Your recovery begins in the hospital. The sooner you start moving, the sooner you will get out of the hospital and back to your life. Your nurses will have you up and walking ASAP. If you are working with a Physical Therapist you can pull up the exercises on your Ipad or phone and show it to your doctor or PT. Medical clearance is NECESSARY BEFORE you start any physical exercise program. 

If you’re starting this program after coming home from the hospital, I recommend you still start with Phase 1 when you feel ready.

The exercises in Phase 1 include very gentle stretches and movements that stimulate blood flow and help reduce low back pain, pelvic pain and scar tissue that is forming. There are NO abdominal exercises involved. 

Phase 1 includes simple exercises in bed where you bend your knees and stretch your feet. At the end of this phase, you’ll be on your way to sitting in a chair. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have the energy to do all of Phase 1 in the hospital. You can start after you return home and feel ready. 

You can pick and choose the gentle exercises that feel right for you.

In Phase 2, you will begin your exercises at home. I’ve tried to make it as simple as possible for you. What you’ll be doing is not traditional yoga or Pilates; it’s my own recipe for rehabilitating your core in the safest way possible and this doesn’t include sit ups!

The gentle movements in this phase will help prevent something your doctor may not have told you about–lower limb lymphedema. Basically, this means swelling of the legs. It’s now known that it can occur many years after your original surgery—up to ten years later! 

In Phase 2, you’ll work on rebuilding your strength, balance and flexibility … and not the traditional way you might think of balance, like standing on one leg. None of that in this phase. It is important to work on the flexibility part first, because after you’ve had surgery, your body has been traumatized and there’s a lot of inflammation. It’s best for your recovery not to return to your former, strenuous workout routine right away.

Or if you have never really had a movement routine or are new to all of this, this is the PERFECT place for you. I love teaching beginners how to realign and strengthen their bodies from past injuries and surgery. 

In Phase 2 you will also learn simple exercises to do that will help stretch your internal pelvic floor muscles and surrounding hip muscles. These movements are extremely helpful for anyone who has ever had pelvic radiation or trauma to the pelvis from surgery.  You will learn that no muscle works alone and no system works alone. This is a full body recovery program.

Phase 3 is the central pillar of the entire program because it’s all about rebuilding your core strength. 

This is my favorite phase. I created these safe exercises for myself because of my ileostomy. I found the area around the surgical site to be weak. When I tried normal core exercises it would pull on my internal scar tissue causing severe pain.  I got frustrated. 

After radiation damaged and weakened the tissues in my abdomen and pelvis, I lost sensation inside my core. I also had nerves cut through my sacrum and bladder region making it challenging for me to feel my deep core muscles. These muscles are important to you. 

The problem when you have a weak core is that you are at a higher risk for a hernia! This is a common problem for anyone who has had abdominal surgery. If you have an ileostomy or an ileostomy reversal you are at an even higher risk for developing a hernia. This is why you DO NOT strain or go beyond where your body is ready to.

The good news is that I know how to help you. I know how to support and strengthen your deep core muscles in a safe way. I myself have to be careful and mindful of this today even seven years after my surgeries. 

I will teach you how to be mindful and concentrate on timing and micro-mini movements to strengthen your body on a deeper level. You’ll be amazed at how the slower and smaller your movements are, the more you will feel your insides working on a deeper level and NOT be in pain. The best!

In this phase you will learn how to regain your balance and strength. Learn the foundational body mechanics for better walking which is the FIRST step in your recovery for years and beyond.

The focus in this phase is rebuilding back your hip and lower body strength.

In Phase 4, you will also learn how to safely do a modified plank and

side plank exercise, which is essential to strengthen your core and

overall body.

Phase 5 is one of my favorites. I provide over 40 tried and tested stretches for you to choose from, to help relieve your back, pelvic and hip pain.

The timeline for each of the phases completely depends on your body’s recovery needs and you can customize how you move through each phase of the program.

There is an emotional and mental/mindset part of healing that does not get enough attention in many cancer recovery programs. In my program you will receive coaching and journaling lessons to inspire you to look at healing from another perspective. 

The Reclaim Your Light Self-Healing Lessons: 6 heartfelt and simple lessons to help you change how you see your life and learn to love yourself and your life again. You will have access to all six lessons the moment you sign up, so you can work through the lessons at your own pace.

• Lesson 1: What’s Your Story
  
• Lesson 2: Embracing Your New Life
  
• Lesson 3: Getting Clarity
  
• Lesson 4: Self Forgiveness: What Do You Want To Let Go Of
  
• Lesson 5: Self Acceptance: Recognize Your Limiting Beliefs
  
• Lesson 6: Claiming Your Life

This is the first step towards reinventing your life after cancer and the first step into the beginnings of what life on the other side of cancer could look like.

What you see here is the culmination of my 25+ years-experience as a Pilates and Yoga instructor who works in a rehabilitation facility and as a certified professional life coach specializing in helping cancer survivors find their new normal to thrive after cancer. 

From one survivor to another, I’ve created a program for you that was never available to me. Think of this as a lifeline for you.  

This is a WHOLE-istic approach. The body, mind and soul healing!

Emilee Garfield, two time cancer “thriver” and Certified Master Life Coach, founded the 501(c)(3) non profit organization, Cancer Core RecoveryⓇ Project in 2018 after working with thousands of women online who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Emilee provided a much needed safe space and nurturing community for women struggling to heal and thrive during cancer recovery.

After going through stage 3C ovarian cancer herself in 2015-2016, and having two major operations, major debulking surgery and having to learn how to live with a new ileostomy, she had one goal in mind: she had to return to her Pilates/yoga studio to teach, however not even the Physical Therapists knew how to help her.

After feeling frustrated by the lack of resources and help for women diagnosed and living with ovarian cancer, she realized with her 21 years of movement education that she would have to design her own rehabilitation program. After healing herself through exercise, Emilee published her medically endorsed book, Reclaim Your Strength and Hope: Exercises for Cancer Core Recovery, which includes safe and effective exercises for women recovering from ovarian and other abdominal cancers.

Emilee is a Certified Grief Educator and through The Cancer Core Recovery Project is able to provide emotional grief support for women struggling with Grief after Cancer.

Package Includes:

• 12 Month Access To The Heal & Thrive Program
• Based on your specific needs, (3) 60 Minute Private Movement Sessions

No matter what stage of your recovery you are at, I will help you create a safe and encouraging program that will help you reclaim your strength.

I understand that you might not feel comfortable going back to your local Pilates or yoga class because you are worried about hurting yourself.

You do not need to wait until you feel better to start you movement recovery program. I can better help you navigate the appropriate exercises for you at the stage of recovery you are in.

START your healing movement program today!

Doctors Endorsement