• 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.

Go through schedule for next week and plug in selfcare activities for 10-15 minutes twice each day. She said this is doable. Activities might include asana, pranayama, walking, weight lifting. Daily supine pelvic tilt for abdominal strengthening and relief for lower back tension. We reviewed this today and she has good technique.

Client was in town (Virginia Beach) last week but we were not able to meet because she was so busy doing volunteer work for her son's debate. She stated "there was no time to go anywhere at all, just back and forth between the debate and the hotel." She also stated she has once again had no time for self-care. I used this as an opening to discuss her overfull schedule and lack of boundaries (inability to say No to people). She acknowledged this is a problem. When she brought up the fact that her house is a mess because she lacks time to clean and organize, I used this as a opportunity to encourage her to get her children involved (ages 16 and 11). She said they do "some things" around the house but they have to be asked. I encouraged her to sit down with them and explain the situation: 1) she needs their help because she needs time for self-care to keep from getting sick; 2) she wants them to understand how to care for a household when they are eventually out on their own. I recommended she give each of them daily/weekly tasks to complete. She loved these ideas. She also mentioned their lives have become too busy with activities as well. We talked about what it means to be "productive."
Asana: standing, chair and reclining
Pranayama: taught brahmari for stress management. She liked the bathing in sound vibration. Also did slow deep breathing with focus on complete exhales. I used this as a metaphor for what needs to happen in her life: She needs to "exhale" - to make space in her life - for selfcare, for life force (prana) to really nurture her.

Client has regressed since I last saw her on 4/30. I'm not surprised since I expected this to happen while she was out of town particularly because she was not able to make time to see me in person while in Virginia Beach. However, she does seem to understand the importance of her self-care in theory. She needs the motivation to do it. She has friends who recommend fads to her and she tends to jump on board. For example, last time we met, she had a friend recommend weekly 3 day fasts on nothing but water. My client attempted this but "had to eat a light dinner each day." After the third day, she became very light-headed while driving and had to pull over. I always caution her against these types of quick fixes. Today, she told me her family has been sick but she has not. However, she was bitten by a tick a few weeks ago and has been having "odd symptoms" and her lymph nodes in neck are swollen. She acts like this is no big deal. I told her she really needs to see a doctor and have some tests to make sure nothing serious is going on. (Again, she is terrible with selfcare.) I told her the swollen lymph nodes could be caused by many things, not just the tick or the illness her family has had recently.

I have been cautious about confronting this client to avoid frightening her away, but I definitely confronted her today. I have known her for 20 years, and have always noted her self-sacrificing nature. Her husband is a horrible influence on her as far as I can tell. He expects her to be busy and "productive" all the time. Today, she told me he says "why are you sitting down?" if she dares to sit and rest in his presence. Of course, she can't change him but she can change how she deals with his demands. I feel I did well with the client today, and she actually appreciated what I said. We did most of the talking at the beginning of the session, then moved into asana. In the middle of the asana, she wanted to talk more about setting boundaries, etc, so we did that. Then she apologized for all the talking/questions. I told her it's totally fine, yoga therapy includes all of this, it includes whatever she brings to each session, whatever her needs happen to be.
I want to see her care about herself as much as she cares for her children and husband.

Review homework, selfcare activities from the week.
Asana as needed.
Review brahmari breath, possibly introduce alternate-nostril breathing for the calming effect.