• 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.

Incorporate ha breath, with 1-2 minutes of mantra repetition meditation at the beginning of each day.
Standing cat/cow at the end of the day or before bedtime to help relieve stress and loosen tension in the body.
Mantra meditation: Find a word or phrase that is comforting and meditate on that mantra for 1 minute at the start of the day.
Practice awareness of mental attachments:  Take a moment to make a list of the mental attachments that you might have that impact you. We will explore some of these next time. 

Centering
Check In

Discussion: I introduced teachings from the Bhagavad Gita about the three types of attachment: phala, karma, and deha and ahankara and the role that the kleshas play to provide awareness to the clients about how they can begin to let go of attachments and the need to control.

Gentle Hatha with Adaptations:
Joint freeing series with emphasis on shoulder shrugs, sighing while letting the shoulders drop
Mountain pose with emphasis on proprioception
Standing cat cow to five point star pose, to stretch the neck, shoulders, and torso and to open the heart and throat.
Knees to chest while lying down with slow rock to massage the back of the body, stretch the low back and hip muscles, to encourage relaxation, and to stimulate the root chakra.
Legs up the wall to reduce hip and low back pressure, to create a parasympathetic nervous system response, and to improve sleep.

Ha breath with arm movements downwards on exhalation to release built up stress and grief, to increase energy, and to relax the muscles. This form of pranayama balances the heart chakra and can alleviate emotions and grief.

Yoga Nidra with tensing and releasing and guided awareness followed by guided lovingkindness meditation to encourage a release of tension in the body and anxiety in the mind. The meditation will provide trauma sensitive support to help clients reduce harmful self-judgment.

All three clients came into our session very anxious and tense. They relaxed quickly with the centering practice. They engaged in robust discussion and were able to engage in adaptive Hatha yoga. K cried while talking about her goals and about feeling like she has a lack of awareness about feelings. K says she Is attached to people in her family and that this attachment upsets those family members. K has been experiencing pain in her joints that is non-diagnosed and not specific. I encouraged her to have her doctor assess her. K holds her breath during deep breathing. L shared that she feels like she has to do “more and more” in life and is required to keep taking on responsibilities. I used MI which helped her identify that most of her responsibilities are self-chosen. T shared that she represses her feelings a lot, which was echoed by each of the clients. She talked about her attachment to cigarettes and also to people in this session.

It was interesting watching this group engage with each other. All happen to be mothers with at least two children, two are single parents and one is married. Two of them I have supported in other capacities and one was new to me. All three had never met before and in intake seemed a little shy to share in front of each other. I made hot tea for everyone as part of this session and adjusted the lighting so that there was a more supportive space for conversation and this seemed to help the group open up more readily. All three have repressed emotions and two shared that they have trouble identifying emotions, so this gave me a clue for what we might consider in future sessions.

Centering
Check In

Discussion: I will share about the Locks and Keys, so that clients have some tools that they can utilize with themselves first and then with others.

Gentle Hatha with Adaptations:
Joint freeing series with emphasis on shoulder shrugs, sighing while letting the shoulders drop
Mountain pose with emphasis on proprioception
Standing start pose to modified turtle
Knees to chest while lying down with slow rock to massage the back of the body, stretch the low back and hip muscles, to encourage relaxation, and to stimulate the root chakra.
Legs up the wall to reduce hip and low back pressure, to create a parasympathetic nervous system response, and to improve sleep.

Humming bee breath to relieve stress and calm the mind.

Yoga Nidra with tensing and releasing and guided awareness followed by a walking meditation as they leave the building to give them another option that they can try for meditation.