An intake form is used to gather background information (physical, mental, and personal priorities) of a client and the reason for he/she to seek yoga therapy. The gathered information when combined with physical and breathing assessment is the foundation for developing a client-centered care plan.

The goals for implementation are (1) using an intake form (from the Foundation course; sent to client in advance) to gather information about client's physical, mental and person priorities (2) during a one hour session, work with the client to develop a care plan that will help the client achieving her goals.

The client is a 40 years old female who has high blood pressure and experiences stress associated with caring for an ADHD child and everything that is going on in the world.

My plan was to send the intake form to the client to complete before the virtual session. During the meeting, I would go over the form with the client and asked her to clarify some points, then did physical and breath assessments. I then offered physical, breathing and mental practices. After the session, I sent her a written care plan that summarized the discussion and recommended practices. I then followed up with her via e-mails.

I used Hatha and Raja yoga to support my key teaching goals. I used the Pancha kosha model to create a care plan for the client (Foundation of Integral Yoga Therapy). For Annamaya kosha, I recommended the follows: 1) gentle stretching in bed to help with morning fatigue (Adaptive yoga); 2) standing and balance poses (with a chair, Adaptive TT) to strengthen hip stabilizers (gluteus maximus and medius; the Key Muscle of Yoga and YogaU online by Ray Long); and 3) back bending poses to open the heart chakra (support self love, Yoga Journal Editors, March 11, 2021). For Pranamaya koshas, I recommended nadi suddhi, extended exhalation, and deep breathing with imagery (focus on heart center, Stress management). For Manomaya and Vijanamaya koshas, I recommended meditation, positive affirmation (e. g, I am enough) and mindful journaling (Raja yoga).

The client's goal is to improve her mental fortitude, find better ways of exercising with reduced stamina and not feeling guilty when she does not want to exercise. I asked her about exercise routine (type and frequency), physical pain (hip and upper back) and discussed her emotional/mental state, and learned that the client has experienced morning fatigue, anxiety and lack of self worth and often engages in negative self-talk. Physical and breathing assessment indicated no mobility limitations and chest/reverse breathing. She recently injured her right knee and could not bend it when we met. When experiencing anxiety, the client noted that her breath becomes shallow. I showed the client some movements that she can do in bed after she wakes up and suggested replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. We also did imagery breathing focusing on unconditional love, including self.

I prepared a written care plan that include recommendations (see above) that will support Annamaya, Pranayama, Manomaya and Vijanana koshas and emailed it to the client the next day. I emphasized that the client does not have to do everything in the care plan at once, but I encouraged her to do a few things and observe how she feels. The client commented that my recommendations were doable, although for certain yoga poses, she might have to wait until her knee is getting better. I checked in with the client after a few days and she reported that she have done stretching in bed and that is very helpful. She also becomes more aware of her negative thoughts and have replaced them with positive ones (I am enough, I am a good mother etc.).

I applied most of what I planed to do. Because of the injured knee, we could not practices recommended poses together. However, I was able to demonstrate how to use a chair as a prop when her energy is down. We spent more time discussing on how to improve her mental state because this was the client's priority. I feel that I achieved the teaching goals because I was able to utilize what I learned from the course to develop a care plan that is specific to the client's need.

Because of the client's recent injuries, we did not do any yoga poses (as I had planned to) during the session. Nevertheless, I suggested poses that would address her physical, vital and mental bodies. The client is a yoga practitioner, and therefore, she will be able to implement the recommendation on her own. However, if the client was not familiar with yoga, I would have guided her through a few simple movements that focus on the upper body. I have learned that I need to meet the client where they are.

Yes, I probably approach it the same way. I feel that the session went very well and the client feels that she has tools that she can incorporate into her daily life to support her physical and mental health. In addition to emails, I would want to have a follow up meeting with the client once or twice a month if she feels up to it.