• 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.

Pratipaksha Bhavana: Notice when you start to have judgemental or harmful thoughts towards yourself. What would it feel like to cultivate the opposite? Notice what thoughts are present in the mind, what emotions and sensations are present in your body after the practice.

Nadi Shodhana: explore the practice at different times of the day and in different contexts - upon waking, when you feel the need to reach for sugar for energy, to help calm the mind before bed. Notice what you are feeling in your body, mind and emotions before and after the practice.

Surya Namaskar: when possible practice a few rounds in the morning - facing the sun, even outside if possible. If you do, notice how energizing the body and mind in the morning might shift how you experience your day in your body, mind and emotions. Does it shift the need to reach for sugary food or coffee for energy? Does it change the thoughts and attitudes you have towards yourself?

Check In

Homework Review: JAPA, Brahmari

Awareness Practice

Karma Yoga: article on Tikkun Olam: https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/tikkun-olam#:~:text=Tikkun%20olam%20also%20refers%20to,up%20of%20good%20and%20evil. - Discuss ways she incorporates selfless service now, or goals to do so towards her ultimate goal to support healing for others?

Raja: Sutra 1.33 - The Locks and Keys
Sutra 2.33-34 - Pratipaksha Bhavana

These sutras all speak to the idea of restoring balance. Want to bring in the idea of the 10 pairs of opposites from Ayurveda, and how they can inform our checking in with ourselves, and how we apply asana, pranayama, meditation, lifestyle practices

Asana: using asana to work with observations of imbalance. How do you choose asanas for daily practice?

Surya Namaskar

"Child's pose flow": moving through Chaturanga Dandasana, slowly lowering down with control, and pressing back into Balasana.

Pranayama: Nadi Shodhana

Shavasana and Yoga Nidra

Client presented sattvic, and we met immediately following my restorative yoga class, which she had attended. Client shared that overall had a good week, but still struggling with what she considers self-harming and self-sabotaging behaviors with sugary foods. She had practiced Brahmari breath throughout the week - even experimented with it (eyes) open while she was in traffic - sharing that she found it helpful to feel more "connected with the flow of traffic" as opposed to feeling stuck/trapped by it. She had also explored Vriksasana outdoors in a mossy area of her yard, in the afternoon and before sunset. She loved connected with the internal movement in her body and all the sensations of finding internal balance. She had not explored meditation with her Catholic rosary beads as she had not been able to find them.

I introduced her to sutra 1.33 - the Locks and Keys, and specifically exploring using the keys with herself, also revisiting the first yama of Ahimsa, and what it might look like to apply ahimsa to her relationship with herself - with movement in her body, her breathing, her thoughts and words to herself, as well as her emotions.

I shared with her the article I had read on Tikkun Olam, and asked how she used her practice of Tikkun as Karma Yoga. The name of God with which she connects has a focus on accountability - choosing to not allow oneself to feel like a victim of the actions of others or the circumstances of life, but taking action for herself and others to support healing. She shared that she battles thoughts of feeling "not good enough," and I gave her an overview of Pratipaksha Bhavana (sutras 2.33-2.34). What if when she had that thought, she instead chose to cultivate the opposite thought? What might that feel like in her body? In her emotions?

I suggested we revisit Surya Namaskar. First I observed as she practiced one round, which she did fairly rapidly. I guided her through two rounds, advising we would practice about ten times slower than her first round, giving an opportunity to practice Ahimsa with herself. I asked her to spend at least five breaths while in each pose, and to move through the transitions slowly - taking several breaths as she moved through each one. After one round she shared that she felt her heart rate more elevated, her entire body was warm - specifically the muscles - and that by taking the breaths she provided her body with more energy in order to really move through the poses. For the final round I encouraged her to be mindful of the balance between effort and ease - noticing where she felt the effort throughout her body moving into and out of each asana, and where she could connect with and find more ease with each one. After the final round she shared that she did experience more ease with each asana, except the plank.

I encouraged her to work with Chaturanga Dandasana in a "Child's Pose Flow" - slowly lowering down to feel the engagement of her core and allowing her chest and triceps to decelerate the movement.

In continue to explore balancing not just the body but the mind and energy, I guided her through Nadi Shodhana. She reported feeling both calm and energized after the practice, feeling like she was "filled with oxygen."

Even though she had experienced a Shavasana and Yoga Nidra practice in the earlier class, I offered her another. She has shared that she often asks herself a question during class, and uses that question as a meditation focus during Shavasana. For this practice of Yoga Nidra I encouraged her to spend time first observing the breath, then observing the mind, then spending five minutes observing the peace within. After the practice she shared that was "different," but she enjoyed the quiet and calm of the exploration.

When she mentioned her behavior with food and thoughts as "self-harming" I shifted the care plan to address Ahimsa and introduce the Locks and Keys, and I feel that both wisdom teachings were timely and useful for her to explore. While I had a slightly different plan in mind, I felt the need to shift the session plan I had to meet her where she was at the moment. I feel adding those teachings, revisiting Surya Namaskar and introducing Nadi Shodhana were the best practices to offer at the moment.

This was the final session of the case study, however we are meeting again for a TRE focused session.