• 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 humming bee breath, with 1-2 minutes of mantra repetition meditation at the beginning of each day.
Standing star/modified turtle at the beginning of the day after meditation.
Mantra meditation: Consistently meditate at the start of the day. Meditation can follow the yoga asana and breathing if that helps to calm the mind. Walking meditation is an option to try a couple of times a week.
Practicing the locks and keys: Make a list of the ways that you can apply the keys to yourself and begin to practice them daily with self.

Centering
Check In

Discussion: I shared about the Locks and Keys, so that clients have some tools that they can utilize with themselves first and then with others. We also talked again about the difference between discomfort and pain, which I raised in the intake session.

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 guided lovingkindness meditation.

L & T attended and K did not—K indicated that she wasn’t feeling well so she wouldn’t be attending. T said she had a great week, that she felt like she had been meditating and doing the breathing and asana. She said that she felt very calm, which I also observed when she showed up. L said that she struggled with finding a mantra and also was reluctant to sit still, so she was doing the walking meditation but found that her mind wandered a lot. She has been doing all of the physical poses. She said that doing the physical poses is easier for her because she knows she doesn’t want to sit still. We did MI about that and discussed that worry/rumination is a live demonstration that we aren’t in the present moment and that we are giving in to self-ignorance and the other Kleshas.

I have supported K in a different capacity and when she doesn’t want to “deal with her stuff” (her words) then she engages in flight. I followed up with her after she missed the session to find out what happened and confirmed that this is what occurred. I reminded her that these yoga therapy sessions are for her, that they’re something that can help her accomplish goals but also to be supported by me and the group in ways that she articulated that she doesn’t feel that she has support. I also shared with her that the sessions are designed to give her tools that she can use to help remove the obstacles that she feels get in her way, if she applies what she learns to herself. Her lack of presence wasn’t because she felt uncomfortable with the group, but because she wasn’t willing to sit in her own discomfort.

I felt like the interaction went well with the other two clients during the session and it was good for L to see how calm T was because T had been applying all of the homework. It was an interesting dynamic to see and I am thankful that it happened.

Centering
Check In

Discussion: We will talk about the Locks and Keys and how that application worked with self. We will talk about how to practice this 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 in a chair to reduce hip and low back pressure and to help balance the solar plexus, root, third eye, and crown chakras.

Humming bee breath to relieve stress and calm the mind.

Yoga Nidra with tensing and releasing and guided awareness followed by lovingkindness meditation.