• 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.

Practice bridge pose with block for support 1x/day to strengthen the back and stretch the frontside of the body, while calming the mind.

Practice constructive rest at the end of the day for 15 minutes while doing rectangle breathing.

Continue daily meditation practice.

Continue Locks and Keys and develop a daily Ahimsa practice, particularly as it pertains to self criticism.

Centering: Guided Awareness

Check In

Discussion about the Locks and Keys and application to self. Discussion about Ahimsa towards self as a long-term practice, along with Locks and Keys.

Balanced Hatha Yoga considering contraindications:
Eye Movements
Joint Freeing with emphasis on head/neck/sensing into feet and body awareness
Sun salutations with focus on body awareness and without kneeling on knees
Utkasana at wall with block between the knees
Bridge pose with block for support
Constructive rest

Balanced Pranayama considering contraindications: Rectangle breathing to help the client regulate their breathing into a more consistent breathing pattern.

Meditation/Centering: Chanting based meditation utilizing Om to calm the limbic system and trigger a parasympathetic response in preparation of relaxation. Guided meditation of DBT Stop, sending emotions in and out of doors.

Relaxation: Yoga Nidra while in Restorative Seated Forward Fold with upper torso and head on a chair.

We met virtually for this session because the client had been exposed to COVID-19, but all prior sessions have been in-person. The client was not in her own home and expressed a feeling of being unsettled because of the COVID-19 exposure. She disclosed in this session for the first time that she is polyamorous and is engaged in relationships with two partners, both of whom she feels disregard their own health and her well-being as it pertains to COVID-19. I used MI to assess whether or not the feelings of disregard extend to other parts of the relationships and the client indicated everything else in the relationships cause her to feel honored and respected.

The client is engaging in daily meditation and breathing practices, but is not regularly practicing physical poses. She self-reported a greater awareness about emotions and triggers and that she has been able to successfully apply deep breathing in highly charged moments, which keeps her calm. I observed more relaxed breathing at arrival to session than in intake and better physical awareness about her body during yoga asana practice. She reported that her chronic pain level of 2 at intake has been reduced to 0.

I found this client relationship to be rewarding but challenging. She was unable to identify emotions in her first session, but quickly took to the yoga therapy practices that we used. As I watched her engage in yoga asanas, I observed that she was making wiggling/dancing like movements while in the poses and she struggled to stay still. I likely should have broken the poses into proprioception on the parts of the body more to encourage her to hold the poses for longer and feel into the body. She was able to build better body awareness through proprioception and physical adjustments to the placement of her knees, shoulders, and feet that I instructed verbally when we were in person. She attributed these adjustments and her breathing practices to reduction in overall body pain.

This client does have a need for long-term mental health counseling for CPTSD and I was able to provide referrals. She was scheduled to see someone the week after our sessions wrapped up. I also connected her to a network of professionals in the area that can support her longer term.

There is no plan for future sessions.