• 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.

Increasing awareness of the body and loosening tension: Seated or standing star to modified turtle. Practice this at the beginning of the day for three or four rounds as a fluid movement, allowing the breath to guide the movement.

Breathing practice: Pursed lip breathing for three rounds in the morning before or after meditation.

Manta repetition meditation: Mediate in the morning before going about your daily routine for 1 minute daily. Repeat your word or phrase mentally and if the mind starts to wander, return to that phrase.

Mental modifications and aversions: Make a list of the things that you’re averse to in your life and jot down some thoughts about how that impacts you.

Centering: Short guided awareness with proprioception into the feet and palms of the hands followed by a single Om chant together.

Check In

Discussion: We discussed the homework assignment of how mental modifications and attachments show up in the client’s lives. We discussed Santosha from Sutra 2.32 the Niyamas because the clients raised the concept of joy in our last session. We talked about contentment and how that’s impacted by craving. I reviewed 2.3, the five obstacles (Kleshas) with the clients in more detail with emphasis on aversions.

Gentle Hatha Yoga with Adaptations:
Joint freeing series including shoulder shrugs with sighs on the exhalation/as shoulders drop as well as gentle spinal twist in the chair.
Standing Sun Salutations with adaptations
Standing star to modified turtle pose standing
Constructive rest pose

Breathing Practice:

Pursed lip breathing, to help slow the breathing and extend the exhalation.

Relaxation:

Yoga Nidra with tensing and releasing and witnessing practice.

Meditation:

Guided mantra repetition meditation.

There was no group session last week because all of the clients cancelled except for A, so I converted the prior week's session to an individual session for him.

T said he felt stressed because of work and hadn’t been able to do anything other than the meditation and breathing since our last session. P said she was in a Lupus flare. T said that he recognizes that he should “express before he suppresses” his emotions. P has not been consistent with practices, but has been doing meditation and bathing. CO said he was out of focus and was stressed from work and had only been doing breathing practices. CF said he was consumed with work and was fatigued but was doing breathing practices. A did not attend this session, which is okay because we covered what’d I’d planned for this session last week.

I see a correlation between clients in this group missing sessions or not applying practices to the disruption they are feeling. They are also more aware of their emotions since the first session, so I attribute some of the intensity that they showed up to our session to that awareness but not being cognizant of how to apply to the tools to calm the modifications of the mind. I was really proud of T for his realization in the above quote.

Check In
Centering: Guided Awareness with emphasis on proprioception throughout the entire body and witnessing the breath, emotions, and thoughts.

Discussion: I will discuss Yoga Sutras 2.9 Clinging to Life to 2.10 and 2.11 to help the clients see how these obstacles can be destroyed and that they can actively apply yogic tools to do so.

Gentle Hatha Yoga with Adaptations:
Joint freeing series including shoulder shrugs with sighs on the exhalation/as shoulders drop as well as gentle spinal twist in the chair.
Standing or seated Sun Salutations with adaptations
Standing or seated Start to Modified Turtle pose
Constructive rest pose

Breathing Practice:

Physiological sigh breathing to generate a deeper relaxation response.

Relaxation:

Yoga Nidra with tensing and releasing and witnessing practice.

Meditation:

Pratyhara Sense Withdrawal Guided Meditation