• 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.

Meditate on physical and mental suffering and what it means to you

Journal on Sutra 2.15 or the Buddhist quote

Consider what you'd like to address during our last session and let me know.

Centering

Body, mind, breath (Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.)
Affirmation
Chant

Brief Check-in

Introduced Yoga Sutra 2.15 describing the four main causes of our (human) suffering. This led to a discussion. Her pain doctor and PT both spoke to the mind-body connection with her.

pariṇāma tāpa saṁskāra duḥkhaiḥ guṇa-vr̥tti-virodhācca duḥkham-eva sarvaṁ vivekinaḥ

In Yoga Sutra 2.15, Patanjali tells us that, “To one of discrimination, everything is painful indeed, due to its consequences: the anxiety and fear over losing what is gained; the resulting impressions left in the mind to create renewed cravings; and the constant conflict among the three gunas, which control the mind.”

Physical and Mental Suffering According to the Yoga Sutras

Parinama: Change, Transition
Tapa: Torment and Pain
Turning Down the Volume on Physical and Mental Suffering
Samskara: Scars of the Past and Trauma
Dukhaih (translated as “cause of pain, suffering”) applies to each of the first three words. And it applies to the next 3
ca means “also"
Guna Vrtti-Virodhat: Chaotic Fluctuations of Gunas
duhkham-eva sarvam vivekinah can be translated as “The wise, discerning person understands that all of those (above) invariably cause suffering.”

(https://yogauonline.com/yoga-health-benefits/yoga-for-depression-and-anxiety/4-causes-of-physical-and-mental-suffering-a-yogic-perspective/) (Olga Kabel C-IAYT)

First level of suffering - physical and mental sensations of pain and discomfort that we identify as suffering. This is primarily at the sensory level: painful sensations and feelings.

Second level of suffering is suffering over impermanence.

Third level of suffering is spiritual ignorance.

How do we turn down the volume on suffering? (I shared both articles with PAM.0

In Buddhism,
The moment you know how your suffering came to be, you are already on the path of release from it. —Thich Nhat Hanh
(https://integralyogamagazine.org/the-yoga-of-suffering-its-philosophy-and-practice/)(Gary Kissiah)

Chair Asanas
Recentered
"Yoga breaths" crossing wrists at chest, out to side and up, looking up, down to chest in prayer hands, integrating
breath
Mt with overhead stretches
Heart openers
Arm push-ups
Leg kicks, ankle rotations, internal and external movements with feet

Supine
Ankle pumps
Thigh squeezes (quadriceps sets)
Buttocks squeezes (gluteal sets)
Heel slides (hip and knee flexion) (use a plastic bag under your heel to help it slide more easily)
Leg slides (abduction/adduction) (plastic bag option)

Yoga Nidra
Guided YN on witnessing pain and pleasure through introspection and detachment

You're the awareness.......not the pain
Now bring to awareness a recent experience of physical or emotional pleasure......You are not this pleasure — you
are the awareness of it.
Notice both sensations
Witness Consciousness
Observe sensations
Return to Sankalpa “I am steady and at peace in all experiences.”

Closing
Deep breaths
Seal the practice
Chant

PAM reported during our check-in that she was at the pool on Thursday but felt very weak. She added pool seats and pool foot/leg twirls. She did choose to purchase a pool membership. She seemed happy that the PT at the pool (not her PT) fixed her cane. It was recommended to her that she walk up and down the stairs to her car 3x/week. Her meds seem to be helping her to sleep at night.

On August 8, 2024, she will undergo a posterior surgery on her left hip. She's nervous.

She was engaged during the discussion regarding Yoga Sutra 2.15 and the Buddhist quote on pain and suffering. She proposed it as suffering being inherent to humans. We talked about our attachments to transient situations, objects, and even thoughts and emotions, which can fuel our suffering. She appeared interested in journaling on the philosophy, and her feelings after YN.

It was enjoyable spending time on a philosophical topic with PAM. She had many good insights and is well-read. She was familiar with the book referenced in one of the articles (Bessel van der Kolk, MD, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma) in the YogaU article.

The more I read various interpretations of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the more I learn. I want to continue to generalize what I'm learning from the various commentaries and apply them to my daily life. For years I've been actively working to direct my mind towards constructive and peaceful thoughts. Also, I've practiced selflessness since giving birth to my daughters who opened my eyes, heart, and mind to a whole new world. I've perpetually served others. I continue to work on cultivating inner peace almost daily. I need to better develop a non-attached attitude, and implement yoga completely and wholly into my life.

Closing session. Listen to questions; reflect on her journey during our six months together. Affirm strengths and growth, etc. Offer to be there for her when she needs me to be via scheduling more sessions.

Short practice w/ a YN at the end.