Kayko provided a clear, complete and concise use case study. She did a thorough intake and worked with her client to identify realistic short-term goals (maintain & improve flexibility lost from the late effects of polio, reduce lower back pain, improve balance, and improve self-awareness & self-regulation of emotions) and long-term goals (establish regular yoga practice for body, mind & spirit to improve QoL). Kayko did an excellent job identifying how Yoga Therapy could help using the panchamaya model & provided a well-rounded care plan. Kayko also cited references & resources to support her action plan.

Kayko did an excellent job documenting each Yoga Therapy session. She identified activities performed during each session and offered her client homework (resources to read or watch, practices & journaling exercises) to deepen her practice. Kayko did an excellent job summarizing each session, updating the action plan as needed, and offering thoughtful reflection & self-evaluation. Overall, Kayko did an exceptional job with this case study.

Kayko demonstrates an excellent job demonstrating critical thinking in her thoughts and action plans. Kayko developed an asana practice to help her client maintain joint health, muscular tone and flexibility to address the effects of polio. During each session, Kayko introduced the poses (e.g. joint freeing exercises, balancing poses, lateral spinal flexion, hamstring stretches) to her client & made adjustments as needed to address her client's back pain and concern about spinal twists. Kayko progressively introduced different types of breathing practices to help her client balance her energy (nervousness, anxiety, sleep disturbance) & she offered different forms of meditation (e.g. witnessing practice, dhyana mudra) to help her client build self-awareness, discernment and self-compassion. Kayko introduced useful sutras (e.g. pratipaksha bhavana & steady/easeful practice) and asked her client to journal to help her reframe emotional & physical challenges. Kayko clearly linked the what, how & why during individual sessions, and she provided useful resources (video links, handouts, journal) to help her client build her own personal practice. Kayko also measured the success of her plans by talking with her client about what worked (or didn't) to ensure that her client's goals were met. Kayko's client was very pleased with the yoga therapy sessions and is continuing to pursue her home practice.

Kayko demonstrated a strong understanding of the physical, energetic, mental, emotional and spiritual challenges that her client is facing. She tailored the asana practice, enabling her client to move from feeling afraid of falling at the beginning of the series to feeling more confident in her flexibility and balance. Kayko also helped her client build a more contemplative practice by adding breathing, meditation, and Yoga sutra self-study techniques, enabling her client to handle personal & family challenges more effectively. Kayko demonstrated exceptional job in analyzing her client's needs, helping her client set realistic goals, creating & implementing an action plan, adapting the plan as needed, and analyzing what worked or not. As a result, both Kayko & her client saw positive progress in meeting the stated goals from the beginning to the end of the case study.

Kayko is an effective & compassionate yoga therapist. She is an attentive listener, who not only hears but accurately interprets what her client shares. Kayko works with her client to define reasonable goals and highlights what (or what not) Yoga Therapy can offer, and she works with her client to measure whether or not those goals were met. She prepares thoughtful action plans & adapts them as needed to address physical limitations or emotional fears. Kayko incorporates a variety of yoga therapy techniques (e.g. movement, breathing practices, sound vibration / chanting, symbolic hand gestures, relaxation, chakras, witnessing, self-study & journaling, meditation) to help her client heal body, mind and spirit. Kayko also provides useful resources to help her client build a personal practice and promote self-care. Finally, I appreciate Kayko's own self-awareness and reflection.

For example, in her 1st session, Kayko followed her initial plan even though she noticed that her client was tired & irritable. Upon reflection, Kayko noted that she would have liked to slow down the pace of the session. It was lovely to see that in Session 2, Kayko found that the session was well-paced and ended on time. With experience, I am confident that Kayko will trust her instincts and slow down when needed and become comfortable with not doing everything listed in the action plan.

Kayko did an excellent job identifying and referencing credible resources including research articles on the client's underlying condition (polio, the late effects of polio (LoFP), Dupuytren contracture). Kayko also referenced credible resources on how yoga techniques (e.g. asana, breathing practices, meditation, mudras, chakras and self-study & reflection of specific Yoga Sutras) could support her client in achieving her physical, mental, emotional and spiritual goals.

Kayko demonstrates excellent critical thinking about the topic to offer an individualized approach to meet her client's goals. For example, during assessment, she observed shoulder height asymmetry and a tightness in the R side of the trunk and assessed that this might be contributing to her client's lower back pain. Upon this observation / assessment, Kayko did appropriate research and offered her client a variety of stretches, joint-freeing exercises, lateral flexion, and supported balancing poses to help reduce her client's discomfort. Based on her client's feedback, she continued to adapt postures until she & her client found a sequence that helped her client feel good. This is an excellent example how Kayko approaches her yoga therapy sessions differently than teaching a standard yoga class.

I also appreciate the thoughtful (and creative) ways that Kayko supports her clients. She develops useful handouts to support her client's self-study & growth (such as journaling questions for specific sutras) and/or sadhana (homework chart). As a result of Kayko's creative and thoughtful resources, her client was successful in developing a home practice that has become very important to her daily sense of peace.

Kayko is very strong at listening, observing, interpreting, and assessing what her client says, acts, moves, responds, progresses, etc.
She works with her client to understand what Yoga Therapy can offer & to set reasonable goals that can be accomplished in a short vs long time frame. As a result, Kayko has been very effective in developing action plans that support the whole person -- body, mind & spirit. In addition, Kayko met with her client at the end of the series to evaluate the program. Her client commented that the program exceeded her expectations "I loved the way the program evolved over time".

I don't know if it is because both Kayko and I are becoming more familiar with the IYTh Platform, but it was easier to review this case study then any of the previous case studies. Kayko provided me with access to her handwritten client intake notes and to her ongoing action plan (which is adjusted after each session). This helped me gain an overview of her client, her client's goals & the Yoga techniques that Kayko used to create and implement an action plan. Her case study was well written, clear, concise, creative and properly referenced. Well done.