DHH is a strong young man who is looking to reduce physical pain, stress, and depression through yoga therapy. His physical pain is linked to overuse of his body through vigorous competitive athletics in the form of squash after sitting at his desk as a software engineer for 8-10 hours a day. He reports pain in his neck sometimes, pain in the front of the knees (jumper’s knee), and pain in the heels (plantar fasciitis.)

His posture is good, albeit with a slightly excessive kyphotic curve. His legs are very strong, though he is lacking in flexibility and joint mobility, and reports that he has a nagging hamstring issue that has been continually resurfacing for the last 7 months. His physical alignment is solid, his balance is pretty good but not fantastic. He is very coordinated, having played soccer in high school and college. He plays squash at a competitive level these days.

His diet is inconsistent, he reports starting his day with a healthy extra-large smoothie for breakfast, but often eats highly processed foods throughout the day and for dinner. He reports sleeping well, his sleep tracker consistently showing a score in the 80s, even if he goes to sleep pretty late sometimes.

I think DHH would really do well with a standard Rishikesh series yoga routine, with postures and movements in mind that specifically allow for exercises that will help him with his knee pain and plantar fasciitis. I would start with a modified sun salutation with a focus on moving slowly and holding each pose for several breaths. Then, we would move into dynamic leg lifts with a strap, focusing on strengthening through his end range of motion through the hamstrings, to build strength and length through the posterior chain. Warming up through the neck, with self-massage and some gentle neck stretches and rotations will be helpful.

For back bends, I would recommend bridge pose and then either bow pose, and/or locust, perhaps on an alternating basis. Forward folds would be a low lunge dynamic forward fold, and then a wide legged fold, dynamic paschimottanasana, and/or a butterfly forward fold, with options to alternate. For inversions, downward dog will be key to help him with his plantar fasciitis, in moderation. Child’s pose, headstand, and shoulderstand can be explored, depending on how his neck feels. For twists, I would suggest a supine “washrag” twist with the knees bent, tabletop thread the needle, and/or ardha matsyendrasana. Balance will be key; high lunge, tree, and eagle are great options to end his asana practice with.

DHH experiences fluctuating energies throughout the day and week. He gets excited easily and is able to work long hours consistently. His breathing is not particularly deep or shallow and is stable even as he exerts himself mentally or physically. He reports no issues with his breathing. His energy peaks in the morning and tends to taper off into the afternoon; he says it typically starts to ramp back up as he gets into the evening and night.

His energy levels seem to be consistent, though they are subject to the fluctuations of his mind and emotions. When he is overly stressed or in physical pain, he tends to get into a state of emotional distress and, at times, depression, which negatively impacts his energy.

I think pranayamas that are balancing in nature and on the energizing side will be best for him, especially at first. This will mean nadi suddhi, Brahmari breathing, and Kapalabhati. When he starts to get into a funk, he can return to the practice of these pranayamas. The beauty of these pranayamas for this client is that even if he is in physical pain, he can do his pranayama and feel activated that way, and then avoid moving through pain like he tends to do now.

DHH is an extremely high-functioning and successful IT consultant at several different companies. He is very logical, perhaps to a fault sometimes, though he feels it is also one of his greatest strengths. This client seems to acknowledge some deficiencies with understanding and empathy due to his sharp logic and seeks to improve those skills.

His extreme logic, when turned inward, has not been successful in preventing his sadness and depression, which he indicated he was once diagnosed with when he was in college, though he did not put that on the intake form. In fact, his lack of understanding and empathy for others might indicate a need to also seek understanding and empathy for himself.

This client could potentially do well with some Jnana Yoga teachings and meditations, since that would fit his logical temperament, but I also think Bhakti Yoga and related practices could be extremely helpful for him. I plan to review the concept of an Ishta Devata with him and explain how the deity is symbolic of traits that he would like to embody, and meditating and praying to a deity is a practice in practical concentration on embodiment of the qualities of the deity as much as it is a practice in anything religious/spiritual/“woowoo”/metaphysical. A simple loving kindness meditation could be powerful for him as well, and help him to develop empathy and understanding of others.

I feel that he would likely respond well to a breathwalking practice, since he walks around the city he lives in quite a bit already. He could also incorporate an I AM affirmation – I am happy and healthy and kind and harmonious and loving and powerful and gifted and grateful and peaceful and whole etc. ; the idea is to just list off positive qualities as you walk, ideally engaging the emotions and the body as much as possible as he moves.

DHH says that he doesn’t really feel that he knows why he is alive on earth. I plan to talk to him about Lila, the Divine Sport, the idea that God is playing hide and seek with Himself and has hidden Himself the last place we think to look: within. DHH seems to always be working and striving for material things and thinking logically. He takes life very seriously, which is ok, but the idea that this is all a great Cosmic Play that was created in a spirit of Bliss that ends in Bliss might help him to either take things less seriously or become interested in seeking another path.

I am hoping the yoga sutras will really interest him, especially when yoga is framed as being an exact science rather than purely a spiritual path. He needs not take anything on faith or another person’s word alone, if he practices that which the teaching suggest of him, he will eventually come to experience Oneness and clarity and peace, even if the feelings are fleeting, at first.

This client is constantly engaged in worldly activity and does not seem to be studying or thinking about any kind of wisdom or spiritual teachings. He is seeking to improve his introspection, for which I would advise that he practice tapping into Sakshi Bhavana/witness consciousness as much as possible throughout the day. Even if he is just washing the dishes, he can practice being aware of the water as it is on his hands, his feet on the floor, the breath as it comes in and out of his nose, and/or his mind as thoughts come and go. I would advise he does yoga asana in silence or with music that has no lyrics, focusing on feeling all the sensations in the body as they arise.

Self-study will be an important practice for this client. Although he does not seem to be spiritually inclined, he does express interest in learning to control his mind and emotions better. I will introduce him to the ideas in the yoga sutras and see if they appeal to him, if not I will advise him to study other inspirational texts, even if they are more worldly texts like “man’s search for meaning”.

Yoga nidra could potentially be a powerful tool for this client. I will introduce him to the practice, explain the goal, and go through some of the yoga nidra practices from Swami Satyananda’s book. This is something that I do feel would apply to him, and would help him to increase his introspection, wisdom, and intuition.
Swami Sivanada Radha’s Divine light invocation would be a wonderful option for him as well, and could really help him to awaken his deeper awareness and insight.

I would start with book 1 sutra 1 of the yoga sutras of Patanjali; I feel that he would be much more interested in yoga if he were to understand right off the bat that the goal is stilling of the mind. The discussion of the first sutra will be open-ended. Wherever the client’s mind goes will help me to guide the discussion and determine what practices and teachings will be of most benefit to him.

I get the feeling he will be interested in the idea of kriya yoga, and specifically the idea of tapas, as he is very disciplined with his work, his finances, and his athletics. Self-study and devotion (bhakti yoga) will also be discussed with DHH, so the connection between discipline and these two ideas might help him to get a bigger picture of what yogic sadhana is all about.

Sutra 1.12, Practice and detachment are the means to still the mind, will likely be relatable for him in the realm of athletics. After all, if he is overly attached to scoring a point while he goes to kick the soccer ball or swing the squash racquet, his focus will only be thrown off, and the result will be counterproductive.
However, we can still practice to the best of our ability even while detached. In fact, it is actually easier to practice to our highest capacity if we are detached, since holding the body loosely and relaxed allows us to best use it as a tool. If our goal is to hold a handful of sand, we are better off holding the sand loosely. If we squeeze our hands tightly into fists, the sand will only slip between our fingertips.

From these sutras and ideas, I will let DHH lead the discussion, and see where he takes us.

This contraindications for this client will be related to his levels of physical pain, and properly training his joint mobility and neuromuscular activation patterns to support the level of athletics he is participating in. Overuse injuries are a potential concern with this client, so a guideline would be to follow his body’s wisdom as he moves daily.

This client is a self-proclaimed skeptic and contrarian. I think he is more likely to develop a consistent yoga practice if he understands the science supporting the practices that I am advising he partake in. To that end, I have included a meta-analysis that gives a great overview of breathwork, and will allow us to touch on topics like HRV, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, the vagus nerve, and related – with the caveat that I am not a scientist, and I only seek to impress upon the client that there are scientists that can explain why pranayama works the way that it does to improve physical, energetic, mental, and emotional health.

The second article that I would share with this client is related to spirituality and mental health. I feel like this client might not see any benefit to developing any kind of spiritual practice, which unfortunately precludes gains on various levels of Being. The second article I would present to him would be an attempt to help him to understand pursuing a spiritual discipline as something that is going to have a variety of benefits on different levels.

Fincham, G. W., Strauss, C., Montero-Marin, J., & Cavanagh, K. (2023, January 9). Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials. Scientific reports. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9828383/

Lucchetti, G., Koenig, H. G., & Lucchetti, A. L. G. (2021). Spirituality, religiousness, and mental health: A review of the current scientific evidence. World Journal of Clinical Cases, 9(26), 7620–7631. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8462234/

None at this point, but once again looking forward to discussing this client!

• 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.