• 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.

Continue chair pose with rolled towel or block between thighs 3 rounds each 1x/day to build up strength in the muscles around the joints, including the core of the body.
Continue mantra repetition meditation at least 1 minute a day in the morning to help calm and focus the mind.
Continue client’s preferred deep breathing practice, with emphasis on extended exhalation and full diaphragmatic breathing.
T: Continue to practice Ahimsa with self and others and Bramachayra (energy conservation) with self
L & KW: Continue to work on Ahimsa and Pratipaksha bhavana practices with self, especially as it pertains to negative thoughts towards self.

Centering
Check In

Discussion: We discussed Ahimsa and Bramachayra from the Yamas. Bramachayra was prompted by client discussion because T has been practicing it without knowing what it was. We discussed the Koshas in a prior session and I reminded them of this because of something reported by T in this session. We reviewed the Locks and Keys, the Kleshas, and discussed Sutras 1.1-1.3 as well as the purpose of meditation as a tool to burn through the disturbances of the mind.

Gentle Hatha with Adaptations:
Joint freeing series with emphasis on shoulder shrugs, sighing while letting the shoulders drop
Sun salutations with adaptations
Chair pose with a block between the thighs
Constructive rest pose to help relax the low back and calm the nervous system.

Rectangle breathing, offered at KW’s request because we practiced this individually in a session; shifting to extended exhalation breathing with sighs in the exhalation

Yoga Nidra with tensing and releasing and guided awareness followed by guided cognitive diffusion meditation, placing thoughts on leaves.

This group had the most differentiated experiences so far of those that I worked with and I think that they would each benefit from individual sessions. All three were very insistent when I enrolled clients that they wanted to work in a group because they felt that the support of others would be helpful. Instead, in a few of our sessions I saw L & KW react visibly in almost a negative way to T sharing about how she was practicing everything and how it was working.

In this session, T shared that she felt like she didn’t need to continue to learn more yoga philosophy because she felt like now she just needs to focus on learning physical poses. This resulted in a reaction from the other two. I reminded the group about how the Koshas work and why we follow them to access the wisdom sheath and that bypassing one of those doesn’t allow us to experience the full benefits of yoga. I used MI to help T surface that the “inner work” is lifelong and that self and spiritual study in the Niyamas is relevant to us all. I also reminded the group of Yoga Sutra 1.14 because the disturbances will always come and so that’s why we have to continue to practice without ceasing and in all earnest. This seemed to help the group ease their comparisons with each other. In retrospect, I think it would have been good to find a different way to do the check-ins, that could help ease the comparisons they were making internally.

All clients reported that their pain had decreased to zero by this session. T and L had normal relaxed breathing at the start of our session. T & L were talking at a normal rate of speed and presented with relaxed physical bodies. KW still had reverse breathing without being able to take a full breath. KW was talking at a fast pace and I had to get her to pause and take a deep breath to slow down. All three have appointments with therapists as part of aftercare plans.

It seemed to help KW that we were able to do two individual sessions with each other. I think this group in particular needed individual sessions and I’m going to offer that to them when I open my schedule in August, instead of asking this group to meet together I want to let them choose. This group all presented mostly with anxiety, which was interesting to watch how that impacted group dynamics. All are high achievers and so seeing their self-efficacy impacted by their perceptions of how others were doing in the group was also interesting to observe. As this occurred I addressed it, using MI to help them explore and reminding them that yoga is about undoing and not about achieving. This seemed to help them relax and take pressure off of themselves.

I was glad to see their pain levels reduce. I was glad to see as many improvements as I could see in T and L and as they reported. KW has progressed too, but at a slower pace. I think this is because she missed three of the seven group sessions and even though we did two individual sessions, she missed some of the group discussion. This led to her dropping in at points where the others were sharing that they’d progressed and she felt like she was not progressing, even though she has. KW has more advanced mental health issues than the other two clients and has not been getting care for that and so I attribute some of the struggle that she experienced to this.

There is no plan for a future session.