• 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.

• Adjustments and adaptations you made to your care plan: DEJ wanted to know if she could continue to practice her own yoga sequence, which she has written down, from time to time. After we reviewed the poses together, we decided that it would be best if she tried to practice the new yoga therapy plan, so we can see if her twists, forward bends, and/or kapalabhati was making things worse for her.
She really responded well to the practice and detachment wisdom teaching, so we decided that we will be going through the yoga sutras together at the end of our sessions from now on.

o any progress towards goals: DEJ has indicated she is back to writing every day for the first time in a long time, which is very exciting for her and makes her feel more peaceful. She also feels that she is getting stronger but is worried she will get hurt. She then said that her worry is an opportunity to practice witnessing and detachment.
o review and revision of goals: DEJ decided she wanted to make a goal to be able to balance on one foot in tree pose without assistance for 10 seconds on each foot by the summertime. After discussion, she also said she would like to get to the point where she can hold goddess pose for 30 seconds without assistance as well. However, she does not seem overly attached to these goals, and mentioned that “if she aims for the moon, even if she misses, she will land among the stars”.

o Physical level: DEJ seems to be generally moving towards the stability, strength, and alignment that we discussed and she desires, though she is obviously limited in her physical mobility. She mentioned some tightness through the left hip adductor during our last meeting, which we discussed might be coming from doing so many new movements. We agreed that she will take things slow and be careful with her hips.

o Energetic level: DEJ says she is more energetic than she was before we started working together. She is clearly inspired by the new movements and the fact that she is writing again. She said that she still has some low energy days, but practicing detachment and self-compassion has helped her to rest when she needs to rest without feeling as guilty as she has in the past.

o Emotional: frustration towards body and self for her pain and limitations, which is helped by detachment, but not absolved completely. Still stressed about her children and family life but feels that the grounding and strengthening movements and her writing are helping her to “stand her ground” against her worries and stress. She says she has been trying to laugh more, which has been helping her, as well.

o Intellectual / Sense of self: DEJ feels inspired since she is writing again and hopes to start to write a children’s book soon. She still struggles with self-criticism and over-identification with her thoughts but is practicing detachment and discrimination and hopes that she can eventually ignore the voice of the “inner critic”.

o Spiritual orientation and support plan: DEJ has a spiritual group that she spends time with a few times a year. She feels pulled to see a psychic. I told her that it is possible her intuition is sending her messages but wasn’t completely certain how to handle that beyond just saying that. I do not have a psychic to refer her to.

See feedback google doc.

one example of DEJ’s homework after one of our sessions was to do her alternate nostril breathing, her chair-assisted balance work, cobra against the wall, goddess with the chair, high lunge with a chair, and five minutes of silent witness consciousness with an emphasis on detachment.

I would have been more careful with my research on the front end.

I feel that the structures are in place for me to be optimally supported as questions arise. As of right now, I’m comfortable with just continuing with the process and taking the feedback that comes to me and adjusting as I learn. The only question I can think of now is, do we have a workflow template that covers the A to Z process for being a practicing yoga therapist?

Yes, I absolutely loved it.