• 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.

Apply bramachayra to daily life, considering the use of energy and conserving/focusing the energy when possible.
Practice Pratipaksha bhavana towards self when negative thoughts arise.
Continue to practice sun salutations for 2-3 rounds each with emphasis on attention to placement of the joints in the pose to emphasize strengthening.
Continue to practice chair pose with block/rolled towel between the thighs a few times a week.

Centering: Guided Awareness practice
Check In
Discussion of Bramachayra (right energy use/energy conservation) and discussion about grief connected to the death of her grandfather. We also discussed Pratipaksha bhavana based on the client inquiring about this
Gentle Hatha Yoga with adaptations:
Sun Salutations with shoulder shrugs in mountain pose and emphasis on proprioception and strengthening/balancing
Chair pose with a block or towel between the thighs
Gentle spinal twist while seated
Knees to chest while lying down and rocking gently side to side
Constructive rest
Yoga Nidra with emphasis on tensing and releasing
Extended exhalation breathing
Metta Lovingkindness meditation (to self and the world)

The client progressed well during the course of our sessions, reducing her self-reported stress level and her physical pain. She was at a 3 on the Likert Scale for chronic pain at intake and was at a 0 and reports that this began at session four and continued until our last session. The client’s anxiety was visibly reduced as the sessions progressed, with her breathing being observably deeper and her speech being less excited and fast.

She shared that she recognizes that “I need to get comfortable hearing my own voice” and that our sessions were “divinely timed” because she “didn’t realize how much [emotions] [she] was carrying that was impacting [her] on a daily basis” until our sessions. She also shared that she felt if she allowed herself to process the grief she felt for the death of her grandfather that he would feel further away. We discussed through yoga philosophy how pain is an obstacle and by continuing to release the pain of the grief she may actually be closer to the love that she feels for him.

I felt really good about how our sessions went, even though at times there were unexpected outcomes like the deep grief release this client experienced in a past session. I am glad that she arrived at a place where she recognized that she was experiencing suppression of her grief as what she thought was a protective method, but recognized the harm that the suppression was causing and how it was manifesting as anger and physical pain. This is a client that I hope to support again in the Fall for a few month sessions. I have provided a referral to a psychologist in her area that can support her for mental health therapy.

None scheduled.