NZ is a 65-year old newly retired woman. She is married and has 3 grown sons. She is a retired Special Ed English teacher and reports having loved her job. She is active, takes part in yoga classes and Tai Chi at the local Senior Center, plays pickle ball weekly, enjoys online Barre and workouts classes and walks daily. She also has arthritis in her left knee and experiences less flexibility in that leg, as well. She reports eating very well, take probiotics daily and says she experiences healthy digestion. She also reports waking up a lot in the night w/ "racing thoughts" and says it's usually about things that cannot be fixed (she says things from the past).

NZ reports having a 6-7 level of stress daily on a scale of 1-10. She reports that her stress is due to "self-imposed" reasons including taking on the stress of others around her, in particular her husband. She reports holding stress in her jaw, neck, traps and shoulders. She is a highly intense person in demeanor, very articulate in speech and it is clear that she places a lot of expectations upon herself.

NZ reports gaining the most joy from her family. She says she has "the greatest husband ever," 3 amazing sons and is the grandmother of a 26 year old little girl. She states she has an excellent support system of friends whom she refers to as her "super friends" and has a good network and community at the local Senior Center. She also appears to have a sense of sadness when speaking about certain things like a close friend who died in 2023 out of the blue (ties in to her thoughts on a Higher Power) and her Father in Laws recent passing.

Was raised Jewish, but has a strong sense of cynicism towards religion and spirituality. When asked if she is spiritual, her response is, "depends on when you ask me." She states that she does not necessarily believe in a Higher Power anymore because she does not understand why bad things happen to good people. She says she is only Jewish when it comes to traditions surrounding the holidays.

NZ is very aware of the expectations she places on herself and says she was raised in a household where her mother was very tough on her. Sh

1) Ishvara Praidhana - The practice of Surrender
- Discussed basic concepts of the Yamas and Niyamas (using the book The Yamas and Niyamas by Deborah Adele) and focusing on Ishvarapranidhana as a concept for her to see the world with a more "big picture" lens, hopefully creating a letting go of some of her attachments to other peoples' issues/problems as well as her own fixation on her emotions.

2) Who am I? Discussion surrounding Sutra 1.2 as well ad Aparigraha and looking at oneself with a clear lens versus a cracked lens. My client had a difficult time retiring from her job in education and letting go of her identity as an educator, and mentioned on more than one occasion, not really knowing who she was after she retired. This also plays into her role as a mother of adult children. During our sessions it came up that she struggles w/ being the Mom of only boys because she feels that they have a tighter relationship with their father so discussion around attachment to expectation of how her kids view her was also mentioned.

Arthritis L Knee - placed blanket under knees to add additional padding when on hands on knees. Client reports being able to do most things and will let me know if it's giving her knee problems during the asana part of our sessions.

1) Research also shows the benefits of yoga for adults living w/ arthritis in terms of improving their physical activity levels and overall physical wellness.
2) Research shows reduction in pain and stiffness in those suffering from knee OA and participating in yoga.
3) Research shows improvement in the psychological aspects of a persons wellbeing when suffering from OA and participating in a yoga program.

Sharma M. Yoga as an alternative and complementary approach for arthritis: a systematic review. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2014 Jan;19(1):51-8. doi: 10.1177/2156587213499918. Epub 2013 Sep 10. PMID: 24647379.

Moonaz SH, Bingham CO 3rd, Wissow L, Bartlett SJ. Yoga in Sedentary Adults with Arthritis: Effects of a Randomized Controlled Pragmatic Trial. J Rheumatol. 2015 Jul;42(7):1194-202. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.141129. Epub 2015 Apr 1. PMID: 25834206; PMCID: PMC4490021.

Lu J, Kang J, Huang H, Xie C, Hu J, Yu Y, Jin Y, Wen Y. The impact of Yoga on patients with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS One. 2024 May 16;19(5):e0303641. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303641. PMID: 38753745; PMCID: PMC11098307.

• 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.