• 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.

Walk outside in a park near her home. She loves this place but has been avoiding her walks for a while.
Attend chair yoga classes twice this week.
Practice walking meditation and/or "peace is in me" mantra meditation.
Continual practice of the Presence of God.

I had submitted the final report for this client but she is continue to meet with me regularly. She may become my capstone client.
Today, we reviewed the Raja Yoga handout: She is clear that this is about union with her True Self.
Reviewed pratipaksha bhavana: She uses this regularly each day. She tells herself to "flip it" when she sees negativity in her mind that she wants to replace with something positive.
She shared that she has a habit of mindlessly watching football and other sports. I used this as an opportunity to affirm that we all need times to just zone out, to rest and relax. And I also shared about brahmacharya, doing all things in moderation. I encouraged her to notice when she has had "just enough" watching sports so she can redirect her attention and energy to something helpful for her. She said she intends to work on gardening (which she loves).

This client seems to be going through a genuine "dark night of the soul" as taught by St. John of the Cross. She loves God but experiences strong resistance to formal practices of reading, prayer, and meditation. She recognizes she is on a kind of "pilgrim's journey" moving through a new land where everything is new and unknown. She thought maybe she was depressed and went to talk to a psychiatrist about possible medication. He encouraged her to take some more time to think about it (wow!).
She might like to do more asana next time we meet.

Even when I was doing formal spiritual direction, I never had a client in this type of dark night of the soul. It is very interesting to see. Sometimes she seems depressed, but mostly not. Her mind is very clear and she pays very close attention when I am speaking. I often feel she is more spiritually advanced than I am, so I have to stay centered and open to whatever God wants me to say/do.

Possible seated/standing asana practice: She likes the idea of learning a short routine she can do on her own. (She has been doing cow/cat.)
Breathwork, possibly with restorative asana.