• 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.

Continue homework from Session # 1 (see session 1 note & plan)

Homework session # 2

The Joint Freeing Series (JFS) is a series of therapeutic yoga exercises that relief joint pain and stiffness and enhance joint mobility.
Oiling Your Hip Joint
Starting Position: Lie on your back with your legs straight on the floor (or bed). Bend one knee towards the chest and place your hands behind the knee OR where they feel comfortable. Keeping both knees bend is one good option. (see picture # 2). Relax the upper body. Find your breath.
* Feel free to place a small pillow under your head and neck for support, keeping your spine nice and long (see picture # 3) For variations (see picture 1 # 2

Movement: Imagine a clock in front of you and use your hands to move your leg in a full circle targeting every number on your imaginary clock. Beginning with 12… 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7… 8… 9… 10… 11… 12. Slow movements to begin with. Easy does it. As you guide your leg, notice where you feel the sensations in the body. Moving with kindness and compassion. Adjust the movement or position to confidently answer “does this movement feel safe for my body today?” Combine your movements with your breath. Allow your breath to soften any sensations of discomfort or pain. Find what is comfortable for your body in this moment. When you are complete. Pause. And move your leg counterclockwise. Adapt the movement or position to ensure you can confidently answer: “will I be OK later if I continue this?” When you are complete, straighten both legs, allow your arms to rest alongside the body, or wherever they feel comfortable. Breathe. Sense. And. Feel. Repeat with the other leg.
6-8 circles, clockwise & counterclockwise, each side.

Stretches: Hamstring Stretch with Strap
Starting position: Begin by lying on the floor with both knees bend, soles of the feet in contact with the floor. Bend your right knee to place the strap securely around your right foot (this can be under the ball of the arch of your foot). Hold the strap with both hands and allow the shoulders to relax (see picture # 4).
* Consider placing a pillow under your head and neck. Consider using a towel behind your upper leg (see picture # 3).

Movement: Straighten your leg as much as it is possible without locking the knee. As you do so, flex the foot of your extended right leg, pressing the thigh and calf down towards the floor. Keep your leg pointing straight up to the ceiling. Don’t let it roll out to the side or across the body. Gently pull on the strap bringing your leg towards your head OR push the foot into the strap away from the body. Feel the stretch in the back of your right thigh. You should not feel any pressure behind the knee. Holt. Resist the urge to strain. Breathe comfortably. Return to the starting position. Repeat one or more times to reach a total of 60 seconds in the whole position. When you are complete, release the strap, straighten both legs, sense and feel. Then repeat on the other side. (You can do 2 sets of 30, or 4 sets of 15).
Standing Quadriceps Stretch (picture # 4)

Homework Session # 3
Swelling, pain and stiffness in the joints are common symptoms for people with arthritis. These exercises may help you to alleviate the symptoms affecting the fingers.

Start SLOWLY. Move SLOWLY. Combine movement with breath. Repeat each exercise 5-10 times with each hand. Build up GRADUALLY. Pause after each set. Sense and feel.

Knee-strengthening exercise

Strong muscles around the knee can help support the joint. For example, a strong quadriceps — the large muscle group in the front of your thigh — can take over the shock-absorbing role usually played by the meniscus or cartilage in the knee.

Wall sit: This exercise also strengthens the quadriceps. While standing with your back against the wall, bend your knees, lowering yourself into a sitting position. Hold this position for 20 seconds. Repeat.

Session?

"Peace is in Me" Meditation (Inspired by Kirtan Kriya)

This meditation can calm the nervous system, ground the mind, and help us return to inner peace
• Sit comfortably with your spine tall and hands resting on your knees or lap.
• Close your eyes or soften your gaze.

Repeat: Peace – Is – In – Me
Pair each word with a gentle finger tap:
• Peace – Thumb to index finger
• Is – Thumb to middle finger
• In – Thumb to ring finger
• Me – Thumb to pinky finger
Repeat slowly, rhythmically, and mindfully.
Add Breath & Intention (use your own breathing pattern):
• Inhale: Say the phrase silently in your mind once while doing the finger taps.
• Exhale: Repeat the phrase again, matching breath and movement.
As you continue:
• Whisper the mantra for 1–2 minutes
• Then say it silently for 2–4 minutes
• Whisper again for 1–2 minutes
• Finish with a few rounds spoken out loud, if comfortable
Visualization (Optional)
Imagine the words gently spiraling from your heart outward, filling the space around you with calm energy. With each repetition, feel the phrase become truer:
“Peace is in me... and I carry it into the world.”
Closing:
• Take one deep breath in… and exhale slowly.
• Let your hands rest. Sit quietly for a moment.
Can say silently:
“I am grounded. I am peaceful. I am present.”

Review Timeline: Intake and Assessment: (phone intake May 20; assessment May 22; mop-up assessment June 8)
We began Session #2 on July 8, 2024, with a check-in. I inquired about MJB's current physical and emotional well-being. She reported that her knees "did not hurt today" and that she is "pain-free when walking up the stairs." She teared up when talking about her husband, "I hope he will talk to me when he is dead."
We then discussed how yoga practices—including asana, breathwork, meditation, compassion, and devotion—may facilitate self-realization, referencing Sutras 1.16–1.19, as described by Nishala Davis in: Realization of the True Self in Yoga: Five Views* (Healing Relationships TT, 2021). MJB asked whether there is a shortcut to self-realization, wondering if she could "skip some of the steps." I shared that it may be possible to pursue self-realization through prayer, worship, and devotion, to which MJB expressed interest (Swami Satchidananda’s concept of "the highway to peace.")
Our discussion also included tools for managing her knee pain. Currently, MJB uses lotions, essential oils, and other non-interventional approaches. We explored a holistic approach that considers the inflammatory system, knowledge, and activity levels, referencing *Epiphaknee: A Modern Approach to Knee Osteoarthritis* by Moseley, Lorimer G., David Butler, and Tasha R. Stanton (NOI Group, 2022). MJB drew a connection between climbing stairs and moving towards enlightenment, stating that she wants to "run up" the stairs.
We then centered with breathing, with awareness on the heart, followed by an OM and meditation. Followed session plan, including JFS, model chair class for seniors (SMTT); included knee-strengthening exercises (strengthening quadriceps, Harvard Health: Knees and Hips, p. 8, 19), ended with a relaxation.
JUL 20, 2024 Session # 3
AUG 3, 2024 Session # 4
AUG 10, 2024 Session # 5
Session # 6?
Oct 12, 2024 Session 7
Dec 14, 2024, Session # 8
September 9?: Add: Surya Namaskar and Embodied Prayer (by Christine Brahmi Romero)

At some point she said that her husband might be depressed. "Many of his friends have died." She said that the insurance company will not longer pay for physical therapy because he has made no progress. She wished he would exercise, "but I can't force him. There is such a thing as autonomy."

SEP 7, 2025!! Session # 8
I began the session by asking MJB how she was feeling, how she's been since we last saw each other, and how she was doing physically, energetically, mental- emotionally, spiritually. She said that she was "happy" that her husband "has a brain." "I feel blessed." She recounted the story from 2016 when he was temporarily paralyzed related to treatment following an infection with encephalitis. "I feared that he may never walk again." She said she feels "blessed that he came home." "I just need someone to love." Back then she was looking forward to "the next forever."
- got an exercise book for her and Bob.

(Introduced Surya Namaskar and Embodied Prayer (by Christine Brahmi Romero). May not have been until Sept 7

I asked her if she would be able to commit to more sessions and that I would not be sure when those would be: "God could not have planned it better. Of course I can commit." "How can I get to a different level.?"
Stairs:
Sun-salutations & backbends? "chills all over my back."

Received 68 text messages between May 20, 2024 and today, in a addition to email messages.

May 20, 2024, Intake and assessment Session, # 1
June 11, 2024? May 20, 2024, Intake and Assessment Session, # 1
May 22, 2024 Intake and Assessment continued Session # 1a
June 4, 2024 Intake and assessment Session # 1b
June 9, we had planned session # 2 but MJB

Themes: Not all in the head: Believes in living a healthy lifestyle; "It combines what I would call a body spirituality with gentle athleticism (anything related to a person''s physical history, such as "medical history, diet, exercise, supplements, etc"

She wrote that she was thinking about "natural resources" that can make a differences to healing (in the context of neurological conditions). I haven’t studied it that much yet, but this morning the concept of using brain waves to affect muscles using techniques like meditation was prominent in my thinking... I believe we are entering a period in the history of civilization when the time is ripe to figure out much more about natural ways to bring about healing." (text, 21 May 2024, 12:01 am)

Responded immediately to the idea of stretching and took it up:
"Just this morning I finally figured out what is wrong with my knees!!! Over the past year when I have spent most of every day sitting with Bob, slouched in a chair with my legs out in front of me, my quads have shortened up. So, when I stand and try to pull back one foot or the other so my heel touches my butt, I can hardly pull it back even an inch or two!"

Wants to be in charge of her own problem:
"Now that I know what is wrong I can fix it pretty easily! Of course I am still interested in learning yoga, but I am so excited to figure out that my knees are not the problem and that this is easily fixable. So if you should look through the living room window and see me lying face down on the floor hanging onto one foot or the other, you will know that I am stretching my quads and thinking of you!!" (21 May, 11:31 am)

Initial positive response to yoga and meditation (see original session plan; assessment): "Yoga and meditation seem to be a good place to start."

Appeared stressed about being unable to attend morning sessions, as the visitor parking at her husbands retirement home was being resurfaced through June 22, which would require her get to the facility early in the mornings to get one of the few available parking spots, and prevent her from heaving to park on the other side a four-lane highway, "for the sake of my own safety." She asked if we could delay our sessions until after June 22, 2024 (text, 21 May 2024, 10:31 pm)

Continued with stretching: "I must run and stretch my quads. More later…" (txt 22 May, 2024, 8:49 am)
Shares thoughts about life-style. Writes that she has always believed in combining "body spirituality with gentle athleticism." "I have felt that all along." (txt 22 May, 2024, 11:37 pm)

Said during session 1a (May 23, 2024) that she was "almost pain free" after having stretched her hamstrings. "All you have to do is figure out is what was wrong with me and figure it out." (see note #1)

"As for going up and down stairs, it gets better with each day now that I am stretching my quads every day, but I am not yet running up and down the stairs as I was before I moved into the hospital with Bob about a year ago. The running may return."

Got triggered / self-judging when she investigated the results of her Ayurvedic Questionnaire on the internet, stating, "after reading them, that I might be a Pitta first instead of Kapha. . . Because a Kapha trait that jumped out at me was “controlling.”
June 9: Asked MJB to fill out the Ayurveda questionnaire to better cater the practices to her constitution. (Results: Vata: 9; Pitta: 18; Kapha: 20)

"I come from a controlling family, with me (as the youngest) always the controllee. I hated it so much and was so severely controlled by everybody that, especially after training for my master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling, that trait, to the extent that it existed, seemed to disappear. And after they all died I became much more at peace, able to think for myself for the first time in my life. . . Which was also an important concept in Guidance and Counseling…supporting and reinforcing people in finding out what they really think and in thinking clearly for themselves."

On pain (June 3, 2024) "The one day I had absolutely no pain (day before yesterday) was the day I woke up and dissolved 1 whole scoop full of (perhaps 2T) of Native Path collagen (the stuff I gave you a jar of) which has been touted as having a sizable impact on arthritis.

Then I did not take it yesterday and had some pain, but not as much as before, in my right (non-operated hip.) So I am headed downstairs to take a scoop of the collagen now. (The package or instructions suggest taking a second scoop per day—perhaps at the other end of the day. )

I now remember that the reason I removed the lift from inside the shoe of my twice-operated (now shorter) leg was that the other hip started bothering me and I decided the shoe lift was accentuating the wear and tear inside that hip joint and making it hurt. So I removed the lift and the hurting stopped (maybe 5 years ago).

So I will live with the uneven legs. As I was taking an elevator the other day at Bob’s place, there was a full-length mirror beside it and I realized I walked with a limp now, without that lift.

As for going up and down stairs, it gets better with each day now that I am stretching my quads every day, but I am not yet running up and down the stairs as I was before I moved into the hospital with Bob about a year ago. The running may return. We will see. Whenever Abraham would come over to fix something on the third floor level I would absent-mindedly run upstairs ahead of him (something I have always done because—why not? It saves time and provides exercise) and I realized that made him run up the stairs as well. So we were like two squirrels chasing each other up the tree. "

Wrote an email on June 11, 2024: "I look forward to our next yoga interaction. I am learning a lot and enjoy being your guinea pig."

Continues to embrace mindfulness and nature: Reports connecting with the sun and her heart: "Every evening I have been running to the best window view at... to watch the sun as it sets because we only have 7 more days of lengthening sun ☀️ before it starts to go away again. So every evening I stand in front of the bug windows and open my heart and drink in the fading rays of sun until they are gone." (Text June 14, 2024)

June 21, 2024: "I wish I had written down all those leg exercises and stretches we did yesterday! I went to do them this morning starting with the ones that were easier on my legs and knees and could not remember them —I am so used to doing the set I had made up for myself long ago!"

I had a wonderful time yesterday. Thank you so much for everything.

Session # 2 - Jul 8, continue with plan (integrated in assessment note) - Continues to explores life-style changes, nutrition, supplements, etc. Says that she takes collagen peptide: "It can help strengthen bones and lessen joint pain." Reports that knee and hip strengthening practices during session # 1 were helpful: "Wow! I am walking so much steadier since our session and my legs don’t hurt at all except for a bit of stuff still going on in my knees!!! (July 8, 2024, 2:15 pm)

Wrote an email on July 19, 2024 about looking forward to session # 3: "Yes!! 11:00 am. 100% Looking forward to it.

Jul 20, 2024 Session # 3
Wrote on July 21, 2024 after session # 3: I had a wonderful time yesterday. Thank you so much for everything."

Wrote an email on July 21, 2024 "I wish I had written down all those leg exercises and stretches we did yesterday! I went to do them this morning starting with the ones that were easier on my legs and knees and could not remember them —I am so used to doing the set I had made up for myself long ago!"

Wrote an email on August 11, 2024, following session # 5:"It was wonderful spending time with you again yesterday. I feel blessed to be your “guinea pig” and blessed at this wonderful opportunity to deepen our friendship.

On motivation:
September 14, 2024: "After you left I did something I have been trying to get the motivation to accomplish for months: I began cleaning up all the leaves on the patio and putting them into bags. Hopefully tomorrow I will blow out the leaf remnants with the leaf blower and after that hose down/wash the glass and wood on the windows and door.

I could barely do anything today after you left because the day before yesterday I resumed my exercises (after nearly a one-year hiatus), starting with 200 crunches lying on my back on the bed (should have done it on the firmer floor). After I finished cleaning up the leaves all I could do was sit at the dining room table and vegetate for two or three hours. I finally stood up and came to Bob’s place about 5:00 PM."

Sees herself as a healer and nurturer:
Wrote on October 11, 2024 upon learning that I was diagnosed with breast cancer: "Oh my goodness on your own diagnosis. Think about what type of healing that we could do together feels like it would be most nurturing and supportive for you and your process."

During session # 7, October 12, 2024 MJB suggested that I "use" my cancer to "liberate" myself.

Wrote on December 13, 2024: "Looking forward to getting together again. Hope you are feeling better and better."

Generous with sharing advice. Wrote on October 29, 2024 when I mentioned that I was going to see a Buddhist oncologist: "I have found that whenever I am in despair, while medical doctors can explain it all to my left brain, it is the spiritual/ intuitive advisors who actually help me see my path and help my soul to heal. 🙏✨💫💖

I also tap into my own body/spiritual wisdom by pulling out those little tiny “Yes” and “no” papers which I have “laminated” with clear tape…Then, I cleanse my aura with my hands several inches from my head (first shake my hands to get off imperfect energies) and then “run them” down the sides of my head several inches from my head.

Then I say a prayer and calm myself and with the tiny cards turned face down, “stir” them around or shake them up in my cupped hands so I don’t know which is which, and hold one of them over my heart and take a breath—first one and then the other. The deeper breath is always the “yes.” The “No” is the other one. I also note what other energies around me are urging.

It is always a challenge when the left-brain types tell us what to do with great authority. They can be right…but there are always many paths to getting where we need to be. Left brain types may get us where our body needs to be, but right brain types may get us where our soul needs to be.

In the end, I believe, there is no wrong path. All paths lead to God and to our own spiritual evolution. Our heart and God get us where we need to be. [...] Well, dear soul-friend… you are in my thoughts and prayers all the time. I love being “reconnected” with you in this lifetime, for I am sure we have known each other before. If not, we would not have connected so quickly and easily. [...] You will be in my thoughts and prayers. I love you and am so glad we are connected. Love, Love, Love,
Mary Jane"

Wrote on December 13, 2024: "Looking forward to getting together again. Hope you are feeling better and better."

We had a positive initial engagement and began to establish a therapeutic relationship. However, several obstacles arose: first, MLB requested a one-month break due to a scheduling issue at her husband's facility. Subsequently, after June 22, when she was ready to resume, I contracted COVID-19 twice, which delayed our meetings until July 8. Given that our sessions are scheduled for Sunday mornings, I felt the need to coordinate and ensure timely scheduling of all appointments.

During this period, I observed a disconnect / dissonace between my approach and the core principles of yoga (the is vs. the ought) which emphasize "remembering who we already are" rather than "fixing" ourselves. As I noticed that I was struggling with developing and maintaining a relationship with MJB I realized that I was not in harmony with my True Self myself (Avydia). For example, I initially bristled at the idea of having her as my capstone client (Dvesha), as her presence evoked personal issues for me. This was especially evident early on when I detected a faint odor of urine on her clothing, which reminded me of my own experiences with family members. Additionally, her expressed dislikes for certain movements and stretches in the Joint Freeing Series, which I believe can be beneficial (Asmitā, Raga), also triggered internal resistance in me. MJB's fears of loneliness, her need for love and belonging, as well as her aversions to change, loss, and death, resonated with my own fears of losing loved ones (Abhinivesha) and contemplating my own mortality. I recognize that these reactions stem from countertransference, reminding me of the importance of ongoing self-awareness and reflection in the therapeutic process to help me dissolve my internal conflicts and be at peace. (Handout: RAJA YOGA NOW, PART 2 KRIYA YOGA, KLESAS, AND KARMA, Swami Karunananda, 2020.)

All changed when I was diagnosed with cancer, and when the therapeutic relationship shifted, most profoundly during session # 7, on October 12 when MKB, suggested that I use the cancer to liberate myself. Over the months MJB would sent me the most loving and supportive emails. I felt her watching out and over me.
Give an example:

I was so sorry for letting her down, even though I knew she would understand.

Shifting now:

Practice Samputa mudra.
MJB mentioned it her last session that she prefers having a hollow space in the center of her palm when having hands at heart center, stating "it reminds me of holding a treasure in my hands. It's sacred." vs. the Anjali mudra where palms are touching.
I want to follow her lead and using visualizations (for example: visuaizing carrying a baby bird) direct her attention between her palms of her hands on the sampata mudras to support her heart center. Kara Helbert, Yoga for Grief and Loss, p.98, 99.

Sit comfortably with spine tall.
Hands in a gentle “cupping” or “container” mudra around the heart (palms facing up or forming an open bowl shape).
Visualize holding a small, fragile bird — feeling its breath, warmth, vulnerability.
Breathe slowly, softening into the moment, letting your breath nurture what's fragile inside you (symbolically).
Rest in that presence for a few minutes, then release gently.

The Samputa mudra can reduce mental and emptional suffering, direct our focus inward and symbolize inner potential and road discovery of the True Self.

Her knees are buckling and R leg is weak - must continue in a playful way.