”Adapt. Adjust. Accommodate. Bear insult. Bear injury. This is the essence of all Sadhana.” Swami Sivananda
"Surya Namaskar can help bring balance to our nervous system, whether OVER or UNDER active, Sun A can help bring it back." "These are just made up. You can make your own up without going to yoga hell.” Satya Greenstone, 2018, Adaptive TT

To collaborate with the client to create a version of Surya Namaskar that works for her as a daily practice. Together we will build a Gentle Standing Sequence using a chair as a prop [noting the option for fully standing (no knees on mat) OR floating knees on blanket on mat]. Goal: Develop a version that is a) accessible, b) brings balance, c) FUN.

The client introduced herself as “someone who used to be healthy/strong” & cites her former fitness regimen that included daily gym attendance, regular Zumba, & Pilates 3X a week as evidence. The past 5 years included: family stress, Breast Cancer, knee pain, & 2 years of Polymyalgia Rheumatica [PMR]. Eager to be healthy & strong again, she is currently frustrated by daily chronic pain [managed with activity restriction & Prednisone], weight gain, hot flashes, variable energy/sleep/mood.

I planned to begin w/ “Checking In” – An invitation to the client to “notice the version of them” that has shown up today. They are invited to move as much or as little as they deem useful to notice how they feel physically, mentally, and emotionally. This time is KEY to recognizing how we might adapt our practice to honor where we are, now. Honoring the client’s prior knee pain, I planned to offer Surya Namaskar, standing behind an armless chair [e.g., Adaptive/Accessible Yoga TT].

I relied on familiar practices from asana & pranayama of Hatha Yoga [Adaptive TT manual p.63] as a starting point to bridge the client from “a practice for others” to “a practice for me.” The aim was to practice with emphasis on how it feels, rather than how it looks. Shifting her focus from outside to inside through breath awareness & noticing when her breathing changed from steady/smooth to effortful/more vigorous was one way to shift attention & raise awareness.
e.g., After a brief Checking-In [w/Breath Awareness from seated in a chair], we acknowledged the role of posture & built a seated Tadasana to provide a solid foundation from the feet up. We discovered the power of blocks under feet! We recognized we could notice & replace tension w/ease via small adjustments [e.g., widening the stance, wiggling toes, rocking on feet, rocking pelvis, shoulder rolls, & head turns] [SMTT]

Client arrived to session frustrated by an unresolved allergic reaction [painful rash along ribs] & conflicting medical advice on what to do. She was also excited/overwhelmed as she was preparing for an upcoming 10-hour car trip. Historically, this trip leaves her feeling drained & triggers pain.
I adapted the key teaching: “Adapt, adjust, accommodate” in a different way than planned. Connecting with her upcoming car trip, acknowledging that our practice can be “found while seated” I suggested we begin practice from seated. She was receptive & we built from there. As we Checked-In, we acknowledged “what is” & took some time to notice what was going right. From there we began to visualize the trip and relying on tools from Adaptive Yoga, Accessible Yoga, & SM TT’s we built a series of shapes she could practice, from seated, anywhere, anytime.

Acknowledging that her medical team would need to address her rash, we aimed to address her response to her rash. She agreed that stress related to planning her trip was likely not helping her rash and so we discussed multiple ways she could “bring her yoga with her” on her trip. We considered how “doing yoga” includes listening to and honoring our body and mind with compassion [I snuck in some adapted Raja Yoga here and we discussed how showing compassion (taking breaks along the way/making plans for self-care) are ways to honor non-harming/ahimsa. Deborah Adele, (p.36) describes compassion as the gift of realized ahimsa that allows us greater connection with others. Here, I suggested ahimsa as a way for the Client to connect with herself]. We brainstormed how she could utilize her breath and micromovements to ease the stress of the car ride (including shapes to try at rest stops).

We also discussed ways to relax and recharge upon arrival (e.g., legs up the chair/couch) and other supported savasana variations. I provided a handout (attached) to serve as a review and inspiration menu she could use while away. The suggested adapted Hatha came from Adaptive TT, SMTT, and Stacie Dooreck’s Yoga for Everyone! I suggested she aim for a little movement each day to warm up her body before heading out for hikes/walks to the beach/bike rides and a little recharging each day via supported savasana.

The goal was exceeded. We did co-create a series of shapes the client managed to do on most days. The client took frequent stretch breaks at rest stops and “didn’t care about people staring” as she stretched by the side of the car because “I’m stretching for me.” Also, for the first time, the client had energy to play with her dog upon arrival-a very important milestone.

To a degree, I adapted from offering a standing Surya Namaskar with chair to seated with options for “in the car” and “out of the car.” I relied on my Adaptive, SMTT and Raja tools to meet the client where she was and help her find a way to connect with herself with kindness. The rash is one symptom in a long line that triggers frustration, disappointment, and worry. I say we exceeded the goal because in subsequent sessions the client reports she is starting to see that her rash or her pain are part of who she is BUT not all of who she is. She is beginning to reframe what the symptoms mean to her & that is affecting how she responds. What used to be Catastrophe Signals are now “Check Engine” signals. She is learning to replace reactions with responses. By taking care of herself (micromovements, belly breathing, supported savasana), “a rough morning does not need to become a rough day.”

Faced with this situation again, I would do the same: I adapted my plan to meet the client where she was. A vulnerable moment for her created the opening to introduce a set of chair-based practices that she is still using 1 month later. She helped me to learn that sometimes the best teaching/offering is already right in front of you and as the Teacher, your job is to see that and get out of the way. In a recent session she stated “you are so busy living that sometimes you forget to introduce yourself to yourself.” Week by week she is re-introducing herself to her true self. She knows how to detect and respond to “Check Engine” signals and is experiencing fewer of them.
She appreciates now that a 10-hr trip does not have to be painful. She now knows this helps not only her joints and muscles but also her cardiovascular and lymphatic systems (Dunstan et al, 2021, Daneshmandi et al, 2017)

• Daneshmandi-et-al.-2017-Adverse-Effects-of-Prolonged-Sitting-Behavior-on-t.pdf
• Have-Chair-Will-Travel-Sun-Salute-W_Many-Options-For-Savasana-by-Tami-Musumeci-Szabo.pdf