819-459-2422,
ext. 3288, or confidentially via the
Info des Collines line at 1-844-
477-2529.
Police seek suspect
in counterfeit case
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