• 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 to practice whatever gross/large asana her body is telling her to do. Do pranayama at least 10 minutes daily - again, developing interoception and then practicing based on current need and feelings (dang, we didn't get to talk about the doshas, or I could have told her based on vikriti). neck/jaw exercises for a few minutes twice a day. Practice silence for 5 minutes a day. continue to practice yoga nidra at night. Continue to experiment with Japa.

For the final close-out session, we opened with a brief seated meditation with a gentle, unstructured humming outbreath, with the intention of feeling the Energy within us become animated and prepared to further transform.

We then went through the PSS-10; she scored a 21, which makes sense given her comments that her divorce mediations further deteriorating and she feels financially insecure.

We then took a few moments for reflection on any yoga therapy technique that she has learned while working together, and I gave her space to practice while I sat in silence. She sat still for a moment and seemed to slow her breathing, and then went into stretching her neck and massaging her jaw. She told me afterwards that she was imagining an "empowering fire" spreading in her heart while she was stretching.

We then got into full body warm-ups - tabletop, cat/cow, sunbird, child's pose to ql stretch to downward dog with opposite leg kicks at the top, and then into stillness for a nervous system reset. Then: neck work. self-resistance, chin tucks, and jaw stretching and relaxing. Backbends: Cobra against the wall, pelvic tilt bridge, single leg supine locust, supported fish. forward folds: single leg knees to chest with self resistance both ways, supine strap single leg hamstring stretch Brahmi sequence, wide legged seated forward fold water flow (move back and forth into ql stretches on either side with arm raised high overhead, coming back to forward fold thru center), reclined pigeon against wall. Inversion: viparita karani with blocks on feet and an emphasis on sthira-sukham; peaceful strength, feeling grounded and stable with blocks on feet. Twist: gentle both knees to chest twist onto bolster static stretch.

We then went straight into yoga nidra and did the Divine Light Invocation, with the word "empowering" light being substituted for Divine light. I chose that term because that's how she described the fire she was imagining in her heart center during her free reflection "use any technique" time earlier in the session. So, we repeated: "I am created by empowering light, I am sustained by empowering light, I am protected by empowering light, I am surrounded by empowering light, I am ever growing into empowering light" with cues of noticing the body being full of light between repetitions.

For Pranayama, we did 4 count box breathing, brahmari breath, and Sama Nadi Suddhi with a 6 count for each inhale and exhale.

For meditation, we started with an extremely quick 1-sentence japa review (these chants are powerful tools for replacing the background chatter of the mind), explained how shanti is connected to peace, and then we did the "om shanti" chant following Gita Brown's youtube video, and then I led her through a guided visualization of a hike through a forest to a clearing where we had a few minutes of seated silent meditation. Her meditation posture was the best it has ever been here; nice upright position was maintained through the whole meditation.

We then reviewed her yoga therapy toolbox and I sent her/provided her with a simple plaintext word document that has a list of the techniques we learned and used together. We closed with a standing grounding "grow your roots and stand your ground" meditation.

This client has made tremendous progress in some areas and not as much progress in other areas. Physically, she reports that her pain has improved. She looks stronger, is more capable in her movements, and is clearly progressing very well in her asana practice. Her mind has improved in some ways, she has learned a lot and seems to be continuously applying what she has learned, but she has some very deep rooted samskaras and vasanas (dont we all) and her emotions overpower the mind and continuously move her towards taking action. Her stress has been up and down; she reports feeling better about her stress levels, though she continuously scores in the moderate-high range on the PSS-10. I do think she is regulating emotion and handling her stress better, and all of her other downstream issues (sciatica, TMJ, fatigue, upper back/neck pain, headaches, anxiety) are improving as a direct result of that, although none of the issues have been resolved completely.

Today, as part of our check out, I asked her directly how she felt about her progress towards her original goals, and she said she does feel that she breathes better, is more peaceful, has less pain, and has more energy. She does feel like she can handle her stress better and she still feels completely overwhelmed at times. I was very tempted to get into yoga philosophy (Om Namah Sivaya, All of this is Maya) when she said that, but had to resist the urge. I believe Brahmi is right in her assessment that this client is just not quite in a position where she is receptive to the lofty philosophical stuff.

I feel great about the work that I did with this client. I feel like I did the best I could and we really hit the nail on the head with some of the techniques we did together. I feel like I learned a lot about myself and the yoga therapy process through working through all of this with her, and both of us benefited quite a bit. I know that I could have been better - there were times that, although not documented in any of these entries, I am certain I said exactly the wrong thing, whether that be triggering her religious trauma, generally providing offerings that were not useful to her, and putting ideas out there that may have even had the potential to be dangerous, in a sense, since she did mention during one of our philosophical discussions that viewing the world as "unreal" can lead to "not caring about anything" or as we would say in therapy, nihilism.

That being said, I do feel like I did the best I could, and upon reflecting on my work with all my clients as a whole, there are going to be potential pitfalls in the navigation of any therapeutic relationship. Life is very messy, language is imprecise, and the practices we impart are extremely powerful. If I act with humility, surrender, proper intention, and do my best, then, well, that is all I can do.

I plan to work on my capstone paper now, and when we do meet again, it will be for another review before we delve into any new territory. I could tell that we are both still processing everything we have learned so far.