Yoga Journey with CeCe

What are you doing this Bank Holiday Weekend?!

How about having a hour just for you?!

Join me Sunday morning at Enjoy Fitness Studio for Slow Flow Yoga.

Suitable for all levels.

🧘‍♀️Slow Flow Yoga
🏠 Enjoy Fitness Studio, Warsash
⏱️ 10:30 - 11:30
💻 Click here to book

https://bookwhen.com/yogajourneywithcece

Please let Harbour Cancer Support know if this would be of interest!

Looking to ease into Sunday morning? Join me for slow flow yoga at Enjoy Fitness Studio in Warsash. This Sunday, 26th, 10:30-11:30

Please see below for a little bit about me and what inspired my Yoga Journey.

Please reach out with any questions.

Booking link is below.

Have a great week and hopefully see you Sunday.

The Dream Team 🧡

We made it in to the latest issue of . So privileged to have completed my Yoga Teacher Training course with these strong, resilient, wonderful women 🧘🏻

A Journey of Yoga, Trauma, Cancer, Support and Ongoing Healing

I’m choosing to share my personal journey in the hope it might resonate or help someone else.

Having practised yoga since my early 20s (which is a while ago now!), I always knew there were significant benefits: flexibility, stress relief and a quieter mind, to name but a few.

However, 20-something-year-old me didn’t quite realise just how profound those benefits were, or how yoga would become fundamental during the toughest time of my life. Similarly, I didn’t realise that the relationship between my toughest time and yoga would become the catalyst for me training as a yoga teacher.

I started practising yoga at the local leisure centre as a way to stretch after three or more CrossFit sessions a week. CrossFit is an amazing sport, but it can be intense.

Fast forward 10-plus years and, at the age of 34, I was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer. Not what I was expecting to hear, and certainly not how I was expecting to spend my 30s. The diagnosis was pretty catastrophic, highly inconvenient and sparked a plethora of emotions and physical changes, as well as altering the course of my life. Treatment consisted of six rounds of chemotherapy with two drugs given simultaneously, 18 immunotherapy injections, a mastectomy with lymph node clearance, and 15 rounds of radiotherapy. So, pretty much the kitchen sink of cancer treatment. I blogged my journey, so if you would like to read more about it, you can find it here…

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/14hjZSVGp2M/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It was at this point that yoga started to make sense to me. Everything began to come together. Sure, in my 20s I appreciated the lying-down part at the end of class—it was nice to relax for five minutes—but from the point of diagnosis, that final relaxation, Śavāsana, became one of the most important parts of the practice for me. As did the breathing and meditation.

Yoga supported my mind, body and soul. I delved deeper into the different types of yoga. Restorative yoga, yoga nidra and gentle flow yoga were particularly helpful in keeping my body moving while also downregulating my nervous system. My stress levels, adrenaline and nervous system were off the scale, and it was making everything worse.

I explored different breathing exercises and found several that I could use during chemotherapy, while waiting for appointments or even at work. I downloaded the Headspace app and meditated several times a day. They have a “Coping with Cancer” course, and it helped quieten my mind while also teaching me lessons in acceptance and letting go of control—lessons which, again, helped me on my journey.

I discovered spiritual texts, mantras and mudras—all of which helped me navigate my journey.

At the end of active treatment, I went on my first yoga retreat. It was transformative. A weekend of self-love, self-care, space to be held, heard, unravel, cry, laugh, be cleansed and, for me, space to begin healing—emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Why? Because yoga brings together 6,000 years’ worth of teachings, learning and wisdom. When we look at yoga as a whole, it truly unites us as whole human beings. That is the meaning of yoga in Sanskrit—to unite, to yoke.

Modern medicine is amazing. Without it, I wouldn’t be here. But all of the treatment I had was designed to get rid of the cancer and stop it from coming back. There was nothing to support my body, my mind or my healing journey.

I then went further and further down the yoga rabbit hole—which, in my opinion, is a great hole to go down. I found Ayurveda, a 3,000-year-old holistic system of medicine that looks at the whole person. I am not just a breast, a liver, a rash or any other body part or complaint that modern medicine targets.

I also started exploring holistic therapies such as reflexology and Reiki.

I found it all to be hugely supportive.

Now, not all of this is for everyone, and that’s absolutely okay. For me, it works.

Some of the benefits of having a regular yoga practice include reduced stress, improved sleep and improved physical wellbeing.

I was reminded of this again recently as I underwent a second mastectomy (by choice, for symmetry). Post-operation, my movement was limited, but I started doing a very simple, gentle yoga practice the day after surgery. Tiny, tiny movements, breathing and meditation—and I believe it has aided my recovery.

I felt like my arm was locking whenever I tried to raise it above shoulder height, so I implemented restorative yoga techniques. I lay down, took my arm as far as I comfortably could, supported it with a yoga block and breathed deeply. Deep breathing activates the “rest and digest” part of the nervous system. By doing this, I was telling my body that it was safe to relax. The muscle eased, I moved my arm and the block a little further, and repeated the process. After 10–15 minutes, I was able to lift my arm above my head.

I’m not sure this would have been possible so soon after surgery without combining movement, breath and a restorative yoga approach.

Yoga, in some form, is accessible to everyone. The yoga I was doing the day after surgery looked very different from my pre-surgery practice, but it was still yoga.

As discussed above, yoga isn’t just physical movement—it’s breathwork and meditation too. Patañjali, an ancient Indian sage, wrote the Yoga Sutras, a collection of teachings that provide a guiding framework for reaching enlightenment. For me, they offer guidance on how to live in a more yogic way. They include ethical principles and social guidelines, so yoga isn’t just about movement.

As I continue to navigate my healing journey and process the trauma of my cancer diagnosis and treatment, yoga remains absolutely fundamental. This isn’t just through movement, breathing, meditation or reflexology—it’s all of it, united and working together to support me in every way I need.

So, whilst I take a little break from teaching, perhaps there are a few things above that have sparked your interest and that you’d like to explore further!

I’ll be back teaching at the end of the month Enjoy Fitness Studio

Link below to book:

https://bookwhen.com/yogajourneywithcece

Note: This is my experience of how yoga has helped me. Always seek advice from a qualified healthcare professional before starting anything new.

A few big shout-outs…

To all of my teachers—thank you.

To my friends and family—thank you for the lifts, messages and meals.

To my yoga teacher training friends—the support and healing wishes have been so very appreciated.

To Solent Yoga and Serene Yoga, who held space for me just one week after surgery, and welcomed me into their classes. Trust me, as a teacher, there is nothing more intimidating than receiving a call from a student saying, “I’ve just had surgery—can I come to your class?”

To Enjoy Fitness Studio, who has offered me space in the gym to move a little more and get out of the house.

To the dogs—thank you for making sure I get my butt out of bed and out for beautiful walks in nature. I always feel a ton better afterwards.

To Alver Valley and the beach—being outside and surrounded by nature helps me to heal and feel at peace.

Links below for some of the things discussed above.

https://www.mind-body-medical.co.uk/

https://www.yogabelleza.com/news/

https://fushiwellbeing.com/

https://www.holistic-essentials.com/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mumKtpL8YMQ

https://www.headspace.com/

Summer Solstice can mean different things to all of us.

For some, it’s enjoying 16.5 hours of sunshine.

For others, it may hold deeper spiritual or religious meaning.

For me, it’s a moment to pause and feel grateful… to reconnect with nature, with the cycles of the Earth and the changing seasons, and to really feel the power of the sun. It gives so much life, yet can also be destructive - a humbling balance.

I didn’t make the sunrise this year, but I did make the sunset.

I took a quiet moment, chanted a mantra 108 times using my mālā, and just felt truly grateful… grateful to wake up today, to live another day, and to witness such a beautiful sunset.

Sometimes a yoga class just isn’t enough!

Thursday to Sunday I took myself to a retreat with Lauren Grey Yoga.

It was amazing.

Retreats offer a whole different layer of yoga and being.

I would really recommend them to anyone.

Yoga yes but also wholesome food, company and just a space where you are utterly held, heard, seen and looked after.

Ella cooked up an absolute storm and Sammy aka The Hedgerow Yogi walked us through the most amazing foraging course.

Links below for further info.

https://www.laurengray-yoga.com

https://talltreesglamping.com

https://www.ellasplantas.com

https://thehedgerowyogi.co.uk

Had a brilliant (but slightly exhausting!) weekend soaking up the sunshine? ☀️

Think you might need a little reset during or after half term?

How about some time out… just for you 💛

Join me this week:

🧘‍♀️ Wednesday | 6:30–7:30 PM
Yoga at Lee-on-the-Solent Hub

✨ Sunday 31st May | 10:30 - 11:30
Slide into Sunday with Rise & Shine Yoga Enjoy Fitness Studio

Take a breath, stretch it out, and give yourself the space you deserve.

Book your spot here:

https://bookwhen.com/yogajourneywithcece

Can’t wait to see you on the mat! 😊

Don’t forget - Yoga this evening at Lee Hub!

We are a friendly bunch!

First class free! Book here!

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