• 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.

By the end of the session, it was determined that she was not really loving the idea of devotion or the more "religious" aspects of the bhakti yoga, as she continued to mention. We touched on jnana yoga and she found it more interesting than the path of devotion, as she put it, so we decided she would try to sit silently and contemplate "What am I beyond my body, mind, and various roles in life?". If the contemplation becomes uncomfortable, she was just to sit in silence for 5-10 minutes, or longer if she can.

Continued as previous, added a few movements for sciatica which she said was acting up: reclined hamstring glide, and two variations of bridge using a strap around the legs to resist the knees moving outwards and downwards, and two blocks between the legs to squeeze, and pelvic tilts. we also introduced a supported, restorative type fish pose. We discussed the concept of ishta devata (I used the term chosen deity) and the qualities that the deity represents, and how devotion to that deity - whether "real" or not - can lead to embodiment of those ideal qualities. This did not really land with her.

This client had been making wonderful progress before our hiatus, and she has continued with the practices that resonated with her the most - brahmari, yoga with her legs against the wall, loving-kindness type affirmations, generally trying to be more detached and non-judging, and breathwalking. So, I do believe she is in a good place and has been progressing quite well especially given our break, though I was a little surprised that I got the amount of resistance that I did from her in regards to what she viewed as "religious" practices. She did mention that there is a history of religious trauma in her family, so I will be even more mindful of what I say and how I say it in the future. Her sciatica also has been acting up lately, and her divorce has been very stressful as they are completely separated and she is living with her mom and has her son 24 days out of the month. So, while there has been progress despite our hiatus, there are also some evolving concerns.

It felt very good to see her again and be back in the role of the yoga therapist. It felt good to be able to speak relatively naturally about the differences between the path of devotion and the path of knowledge, and I definitely caught myself getting excited when she started to express an interest in the path of knowledge. Although, while we were talking about discrimination between the real and the unreal and how that applies to our everyday modern lives, and detachment from obsession over material and worldly things, I did notice a feeling of hypocrisy coming over me. I really need to get back into my own practices more, I have become very rote and unchallenged with the practices that I do, and know that I am especially lacking in seated silent meditation and my own tapas.

Physically, I plan to continue to work with her to improve her sciatica, stress, and TMJ. Mentally, we will continue to get into Jnana Yoga and adjacent ideas and practices. She would like to learn other pranayama practices, so I will teach her kapalabhati and/or ujayi breath depending on how she shows up next time we meet.