TJW is young, strong, healthy, and has a natural knack for asana practice. He makes some of the more advanced postures look easy, including tripod headstand, which he demonstrated for me as soon as I even mentioned it. He has no existing physical injuries or limitations. He claims some issues with sleeping at night. He is a wrestler that is apparently quite skilled. Although I am not a trained ayurvedic practitioner, he seems to me to be some mix of a vata and pitta constitution, perhaps I will get him to take a dosha test (if allowed).

He is easily physically distractible, glancing around and moving at least a little bit almost all of the time. He had some trouble sensing into his body initially but started to smile when he started to "get it" during our intake/assessment session, which makes me feel like he has some level of disconnection from his body.

We will most likely be working with grounding poses to increase connection to the physical body and reduce restlessness. Samasthiti, child’s pose, high lunge, warrior poses, utkatasana, adho mukha svanasana, garudasana, crow, crane, and other balance poses will likely make up the majority of our physical practice, while more activating, flow-like sequences like sun salutations can be utilized if it seems he really needs to dispel excess energy or is becoming too restless.

Per his breath assessment, he does not breathe deeply naturally. He breathes shallowly, with restriction in the lower abdomen. He does not appear to have a habit of holding his breath while in an unstressed state. His restlessness and anger are likely at least partially linked to imbalances in his pranamayakosha. His energy is clearly not flowing in a balanced way, he seems to have weak flow in the first, second, and fourth chakras, an over-energized third chakra, and an over-energized sixth chakra catalyzed by his use of weed and nicotine, which he claims makes him feel like he is "in the matrix".

His pranayama practices will be initially focused on Nadhi Sudhi to balance his energies. We will then move onto Dirgha pranayama to help him master the energetics related to breathing more deeply. Then, we will practice 4-4-4-4 box breathing to introduce him to the more advanced practices of pranayama and see how that goes, to start. Kapalabhati will be introduced after he has some experience with pranayama practice. Finger compressions will also be utilized, to help him to bring more energetic awareness into his hands and therefore his actions - and communication, since he uses sign language.

TJW’s physical hyperactivity seems to come at a mental cost. He also deals with anger management issues and displays some rage-related behaviors i.e. breaking things, throwing things, and saying mean things to his family. His mind does not seem one-pointed, except perhaps in matters pertaining to immediate short-term pleasures. His mind is impulsive, and he has a hard time explaining what he wants, why he wants it, or any kind of long-term plans at all.

He professes a desire to control his mind and emotions but is very distractible. He expresses a desire for discipline i.e. wants to get up very early and work out before school, but has not acted on that desire. He is afflicted with all the arrogance of youth, which presents a large challenge but also an opportunity. Like Nachiketa in the Katha Upanishad, his youthful attitude can potentially be leveraged as energy on the spiritual path.

I plan to tell him the story of Nachiketa and see how that goes with him. If it opens the door for more yoga philosophy, I will deduce from his questions and comments to figure out what to discuss next.
In any case, we will certainly use various forms of meditation: breathwalking / yoga walking , yoga nidra, brahmari breathing meditation, guided imagery, heart openers, and loving-kindness meditation. In moments of anger, I will encourage him to use any of his meditative and/or yogic tools that appeal to him.

TJW does not currently have any spiritual orientation, which is an advantage at this point. Since his sole goal with yoga therapy is to learn to control his mind better, I think he will find the yoga sutras of particular interest. In fact, I think reading the yoga sutras with him offers him the greatest opportunity for transformation.

The yoga sutras would give us opportunity to discuss suffering, attachment and aversion, the nature of desire/cravings, the importance of self-discipline and self-restraint (tapas), and non-attachment (vairagya).
There is a Hanuman temple that is close to us. I could take him there to meditate for one of our sessions if he is interested.

I have been attempting to get any kind of intellectual interest from him to no avail. He is not doing well in school, and says it is because he just transferred schools and was put into honors classes due to how he did on the placement tests. He doesn’t have any intellectual pursuits. He doesn't know what he wants to do in the future and does not have an interest in working yet, which isn’t too surprising, since he is 14.

He says he has no sense of meaning. His identity and sense of self seem to be wrapped up in his wrestling and other athletic endeavors. I am hoping he takes to the identity of a yogi.

I plan to start with the story of Nachiketa from the Katha Upanishad to spark interest in the spiritual path in the client, and hopefully get him more interested in yoga through the sheer intensity of the story of Nachiketa.

Then, we will move into an introduction to the yoga sutras and its’ philosophy, with the ultimate goal of going through the yoga sutras together.

https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/nachiketa-story "There is no transformation without intensity"

https://integralyogamagazine.org/the-yoga-of-suffering-its-philosophy-and-practice/#:~:text=In%20the%20Yoga%20Sutras%2C%20the,things%20that%20make%20us%20suffer (This is a wonderful introduction to yoga philosophy)

I would show him the studies, linked and cited below, that show that yoga and meditation can improve executive function, inhibitory control, hyperactivity, impulsivity, attention, and management of emotions.

Brain changes associated with long-term yoga and meditation practice paint the picture of a brain that is capable of better self-control and executive function. This aligns with TJW’s goal of better control of his mind.

In terms of contraindications, my biggest concern is that he hyper-fixates on exercise and due to current issues with impulse control, he pushes himself past his limits and hurts himself. That is why I plan to start him with the grounding and cooling postures and slowly introduce the more heating and activating postures and flowing movements. I do not want him to overdo it and get hurt or burnt out.

Ng, Q. X., Ho, C. Y. X., Chan, H. W., Yong, B. Z. J., & Yeo, W.-S. (2017). Managing childhood and adolescent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with exercise: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 34(34), 123–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2017.08.018

Gonzalez, N. A., Sakhamuri, N., Athiyaman, S., Randhi, B., Gutlapalli, S. D., Pu, J., Zaidi, M. F., Patel, M., Atluri, L. M., Franchini, A. P. A., Gonzalez, N. A., Sakhamuri, N., Athiyaman, S., Randhi, B., Gutlapalli, S. D., Pu, J., Zaidi, M. F., Patel, M., Atluri, L. M., & Franchini, A. P. A. (2023). A Systematic Review of Yoga and Meditation for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children. Cureus, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.36143

Poissant, H., Mendrek, A., Talbot, N., Khoury, B., & Nolan, J. (2019). Behavioral and Cognitive Impacts of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review. Behavioural Neurology, 2019, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/5682050

None right now, I am looking forward to discussing further with you!

• 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.