• 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.

Please review the section on Wisdom Teaching prior to the weekend.

Netra Viyayaman
Asana –
o Tadasana with affirmation
o Half-moon
o Uttanaasana
o Ardhad Chandrasana like a 5 pointed star with hands free
o King Dancer
o Forward bend with spinal stretch
o Spinal Extension and Flexion
o Standing Strut
o Standing Twist

Breathing Practice -
Nadi Sudi for 3-5 minutes. Add affirmation when breathing in, something you want to develop in your life, and breath out something that you want to change or eliminate.

Meditation Practice: 2 minutes
o Mantra repetition - following your breath with a mantra like you have been doing when we practice together. Say it mentally. For example, you can mentally say “I am getting stronger” when you inhale, and say “impatience” when you exhale.
o Breath normally and slowly during meditation. Do not try to make your breath happen. Allow the breath to calm you down to relax you. In order for this to happen the breath should be normal, gentle and allowed to become slower, and you will find that your mind begins to follow and relax.

Wisdom Teachings and Practices – please re-read this week:
We discussed ‘steeling our emotions’ so that we do not allow what others say to hurt us.

When someone says something hurtful to you and you find you cannot study and your mind ruminates about what was said – we discussed nipping the rumination in the bud each and every time and having a serious discussion with yourself about this stopping the rumination. Remember that rumination is an internal stress that you create. I know you understand this but you must ‘put your foot down’ with yourself and stop this habit. The asana will help you a great deal and the wisdom teachings will help a great deal to release the stress and to educate your mind.

We discussed that you must ‘practice steeling’ your emotions so that you are not so sensitive to the things others say and so that you do not create internal stress. Steeling your emotions must be a practice, as in Sutra I.12 “Mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment”; and Sutra I.13 “Here Patanjali means continuous practice… It means you become eternally watchful, scrutinizing every thought and word and action.”

You mentioned that sitting in silence in meditation is still very difficult. Your heart rate increases because the mind is restless and when you try ‘hard’ to bring it back it gives you more stress. So we discussed about being gentle and non-judgmental with the mind when it goes into a thought and bringing it back to the object of mediation. Try to not be hurried and not yank the mind back, don’t force it back. In relation to meditation, we discussed Sutra’s I.12 and I.13 and 1.14, and Titiksha.

These are the Yoga Sutras we discussed:
Sutra I.12: These mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment.

Sutra I.13: Of these two, effort toward steadiness of mind is practice.

Titiksha – cultivating even-mindedness/mental evenness, patience, dispassionate endurance.

Sutra I.14: Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.

When we spoke about Sutra I.12 These mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment. You asked does it mean we have to become non-attached to our own feelings? Yes we have to be non-attached to our own feelings. We have to restrain ourselves – we have to self-control. When we are attached to our feelings we may be blinded by them and we will not be able to think clearly and do the best thing. Sutra I.13, says our mind must be steady and that we have to practice that continuously – “eternally watchful, scrutinizing every thought”. That is how we must be. When your son shouts his behavior triggers you and your mind gets ‘blocked’ – take a moment and practice even-mindedness/steadiness of mind so that you can think clearly and not react.

We spoke about how we must build the relationship with our inner friend so that we respond to things in life from a calm place and a clear mind. Meditation is the way we can connect with our inner friend and build that relationship. Sutra I.14 says: Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness. This means that we have to do a practice every day so that we can have an anchor - meaning we cultivate stability and strength through the practice and that keeps us grounded and calm – the practice and your inner friend will be there for you when things get challenging. Remember that you said your friend – “your loving soul, so clear, clean and expanded and happy inside is always there, no stimuli can destroy it.” You must believe in and you must keep trying to reach that Friend.

Through our meditation practice we will more quickly change our habits, patterns of thinking and behavior. These are impulses that we have created over the years - it is thinking ‘without’ thinking and acting ‘without’ thinking. It will take some time to dislodge and replace these patterns with new ways of thinking and behaving. That is one reason why Sutra I.14 says - Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness, is important for us to study.
As soon as you start building that anchor within you with all earnestness to succeed you will see some changes in yourself quickly. For example, you may see that you do not react to anyone’s criticism of you nor to your son’s shouting because you can make yourself become immune (by the practice of ‘steeling’ your emotions) to the triggering (and control of your inner environment) as a result your practice will open your mind to the ability to think clearly.

Habits and patterns are deep seated and we must be patient with ourselves and we must mindfully change them out with the Yoga tools we have.

Centering.

Netra Viyayaman
Asana –
o Tadasana with affirmation
o Half-moon
o Uttanaasana
o Ardhad Chandrasana like a 5 pointed star with hands free
o King Dancer
o Forward bend with spinal stretch
o Spinal Extension and Flexion
o Standing Twist

Deep Relaxation:
o Full body tensing and releasing (Seegra Savaasana).
o Body Scan – from the head down to the feet and then up again.
o Yoga Nidra

Breathing Practice -
Nadi Sudi for 5 minutes. Add affirmation when breathing in, something you want to develop in your life, and breath out something that you want to change or eliminate.

Meditation Practice:
o Breath normally ~ slowly during meditation. Do not try to make your breath happen. Allow the breath to calm you down to relax you. In order for this to happen the breath should be normal, gentle and allowed to become slower, and you will find that your mind begins to follow and relax.

Question: “What has happened in your life this week where you would have needed Yoga Therapy.”

Wisdom Teachings that need more review and discussion:
Sutra I.12: These mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment.

Sutra I.13: Of these two, effort toward steadiness of mind is practice.

Titiksha – cultivating even-mindedness/mental evenness, patience, dispassionate endurance. Gita pages 201-3, 474

Sutra I.14: Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.

Client reports that she likes doing Netra Viyayaman, it helps her to focus and calm down.

Client about doing Yoga Nidra.

Sitting in silence in meditation is still very difficult. When she sits for meditation her heart rate increases because her mind is restless and when she tries ‘hard’ to bring it back it gives her more stress. So we discussed about being gentle and non-judgmental with the mind when it goes into a thought and she brings it back to the object of mediation. In addition, not being hurried and not yanking the mind back, not forcing it back. In relation to meditation we discussed Sutra’s I.12 and I.13 and 1.14, and Titiksha.
Sutra I.12: These mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment.
Sutra I.13: Of these two, effort toward steadiness of mind is practice.
Titiksha – cultivating even-mindedness/mental evenness, patience, dispassionate endurance. Gita pages 201-3, 474
Sutra I.14: Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.

Client’s husband is often sharp with his tongue towards her – in relation to this we discussed ‘steeling our emotions’ so that we do not allow what other say to hurt us.
When client’s husband says something hurtful (often it is about something small) and then she finds alone needing to study for her medical exam, her mind ruminates about what her husband said to her – we discussed nipping rumination in the bud - something we have discussed before. This rumination is an internal stress that she creates. She understands this and she understands that we are capable of controlling our internal stress. She needs to practice.
We discussed that she must ‘practice steeling’ her emotions so that she is not so sensitive to the things others say and as not create internal stress. Steeling her emotions must be a practice, as in Sutra I.12 “Mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment”; and Sutra I.13 “Here Patanjali means continuous practice… It means you become eternally watchful, scrutinizing every thought and word and action.”
The asana is already helping her to sit and study after she does it, and the wisdom teachings will help a great deal – these need to practiced and supported.

The client appreciates the wisdom teachings, but it is matter of remembering them and implementing them in our lives.

Centering.

Netra Viyayaman
Asana –
o Tadasana with affirmation
o Half-moon
o Uttanaasana
o Ardhad Chandrasana like a 5 pointed star with hands free
o King Dancer
o Forward bend with spinal stretch
o Spinal Extension and Flexion
o Standing Strut
o Standing Twist

Deep Relaxation:
o Full body tensing and releasing (Seegra Savaasana).
o Body Scan – from the head down to the feet and then up again.
o Yoga Nidra (do a guided Yoga Nidra).

Breathing Practice -
Nadi Sudi for 5 minutes. Add affirmation when breathing in, something you want to develop in your life, and breath out something that you want to change or eliminate.

Meditation Practice: 2 minutes
o Mantra repetition - following your breath with a mantra like you have been doing when we practice together. Say it mentally. Previously, we discussed that our friend is our Soul and that we can call within to that friend to guide us.
o Breath normally and slowly during meditation. Do not try to make your breath happen. Allow the breath to calm you down to relax you. In order for this to happen the breath should be normal, gentle and allowed to become slower, and you will find that your mind begins to follow and relax.

Ask: “What has happened in your life this week where you would have needed Yoga Therapy.” (or) "what Yoga therapy practice will benefit you right now?"

Wisdom Teachings that we need to continue to study and discussion:
Sutra I.12: These mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment.
Sutra I.13: Of these two, effort toward steadiness of mind is practice.
Titiksha – cultivating even-mindedness/mental evenness, patience, dispassionate endurance. Gita pages 201-3, 474
Sutra I.14: Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.
Sutra I.15 – Vairagyam/Non-attachment – The consciousness of self-mastery in one who is free from craving for objects seen or heard about is non-attachment.