• Check in, centering, balanced hatha yoga set considering contraindications, relaxation (with imagery as appropriate),
• Balanced pranayama considering contraindications, meditation/centering.
• Include at least one suggestion from Karma, Bhakti, Raja, or Jnana Yoga tailored for this client.

Practice: Waterfall breath

Practice: Non-attachment off the mat. As you make decisions about actions you might choose to support your daughter, your friend - pause and check in. Are you performing your action as service from a place of balance, health, sattva?

Check In (lengthy)

Awareness Practice

Raja Yoga: Sutra 1.12 - practice and non-attachment

Discussion about creating a feedback tool for outcome measures

Pranayama: Waterfall breath

Shavasana

Client began check in by stating: "I am ADD." Very rajasic in her presentation today - spoke at a rapid cadence with few pauses for several minutes about a situation with a friend, as well as when she caught herself being frustrated after performing a small task/chore for her daughter.

She also shared some self-frustration after noticing she woke with low energy three days in a row, and realized she had not been going to bed on time. At the same time, she articulated "My awareness is getting better by the week, but d--n, have I been screwed up my whole life." She has also noticed with our sessions as well as sessions with her counselor, MFR therapy and meetings with her sponsor, that she is growing in practicing "detachment from what I'm unlearning as I'm learning new stuff." She described her days as becoming more "rich with connections and awareness."

In the anamaya kosha she had been feeling a "catch" in her left hip - it seemed to be a restriction/impingement with abduction and external rotation at the hip. With her nutrition she indicated that while she has been making more nutritious and health-promoting food choices, she would like to reduce her caffeine and sugar intake more.

I shared with her as we move forward with her serving as my Capstone client, I am creating a tool we can use to measure her growth in her goal areas, and she was excited by this, and I indicated some of the areas she has already checked in with during the session would be the areas I would look for her to self-report in each session as we move forward.

With her mentioning detachment and growing in awareness, I felt it was a good opportunity to explore sutra 1.12 further. She embraced the sutra, and had a deeply emotional response as she evaluated for herself both areas where she sees the growth of practicing non-attachment, as well as areas that are still very challenging for her to let go of expectations and desired outcomes - especially the desire/need to "fix."

After the practice of Waterfall breath, she shared that as she began the practice she felt her head "tingling," but the sensation subsided as she began to deepen and lengthen the exhale, as well as adding a brief pause.

This was a challenging session for me, but one from which I learned a great deal. As the client checks in and shares interactions she has with key relationships in her life, sometimes she will ask, "What do you think?" - and I carefully navigate my scope of practice bringing her back to the principles we find in the sutras, as well as our practices, sharing with her that, as she works with her breath and her thoughts to bring herself into balance, that allows her to view situations and respond from a sattvic and peaceful place.

Initially I had wanted to introduce her to kapalabati, especially when she began by sharing how she had noted the low energy. As we talked about practice and non-attachment and she became increasingly upset with herself about areas where she is still struggling with that, I felt that returning to the calm of waterfall breath - which last session she described as her "new favorite" would serve her better.

Again check in was more lengthy than I had anticipated. Do I need to intervene to keep her from being drawn into stories, and encourage her to anchor more to the present moment - or do I allow her sharing to be whatever she needs it to be? (I'll probably bring this up at the group mentoring session shortly)

Check In

Awareness Practice

Pranayama: Kapalabati - slow (1 expulsion/sec), 15-20 per round

Would like to explore some gentle asana to support her strength and core goals, but also want to see if she is still experiencing discomfort with the left hip.

Also, since I was unable to include Yoga Nidra this session due to time, I would like to make sure there is time for it next session - making that the only physical/asana practice if necessary.