• 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.

• Three-part breathing
• Meditation – gratitude (to start the day)
• Gentle stretch -joint movement, child-table-downward dog, cobra, hand to big toe, bound angle pose, savasana
• Take note of her physical, mental and emotional experience before and after a hike.

The client has a history of lower lumbar disk compression (bulging disk), now generally reduced flexibility, especially of the hips and knees. The session focuses on grounding and building upper body and core strength.
• Check in
• Centering – witness practice
• Eye movement
• Warm up – head & neck, spine, shoulders and arms, hips, knees, ankles and toes
• ‘Ha’ breath
• Cat-cow
• Puppy
• Child-table-downward dog
• Mountain
• Chair
• Sun salutation with chair
• Wide legged forward fold
• Bridge
• Supine hand to big toes
• Boat
• Seated leg lift
• Supine twist
• Savasana – guided imagery with ‘Wild geese poem’ by Mary Oliver
• Three-part breathing with mudra
• Meditation – focus on the breath with chin mudra

The client is very motivated about home practices. She wants to lose weight and feel better about herself. She exercises regularly (gym during the week and hike on a weekend). However, I feel that she often overdoes things that are beyond her physical ability. For example, she had a cold and was in bed on Thursday. Although she has not fully recovered from the cold, she went hiking on Saturday. She aimed for a long hike (6 miles), but after a mile in, she did not feel well and had to turn around. We discussed listening to the body and perhaps a walk would be better than hiking up a hill; slowly building up her stamina over time and not overdoing it. I suggested that she keeps a log of her hike – how she feels before and after, the distance and difficulty. I do hope that by keeping a log like this will help her notice her limitation as well as tracking progress. She thinks that it is a good idea.

I taught ‘ha’ breath after the warmup which seemed to work well. She enjoyed it. I offered a bolster to put under her knees during savasana, but she declined as she felt okay at the time. After savasana, she felt slight discomfort at the lower back. We discussed the benefit of having a bolster under the knees during savasana, especially for someone who has lower back issues. She understood the reason why I offered a bolster to her. I should have been more assertive about the bolster, but I also wanted the client to experience how she would feel without it. The Wild Geese poem by Mary Oliver is about connecting with the natural world and embracing our imperfection.

Continue to work on improving mobility and strength (upper body and core).
• Centering – three-part breathing
• Lateral bend
• Shoulders shrug/roll
• Tabletop
• Cat-cow
• Downward dog
• Mountain
• Chair
• Sun salutation with chair support
• Warrior II
• Reverse warrior
• Side angle pose
• Cobra
• Locust
• Supported forward fold with chair support
• Legs up the chair
• Supine twist
• Savasana –
• Box breathing
• Meditation – gratitude