Helping Cancer Warriors Reclaim Inner Peace, One Breath at a Time
Striving, anxiety, worries about the future, and a constant preoccupation with to-do lists are common burdens that many carry. Volunteer yoga teacher Simone Davis encourages her students at the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) to let go of these pressures as they arrive for class each week.
To set a calming atmosphere, she begins each session with a period of reflection and grounding, inviting participants to check in with their minds, bodies and breath. This practice helps them focus on being present in the moment rather than getting lost in thoughts about what lies ahead.
And while other aspects of life may demand excellence and achievement, Simone emphasises that there is no “end game” or fixed routine to follow in her class. Instead, the flow of each session adapts to meet the participants' needs—whether that means incorporating more stretching, building strength, or simply allowing time for rest.
“Listen to your body,” Simone always reminds her students. “Even if you need to come here for an hour and just lie down, that’s okay!”
Seeking Solace on the Mat
Simone’s yoga journey began in 2004, but it was only in 2012, when she moved to Singapore, that her interest in the practice began to bloom.
“I became really good at squatting,” she says with a laugh. “Before, I couldn’t go below chair-level. After coming to Singapore and doing [yoga] every day, squatting has become so easy!”
Jokes aside, it was also during this time—when Simone was struggling with a new identity as a housewife—that she began to find solace in her practice.
“Yoga gives me an uplifting sense of peace,” she muses. “That time I’m on the mat is like being on an island I’ve escaped to for an hour. I think it’s so important to sometimes escape from the outside world and just be with yourself.”
Arguably, it was also yoga that gave Simone with a sense of stability when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. Living thousands of miles away in Singapore, she grappled with not just shock and worry, but also helplessness as she was unable provide the support she desperately wanted to offer.
Being trained as a yoga teacher gave her respite: Simone stepped up to do her part in the battle against cancer by teaching yoga to cancer warriors and survivors, first at Breast Cancer Foundation, and then with SCS.
Practice and All is Coming
It has been eight years since Simone started teaching yoga and one year since she joined SCS. Looking back at her journey as both teacher and friend, she is constantly in awe of the stories her students share, and humbled for the chance to be part of their journey.
“Seeing their development and progression is amazing,” she enthuses, recalling how she showed the class a pose on her first day and was met with a chorus of “there’s no way we’re ever going to be able to do that”.
Today, after weeks of practice, the same people who doubted their abilities at the start, now execute it with ease. “How amazing is that?” Simone says with a smile.
The lessons they learned on the mat are likely to resonate in other areas of life: have faith, show up, and recognise that you are capable of more than you realise.