Breast surgery, although not generally though of as a life-threatening surgical procedure, is still a very long process and comes with a good amount of pain and recovery time. It becomes somewhat of a balancing act during the recovery after surgery, because while you don’t want to start moving too much or exercising too quickly, you also don’t want to become too sedentary to a point where it becomes extremely difficult to get back into any sort of regular routine. One great exercise to incorporate into your recovery after surgery is yoga.

A good rule of thumb before jumping back into exercising is to wait at least two and a half weeks before starting anything. That is generally the amount of time needed to reduce swelling, remove any stitches or bandaging, and take care of any complications that may arise. Obviously your doctor should have the final say on when you are truly in the clear, but that time frame is a basic one to keep in mind.

As soon as you get the all-clear to start getting back to your exercise routine, yoga exercises are great to incorporate into your plan because they won’t put too much strain on your body. They’re a great way to reintroduce your body to the idea of working out without putting an undue stress on yourself. The moves are low intensity enough that, even if you aren’t completely healed and wouldn’t be able to handle high compact moves just yet, you’ll still be able to benefit from doing the basic yoga poses.

Another way that yoga can be beneficial for someone who has recently undergone breast surgery, or any other type of surgery, is through the mental clarity that often accompanies a yoga session. Yoga is about centering yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually to ensure you are on a good path in life, and one good yoga session can do wonders to improving the overall quality of a person’s life. Surgery is obviously a very stressful time in someone’s life, so attending a yoga class or taking up the overall practice of yoga could be a great way to relive some of those stresses.

Recovering from breast surgery is no easy or smooth process, but becoming involved in yoga is a great way to help ease the pain and get you on the road to recovery. You can start as a beginner with low intensity moves that won’t put added strain on your body and work your way up to move high level moves as you continue to recover. The physical benefits coupled with the mental benefits will help you find peace within yourself and make you a stronger individual.

By Tully Rickets, a life long traveler with interests in ethnic food and healthy living. When he’s not blogging about healthy behaviors, he enjoys researching new ideas for his book from many blogs and health related websites.