08 Oct 2023 Instructor finds joy in Yoga after breast cancer journey
By Kelli Reep
Meet Teresa Jaynes McLeod and you instantly feel relaxed, which makes sense as she has been a yoga instructor for almost two decades. Her quick smile and easy approach to life have been hard-fought-for and won, and today, she is doing everything she can to help others feel at ease in their lives.
A breast cancer survivor since 1990, Teresa has looked an almost unbeatable foe in the eyes and defeated it through faith, love and healthy living. After finding a lump in her right breast in 1989, she had surgery and chemotherapy treatments. At the time, both she and her husband were working full-time and raising children who were beginning first, third, fourth, sixth and eighth grades.
“Until then, I had never had a mammogram, and there was no incident of breast cancer in my family,” Teresa said. “My sister was an oncology nurse in Memphis at the time, and she encouraged me to get a mammogram. The day of the surgery, I got up early, baked chocolate chip muffins, put the house in order, and got all five kids ready for sleepovers with their friends. I remember thinking, ‘Only in America can a woman vacuum her house and finish chores before a mastectomy scheduled at 3 p.m.’”
After taking chemotherapy every three weeks for six months and traveling from Searcy to Little Rock to do so, Teresa returned to teaching. Eventually, she had breast reconstruction and has been cancer-free for 33 years.
“I will gratefully be turning 74 in November, and my life is richer now than it has ever been,” she said. “I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart for 55 years, and we have five grown children and 12 grandchildren, whom we call our ‘dandy dozen.’ My husband, Randy, and I live in Searcy, and we’re both retired from Harding University. I was a special educator for 42 years, and now I’m blessed to be a full-time grandparent, traveler and gardener, but my real passion is introducing the young and young-at-heart to the health benefits of practicing yoga.”
Teresa became interested in yoga at age 55 when she attended her first class. As someone who was always into exercising, yoga seemed difficult to manage as she had to be still and breathe. She said she would hold her breath instead of taking deep, cleansing ones through the poses. It wasn’t until she finally started taking those deep breaths that she had a breakthrough.
Teresa wasted no time moving from student to teacher. In 2006, she found an instructor training course in Fayetteville and traveled there for 17 weekends. In 2007, she became a certified yoga instructor in VariYoga, which means she is qualified to teach hath, restorative, prenatal and other types of yoga. In the fall of that same year, Teresa began teaching a yoga class to cancer survivors.
“Yoga is for every body as the body craves stretching and breathing, and yoga practice enhances overall health.” Today, she teaches yoga at Mindful State Yoga in Searcy and virtually for CARTI via Zoom.
“We decided on the Zoom platform to reach more people in Arkansas,” Teresa said. “I was invited to come and make some videos of yoga poses that would be shown in the oncology waiting room at CARTI in Little Rock, and at the satellite CARTI treatment centers in North Little Rock, Heber Springs, Searcy and beyond.
“I know there are many more people out there who would benefit from a gentle yoga class in the privacy of their own home,” Teresa said. “Some may be a bit uneasy on the Zoom platform, but it is so easy to just click on the link to access the class from a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. I hope more people will consider doing something kind and healthy for themselves and participate in a yoga class.”
Any cancer patient or survivor, as well as his or her caregiver, can take the virtual yoga class every Tuesday at 3 p.m. at no cost. To register, call CARTI at 501.906.4436, and you will receive an email invitation each week with a code and password to access the class.
