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Well Bath Yoga & Wellness Centre · Charlcombe
Olivia at Well Bath.

Class at Well Bath

Yoga for Cancer

For the body that has been through something

The room is quieter. The pace is slower. Every shape is offered with an alternative that meets the body wherever it currently is. Yoga for Cancer is a class designed specifically for people in cancer treatment or in recovery. It is held by Olivia, a chartered physiotherapist of fifteen years who specialises in cancer care and has experience across all tumour groups. She holds this work through the whole arc — before treatment, during chemotherapy or radiotherapy, through surgical recovery, and the long tail of everything after.

Olivia's clinical skills sit inside every class: scar-tissue and manual lymphatic drainage awareness, fatigue and breathlessness management, careful attention to restoring movement and function. The yoga itself is Hatha, slow, and adapted. Modifications are built into the class rather than added on. Nothing is asked of you that your body has not signalled it can do that day. Chairs and props are on hand for anyone who needs to work seated for part or all of the class.

The room is small and quiet. Everyone there is arriving from a version of the same territory. That in itself is often the thing people say they came back for.

Watch

Yoga for Cancer at Well Bath

Duration

75 minutes

Price

See the booking page for current pricing.

What people bring

Presentations commonly worked with

The class is designed for the recovering body. What people arrive with sits across the whole cancer journey, from active treatment to years past discharge.

  • During active chemotherapy or radiotherapy, with adaptations for fatigue
  • Post-surgical recovery, including lumpectomy, mastectomy, and abdominal surgery
  • Lymphoedema — Olivia is a specialist and works with this directly
  • Fatigue that has not lifted despite rest
  • Range-of-motion loss around the shoulder, chest wall, hips or abdomen
  • Nervous-system unsteadiness during and after treatment
  • Wanting a class where cancer does not have to be explained again

If you would benefit from one-to-one attention rather than a class, Olivia also holds specialist Cancer Physiotherapy sessions in the therapy rooms at Well Bath. Speak to her before booking if you are unsure which is the right first door.

What a session is like

From arrival to the last breath in the room

The class runs seventy-five minutes on Thursday mornings. This is how the time is structured, though the pace flexes with the room.

  1. 01

    Arrival and settling

    Come through the front door. Tea from the Welsh dresser in the foyer. Set yourself up on the floor, or on a chair, or on a bolster — Olivia will help you find the shape that fits today.

  2. 02

    Check-in

    A short quiet round to name where the body is today. A brief practical check-in, just enough for Olivia to know what to look out for.

  3. 03

    Breath

    A few minutes of gentle breath work, usually seated. Emphasis on the exhale, which for a body in recovery is often the more important half.

  4. 04

    Warm-up

    Small mobility work — shoulders, chest wall, hips, spine. Where surgery has been recent, movements stay well within the current range and nothing is pushed.

  5. 05

    Main shapes

    A short sequence of supported postures. Often standing shapes at the wall, seated forward folds with a bolster, gentle twists. Chairs on hand throughout.

  6. 06

    Rest

    A long final rest, propped and covered. Longer than a typical class. For many people this is the piece of the week where the body finally settles.

Weighing it up

Yoga for Cancer versus one-to-one Cancer Physiotherapy

Both are held by Olivia. Both are shaped by her clinical training. They meet different needs.

Yoga for Cancer Cancer Physiotherapy
Setting A group class in the studio. A one-to-one session in the therapy room.
Attention Olivia holds the whole room and adapts for you as she goes. The full hour is on your specific presentation.
Register A practice, held with others who understand. Clinical assessment and treatment.
Best if you Want the movement, the container, and the community. Have a specific concern — lymphoedema, scar tissue, range of motion — that needs targeted work.
Cost Drop-in or class pass rate. Standard one-to-one physiotherapy session rate.

Many people use both across a year of recovery. The class holds the rhythm; the one-to-ones step in when something specific needs addressing.

What the evidence says

Research and clinical literature

Yoga for people in cancer treatment and recovery has a substantial evidence base, particularly for fatigue, quality of life, and lymphoedema management.

  • Cochrane review of yoga for women with breast cancer reports moderate-quality evidence of improved health-related quality of life and reductions in fatigue, anxiety and depression.

    Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · Cramer, Lauche, Klose et al. · 2017

  • Randomised trials of yoga during and after cancer treatment show measurable reductions in cancer-related fatigue compared with usual care.

    Journal of Clinical Oncology · Bower et al. · 2012

  • Adapted movement programmes for people recovering from breast-cancer surgery improve shoulder range of motion and may reduce lymphoedema severity when carefully sequenced.

    Breast Cancer Research and Treatment · reviews · 2019

Questions people ask

Before you book

I have never done yoga. Can I come? +
Yes. Many people in the class are first-time practitioners. Olivia teaches every shape from the beginning and there is no expectation of prior experience.
I am in active chemo. Should I wait? +
You do not have to wait. Come when you have the energy for it and skip when you do not. Olivia adapts the class around fatigue and will never ask more of you than the day allows.
I have had a mastectomy or other surgery. Is this safe? +
It is designed for exactly this. Olivia is trained in the shoulder and chest-wall adaptations that keep the practice within your current healing range.
I have lymphoedema. Is the class right for me? +
Yes. Olivia is a lymphoedema specialist. The sequences avoid postures that would risk aggravation and the pacing supports the fluid work rather than provoking it.
Do I need to tell Olivia what I am going through? +
Only what is useful. She will ask about the essentials — where you are in treatment or recovery, anything acute today. You never have to explain more than you want to.
What do I need to bring? +
Comfortable layers. Mats, bolsters, blankets and chairs are all provided. If you use a compression garment, wear it as you normally would.
What if I am covering for Olivia today? +
Lauren covers the class on the occasional Thursday when Olivia is away. She has been briefed on the format and holds the same slow, adapted register. Check the Well Bath daily update if you want to know who is teaching this week.
What is Olivia's training? +
Olivia is a chartered physiotherapist of fifteen years who specialises in cancer care and has experience across all tumour groups. Her clinical skills include manual lymphatic drainage, scar-tissue work, fatigue and breathlessness management, post-surgical recovery, and strength and endurance training. She is also a qualified Hatha yoga teacher and reflexologist, so her one-to-one work in the therapy room draws on the same clinical background as the class.

Held by

Practitioner

Physiotherapy, Yoga for Cancer, Reflexology

Olivia

Chartered physiotherapist. Yoga for Cancer teacher. Reflexologist. Three registers held in one practitioner.

Other work by the same hands

Also with these practitioners

Physiotherapy in Bath

Chartered physiotherapy assessment and treatment with Olivia.

Reflexology in Bath with Olivia

One-to-one reflexology with Olivia in the therapy rooms. Held inside her chartered physiotherapy practice.

Specialist Cancer Physiotherapy in Bath

Olivia's specialist physiotherapy for the body that has been through cancer treatment.

Specialist Lymphoedema Care in Bath

Olivia's clinical lymphoedema treatment. Manual drainage, compression guidance, and long-term care.

Lymphatic Drainage Treatment in Bath

Olivia's general-wellness lymphatic drainage, distinct from her specialist lymphoedema care.

If you are arriving from

Yoga for Cancer tends to be met by people carrying

I am in cancer recovery

Book

Book Yoga for Cancer

Booking runs on Acuity, direct link below. If you are not sure whether yoga for cancer is the right fit, reach out and we will help you find the right first door into the sanctuary.

Book Yoga for Cancer All offerings

Prefer to talk it through first? Call Joe on 07986 380327  ·  Joe will get back to you within 24 hours.

Silo of the sanctuary

Also held at Well Bath

Physiotherapy

Chartered physiotherapy assessment and treatment with Olivia.

Reflexology in Bath with Olivia

One-to-one reflexology with Olivia in the therapy rooms. Held inside her chartered physiotherapy practice.

Specialist Cancer Physiotherapy

Olivia's specialist physiotherapy for the body that has been through cancer treatment.