A Bridge Between Yoga and Oncology Exercise

The Cancer Exercise Training Institute’s CES Yoga Course is redefining how yoga professionals and movement therapists can safely and effectively serve the growing population of cancer survivors. While traditional yoga teacher training lays the groundwork for alignment, sequencing, and mind-body awareness, the CES Yoga specialization goes several layers deeper, integrating oncology exercise science, functional anatomy, and evidence-based adaptations to meet the complex needs of clients recovering from cancer and its treatments.

This course doesn’t replace your yoga certification, it enhances it. If you’re already a certified yoga instructor, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or healthcare professional with movement experience, the CES Yoga course expands your professional toolkit with powerful, oncology-informed applications of yoga therapy.

A New Dimension of Healing Through Movement

The Cancer Exercise Training Institute’s CES Yoga Course takes the science-based foundation of the  OncoVie™ Cancer Exercise Specialist Advanced Qualification, and infuses it with the timeless wisdom of yoga. It’s not a replacement for the original course, it’s a layered evolution.

If you’ve already completed the CES program, you understand the physiological, biomechanical, and psychological complexities of working with cancer survivors. The CES Yoga course builds upon that foundation - bridging exercise oncology with the art of mindful movement, breathwork, and restoration.

This specialized course allows you to translate the science of cancer recovery into the language of yoga, helping your clients find strength, balance, and self-connection on a deeper level.

What You Get in Addition to the Original CES Course

1. Yoga as Therapy for the Cancer Continuum

You’ll gain advanced tools to apply yoga therapeutically across all phases of the cancer journey - prehab, treatment, recovery, and survivorship. Learn how to tailor asanas and pranayama techniques to meet each client’s unique physical and emotional needs, whether they’re rebuilding mobility post-surgery or restoring vitality after chemotherapy.

2. Pose Modifications for Surgical and Treatment Limitations

The CES course teaches movement analysis and corrective exercise; the yoga course shows you how to integrate that knowledge into specific postural adaptations.
You’ll learn how to modify asanas for:

• Lymphedema risk and swelling
• Balance deficits from neuropathy
• Limited shoulder or chest mobility post-mastectomy
• Fatigue and deconditioning
• Surgical scars, ports, and joint stiffness

These practical applications allow you to design yoga sequences that heal, not hinder.

3. Breathwork, Meditation, and Nervous System Regulation

Cancer recovery isn’t just physical - it’s emotional and energetic. The CES Yoga course introduces pranayama and mindfulness practices clinically shown to:

• Lower anxiety and depression
• Improve sleep and heart rate variability
• Enhance immune and lymphatic function

You’ll understand how to cue breath and meditation techniques that calm the nervous system and support healing at every level.

4. Integrating Energetic and Emotional Healing

Where the CES course emphasizes movement and safety, the yoga specialization expands into energetic awareness - teaching you to work with subtle body systems affected by cancer and its treatments. You’ll explore how breath, intention, and mindfulness can restore a sense of embodiment and peace in survivors who often feel disconnected from their bodies.

5. Yoga Sequencing for Strength, Recovery, and Restoration

You’ll learn how to design yoga-based sessions that combine stability, mobility, and mindfulness. Whether it’s gentle restorative yoga, chair-based flows, or modified vinyasa progressions, you’ll be able to build safe, progressive practices that align with evidence-based exercise oncology principles.

6. Trauma-Informed Teaching and Compassionate Cueing

The CES Yoga Course deepens your understanding of psychological safety and the power of language in healing. You’ll develop sensitivity around touch, verbal cues, and the emotional experiences of cancer survivors - helping clients rebuild confidence, self-trust, and joy in movement.

7. Professional Expansion and Collaboration

Graduates of both courses can position themselves as integrative movement specialists - bridging the gap between oncology rehab, yoga therapy, and fitness. You’ll be prepared to collaborate with medical providers, physical therapists, and wellness professionals while offering a gentle yet powerful complement to conventional cancer care.

What This Course Will Not Do

The CES Yoga Course will not certify you as a yoga instructor if you are not already one. It assumes prior training in yoga fundamentals and teaching methodology.

However, if you are already certified, it elevates your credentials - allowing you to work confidently with cancer survivors, caregivers, and those managing long-term side effects of treatment. You’ll emerge with a unique specialization that sets you apart in both the yoga and therapeutic communities.

The number of cancer survivors worldwide has surpassed 50 million - and that number continues to grow. Many of them seek holistic, mindful movement practices like yoga but need instructors who truly understand the physical and emotional realities of recovery.

By completing the CES Yoga Course, you’ll be able to:

• Offer trauma-aware, medically informed yoga experiences
• Reduce client fear of “doing harm”
• Build trust with medical and rehabilitation professionals
• Deepen your role as a guide in your clients’ healing and reconnection with their bodies

What You’ll Gain

1. Deeper Understanding of Cancer and the Body
   Learn how cancer treatments - surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, hormonal and immunotherapy - affect the musculoskeletal, lymphatic, and endocrine systems, and how yoga can safely support recovery and mobility.
2. Pose Modification Mastery
   Gain confidence modifying traditional asanas to accommodate surgical scars, ports, lymphedema risk, neuropathy, fatigue, or balance limitations. You’ll learn not just what to change - but why.
3. Sequencing for Healing and Energy Restoration
   Develop class plans and one-on-one session flows that restore vitality, support immune function, and build confidence through mindful movement.
4. Trauma-Informed Cueing and Breathwork
   Learn to create a space of safety and compassion. Many cancer survivors live with body-image changes and emotional trauma; you’ll understand how to teach with sensitivity, awareness, and respect for their journey.
5. Lymphedema and Postural Correction Integration
   Incorporate gentle lymphatic stimulation and alignment strategies that support functional recovery, posture correction, and improved circulation.
6. Collaborative Practice Expansion
   Position yourself as a valuable bridge between oncology care teams, physical therapists, and the wellness community - expanding your professional referrals and credibility.

Ready to Elevate Your Teaching?

If you’re passionate about helping others heal through movement, the CES Yoga Course is your next evolution. Build on your existing credentials, deepen your impact, and become a trusted resource for cancer survivors seeking strength, balance, and peace through yoga.

Join a global community of professionals leading the movement toward mindful, oncology-informed fitness.

Enroll today at: CETI.teachable.com and expand what’s possible on - and off - the mat.