Gentle Recovery

1. Bend, but don’t break.

Be flexible, yet firmly rooted. Although the bamboo is strong and hard it has firm foundations which are flexible enough to allow them to sway harmoniously with the wind, never fighting against it. Even the strongest wind tires itself out in time, but the bamboo remains standing, humble and still.

This go-with-the-flow attitude on an emotional and physical level can be a powerful asset in life, especially when living with and recovering from a cancer.

2. What may look weak is STRONG.

A single bamboo may look small and weak in comparison to the bigger trees in the forest. But remember, the bamboo can endure very cold winters and intensely hot summers, it’s often the only tree left standing after a typhoon. Let us not underestimate ourselves based in old notions of what is “weak” and what is “strong”. Let us be like the bamboo, learning to stand tall and proud, believing in and knowing our own strengths, knowing we are as strong as we need to be.

The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists – Japanese proverb

3. It’s all about strong foundations.

The bamboo takes 3 years to grow its roots, once this is complete it can grow up to 20 meters in just 4 months!!!

“Being like a bamboo” is a good analogy for The Gentle Recovery Programme for women who have finished their breast cancer treatment. The online programme is all about cultivating a strong foundation, strength, flexibility and poise in body and mind. Harnessing the powerful innate ability to be resilient and strong, yet soft and open no matter what life throws at us.