healing – Amber Joy Young – Offering Care and Support

Gentle Touch To Soothe Pain with a diagnosis of Cancer; Physically and Emotionally

1st January 20265th February 2026Amber_Young

Compassionate touch is one of the many sacred ways we can connect as beings; it is a true honour to be welcomed into a person’s circle of care and to hold healing space.

As the number of cases of cancer, and other manifestations of illness steadily increases in our world, there also exists an increased need to connect with eachother in ways that bring us physically together as humans and support one another.

Touch given with a therapeutic and compassionate intention has the potential to affect an individual physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Gentle massage can soothe physical pain and create space for the mind to come to a place of stillness and greater acceptance of challenges we may be facing in our lives. By being fully present with an individual and honouring pain that may exist, an environment for a deeper level of healing is fostered, and we are reminded that we are not alone.

When I began giving massage therapy to individuals with cancer, through complex care and at end of life; it increased my understanding of human suffering and the ways in which it is a shared suffering. I have witnessed the incredible impact touch can have on an individual when we meet one another in this place.

It’s important to balance all of the unknowns of a cancer diagnosis and the stressful effects of medical appointments with supports and care that; anchor us in our wholeness, support us to integrate the whirlwind of appointments, information, tests and treatments, and help to continually build our resources so we can cope.

Massage therapy is one of many complementary therapies that offers the potential to soothe pain, on a physical and an emotional level, balancing the effects of many medical treatments.

Massage is a safe and supportive therapy to receive when you have a diagnosis of cancer. It is important to understand that there are considerations when receiving treatment, to ensure you receive the best care possible. You want to find a therapist who understands and is open to learning about the disease process in your body and your changing needs. A trained, respectful and educated therapist can provide massage during diagnosis, medical treatments (ie. chemotherapy, radiation, surgery), when in remission, and through palliative care with a terminal diagnosis.

Massage therapy is also a profound support in “the after”. This is a time when cancer did not take a person’s life (they have survived), intensive treatments are over, sometimes supports fall away, there is no evidence of disease, and some folks are adjusting to living with a chronic cancer and a changed body. In this phase, the nervous system is often in a state of dysregulation and needs support that works directly with establishing a sense of safety in the body, and specific care to the brain and spinal nerves. This is often the time a person is processing the lived experience of cancer and is in a dance with acceptance as there is often a lot of change; in a person’s physical body and in the way they navigate and perceive the world. This is a time of deep integration.

Reflecting on my clinical experience over the past 20 years, as well as reference to the reputable studies that have been done, massage therapy has helped people with; pain management, anxiety, depression, disconnection from the body and/or from people, decreased self esteem, body image, muscular tension, sleep issues, stiffness and pain, swelling, nausea, fatigue and feelings of isolation or loneliness. Massage therapy and other forms of bodywork also help to create space to release the accumulation of emotional trauma from our body tissues.

When I enter a therapeutic relationship I often find that a primary goal of our time together is to support the reintegration of a person, reminding them that they are so much more than a diagnosis. Often what is needed most is a safe place to rest, to offer comfort and compassionate care, and to help with symptom relief specific to the individual.

Every person is unique, as is their story, and this requires deep reverence in treatment. The experiences and the stories I have been privileged to share with people through my hands and my heart have shaped me as a massage therapist, as a yoga teacher and how I experience life.

Some general guidelines of important concerns to discuss with your therapist would be:

(adapted from Tracy Walton’s “Massage therapy for people with cancer: Fear and Healing”)

Where is the specific issue you are presently dealing with, and naming how it feels
Current or past treatments (surgery/radiation/chemo/bone marrow transplant/etc.), side effects, complications, and discuss how this will be considered in the massage treatment
Discuss lymph node involvement and risk of lymphedema
Discuss medications and their effects
Blood counts if known, and any clotting considerations
Discuss if dialogue with your Medical Doctor, Oncologist, Naturopathic Doctor would be appropriate and necessary, based on your health history, status, and stage of progression.
A continued update to any changes in your health is essential, and it is also necessary to chart your response to every massage treatment to ensure you are always getting the best possible care.
Most importantly, how YOU are – not just physically, but emotionally as well

This is a simplification and a general look at some key areas that need to be covered when you have a more complex condition and you’re seeing a massage therapist. Not all areas noted above will be relevant to everyone, and in some people there will be a need to expand on the complexity of the above. When these concerns are discussed openly and honestly between you and your therapist, the treatment can proceed with more confidence and a greater depth of trust for everyone involved.

Connecting in this way can pave the path for true compassion and healing, finding our way to wholeness. It is my hope that we as a society can have more conversations about existing fears of the unknown and the fear many have of illness. Perhaps it is possible that we can begin to move to a place where we’re able to embrace the mystery and humanness of life. There is a sacredness in sharing this journey with others through touch, bridging the science, the necessary education of the body and its systems, and the intuitive understanding of massage and hands on healing.

With a deep respect for the human body, and the safe spaces where we can put ourselves back together again.

Amber Young

I teach weekly online yoga classes Thursday mornings from 10:30 – 11:35 am EST, you can join from anywhere (live or with the recording). These classes are suitable for anyone needing to slow down and reconnect with their breath, I offer chair and mat options through the practice.

Consider upgrading to a paid membership, created with the intention to offer guidance whenever you need a little extra support. Enjoy a weekly email, free access to my monthly bedtime yoga class and special practice recordings.

If you’re interested in booking massage therapy with me check out my website for more information

References:

Medicine Hands, Massage Therapy for people with Cancer, Gayle MacDonald (2014)

Course work and Training Manuals, Tracy Walton, LMT, 2003 – 2005

Massage Therapy and Cancer, Debra Curties (1999)

Massage therapy for cancer patients: a reciprocal relationship between body and mind (Sagar/Dryden/Wong, 2007) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1891200/

The body keeps the score; brain, mind and body in the healing of trauma, Bessel Van Der Kolk (2015 )

Somatoemotional Release and Beyond, John Upledger (1990)

Re – Emerging

3rd January 2025Amber_Young

I have taken the last while off from all distractions to focus on my family and my own inner need for rest, it has been bliss.

I didn’t realize how depleted and exhausted I was from this past year, it has held a lot ~ personally and as you, dear reader know, for the collective as well.

I feel grateful as I sit down to write these words, slowly re-emerging, to have this time with you. I haven’t been writing as much this past year, honouring the spaces in between and giving myself more time to just sit, usually at the trunk of my favorite tree. I have been experiencing more freedom to just be, not needing to produce or share my personal musings but instead honouring what’s alive in my own tender heart and holding this as sacred.

I wonder how you’re doing, underneath all the layers.

If you’re having a hard time, you’re not alone. It helps me sometimes to remember that we are constantly in flux – learning, growing and evolving and it’s not always going to feel easeful, I don’t think it’s meant to. The wheel, remember, continues to turn.

If you’re doing amazing, you’re also not alone, please don’t dim yourself. Your wholeness is felt, as are the ways you may have been broken over the years, it’s all part of this human experience. We feel eachother in our ebb and flow.

Before I was diagnosed with cancer I realize I didn’t actually give myself complete permission to stop periodically, to put everything I’m carrying down and take a real break.

I also didn’t honour all my cracks.

The past few weeks have reminded me that this is non negotiable for me now, time to deeply rest. Without it I’m not able to process the joys, the ups, the downs, the cracks, the necessary mending and the holy mess.

Many of you who know me, know that I work very intimately with people, and ride the waves of not only my own experience but also navigate the waves of everyone in my circle of care. Breaks and boundaries are NEEDED, this allows for the deep composting and integration to actually ever happen, which is necessary for our constant unfurling, tending and evolution.

No matter what you do in the world, I think sometimes we all get stuck riding the waves of our shared existence that never stops, unless we consciously decide to jump off for a while and return to our own unique holdfast and move from this place.

A while ago in one of my classes, we talked about this concept of our holdfast, looking at what holds us steady as the waves of life keep moving. Taking time everyday to feel where your roots are grounded, looking at how you show yourself compassion and softness. Maybe take a moment to reflect on how your boundaries are around your own self care time?

Alternatively, if we don’t take this time, we can unconsciously get pulled under or thrown against a rock – forcing us to stop in often very uncomfortable ways. This I understand.

Many humans have a tendency to keep going, no matter what, and we put a strong emphasis on the ways we’re resilient, and the ways we’re strong, the ways we can handle so much. I too have put a lot of emphasis on these qualities, but I find I’m moving differently through the world now. I wonder if we can continue to build our inner resources, celebrate our strength, but maybe make space to experience our strength through a different lens – one that honours the pause, the fragility, the breaking and the stopping that’s necessary to grow and heal.

I wonder if we can learn to be comfortable in mess, because let’s face it there is a whole lot of mess going on at the moment. Accepting and being realistic about mess doesn’t make us less, I think it actually helps us to fill in some gaps and gives us space to not always have to have the answers or to make sense of everything.

I grew up in a home where people didn’t expect a lot of me, which translated to me expecting ALOT from me, trying to prove my worth. A year and a half ago I put that story down, I offered it to the chemo as it burned through me. In the spaces that were created, I decided to invite something different, to instead show up exactly as I am without unrealistic expectations or being so worried about others opinions. I decided for the first time in my life to be truthful in who I ACTUALLY am, with honesty and compassion – mess and all.

As we transition into the new year, can we collectively consider a slow return, offering us discernment and renewed purpose.

What is your holdfast and can you find ways to return to it daily.

Have you taken some time to reflect on the pivotal moments of this past year, perhaps letting go of what doesn’t need to travel with you into the year ahead, honouring necessary endings.

Can you acknowledge any areas of your life that might feel a little messy right now? Maybe considering out of the chaos comes lessons, clarity, an awareness of what’s actually important to you. Mess also has the potential to lead us to true beauty.

As I look ahead, I find myself curious about how the days will unfold in all of their mystery and wonder.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate you being here.

Much love,

Amber

You may want to consider upgrading to a paid subscription and enjoy a weekly email with some short practices and reflections. My Birch memberships starts at $6 CAN, created for folks who believe in what I’m offering, intended to offer inspiration and gentle guidance in the spirit of supporting eachother.

Birch Paid Membership

Memberships range from $6 – $55 with varied access.

I also teach weekly virtual gentle yoga classes, and monthly tending your inner garden sessions. Send me an email if you’d like more information

amber@suryadaya.ca

You can find out more information about additional support on my website

The Ways We Care For Ourselves

12th August 202413th August 2024Amber_Young

During my chemotherapy, the book Between Two Kingdoms written by Suleika Jaoud was recommended to me (by Lisa Patterson during one of her healing yoga classes). This was the first time I truly felt like someone understood. Reading her words was like reading my own thoughts in a way I couldn’t articulate. I find myself now living between two kingdoms, inhabiting my body and the space I exist in the world in a very different way. Through this process I was introduced to the 100 day project, a creative dive for 100 days, which has been and continues to be, paramount in my healing and my daily life.

The ways we care for ourselves matter immensely, starting with the small things; offering ourselves rest when we’re tired, hydrating our bodies, eating nourishing foods, being gentle with the messages we send ourselves.

I realize for so much of my career as a massage therapist and yoga teacher, I have focused on how I can best care for others. Over the past few years I have grown into a more truthful realization of what that actually means. The answer is found in how I care for myself, in the small simple ways of ensuring I’m okay first, only then can I start to look outside of myself.

Last week I was privileged to sit in circle with a group of incredible women, it was my first in person Tending Your Inner Garden session. 9 of us gathered to hold space for eachother exploring what the act of tending to ourselves feels like, being held quietly in community as we moved through gentle practices.

In my own personal tending, I started painting bees and flowers to tap into that well of energy and joy that lives inside of me, with the intention to support my healing. Through this process I have become connected with all the parts of me, parts of me that I didn’t even realize I contained, parts of me that have been numb for most of my life – or that I kept very small out of fear of judgement.

These are created from my heart, for my heart.

I had never painted before and now it’s a non-negotiable part of my life. Many things have become non-negotiable for me; unrolling my mat for my body and my spirit, picking up a paintbrush with no expectations or judgement of what comes through on the canvas, dancing and singing, picking up my guitar or playing my drum as my boys play piano and their guitars. This is therapy for me, part of the tapestry of my wholeness.

I wonder what’s one small thing you can do today to offer yourself gentle care, tending to your own inner garden?

I offer you this with deep respect and gratitude.

Love, Amber

If you’d like to practice yoga and movement classes with me I teach weekly online zoom classes Thursday mornings from 11:00 – 12:00 am EST, you can join from anywhere (live or with the recording).

Once a month I also hold yoga and sound therapy at the Cedar Hill School House, Pakenham. These classes will run through to October.

If you’d like extra support you can find different video membership options , created with the intention to help you whenever you need a little extra guided support through a diverse collection of offerings ranging from 5 minute wellness capsule, mindful minutes practices, to 60 minute yoga and movement practices. Memberships range from $6 to $38.

Let me know if you’d like more information amber@suryadaya.ca

I’m dreaming about our next Tending Your Inner Garden offering, starting in the fall of 2024, stay tuned for dates and more information.

We Begin

1st May 2023Amber_Young

Were do we begin from? When life offers us opportunities for transformation and growth, how do we crack out of who we were to step more fully into who we are – now, through the evolution of a lifetime.

We begin by listening to the whispers of our inherent capacity to rise . This gives me goosebumps. YES – can you be quiet enough to listen to those whispers amidst the busyness and the energy spring brings.

What are your most recent opportunities to step more fully into who you are now? Take a moment to think about this..

It could be a simple conversation that you noticed yourself speaking words that weren’t actually in alignment with your truth, or the truth of who you are now. You know those conversations that may find patterned responses coming out with the sound of your voice. Or maybe that opportunity came in the form of that fire inside of you igniting in response to something you care about, you know those moments when your heartbeat quickens and your moved from deep inside into action and knew you needed to do something – did you? Other times we’re handed these opportunities through loss, or challenges to our health or that of someone we love.

These experiences are opportunities for us to grow, to pause and consider our words and our actions, our way of being in the world. Opportunities to consider if we’re showing up first for ourselves, independent of how others perceive us or past expectations. I wonder if you can look at these opportunities to also reflect on what you’re able to invite in, to shed, and to truly come into alignment with yourself.

Remember these experiences change us.

This time of year often brings about an awareness of patterns, some super helpful and others that drain us. I’d like to invite you to start fresh. To pause before you engage and ask yourself is this actually true for me NOW, or is this a patterned way of being in the world that is no longer supportive.

As the Springs tides wash over us and we find ourselves here at Beltane, the midpoint between the spring equinox and the coming summer solstice, we can allow the waters to wash away anything we’ve outgrown and to be bathed in all that we welcome in. As we celebrate Spring at it’s peak, and look around at the emergence of the trees and the flowers after a long slumber, can we hold ourselves with that same energy – a slow tender emergence as we reveal ourselves now – with wonder and curiosity.

I seem to be more aware of patterns as I emerge after the winter of my life, moving through 8 months of healing, shedding layers, inviting in new experiences, and pondering all the learning from my own opportunities for growth, which came in the form of cancer.

I came across this piece the other day and it is so resonate with my own process, perhaps it will spark something for someone else too, perhaps you.

Now is not the time for apathy or regret, not the time for keening in sorrow. It is time for swift feet and gentle fingers. Time for cracked open hearts and wild tears. Time for delight and determination to twine back together, eyes open to where we are and what can still be done.

We begin – like the crow daring to peck away at what confines us, cracking out of the shell, persistent in our knowing. We begin like the snake, feeling the tightness that no longer suits us, stretching beyond our edges until we shed our shape and become reborn. We begin with a smile, with tears, with blood and possibilities, we begin by listening to the whispers of our inherent capacity to rise.
Molly Remer from her piece titled Beltane, from We’Moon 2023

This human journey can be utterly confusing, painful and layered, and at the same time beautiful, tender and so very sacred, AND Every moment allows us the opportunity to begin again, with eyes and heart wide open.

Sending you Beltane Blessings, wrapped with so much soul support and love, as you begin

Till next time

Amber

Stay tuned for some future practice opportunities, as the tides wash in waves of inspiration, after a long healing sabbatical.