Use of meditation to calm the modifications of mind.

Discussing anxiety, stress, using the practice of centering through breath awareness leading into meditation. Urging her to start with just five minutes a day. Talking about how meditation helps with stilling of the mind and the importance of regular practice, even for a smaller duration. Regular check-ins about the management of anxiety symptoms.

Client is female, aged 39 years, has high blood pressure and is pre-diabetic. She had complicated pregnancies, developed Intrahepatic cholestasis and both her children were pre-term.

I envision more of a conversational format, which would lead to a gentle asana practice, followed by breath awareness and meditation. Keeping the meditation practice time to 5 minutes or less at the start.

I used gentle hatha yoga to help her with stilling her body, move in tune with her breath and ground her. Used the teachings of Raja Yoga to help her understand the importance and relevance of meditation. Then I used Japa Yoga to help her anchor her mind and give her the one-point concentration.

I started with having a discussion session and how the fluctuations of mind disturb our peace. Used the analogy of a still lake and then suggested some articles and research papers for her to read. Some of them are listed below
https://www.psychreg.org/anxiety-meditation/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6630857/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858
https://www.speakingtree.in/article/anxiety-and-meditation
I also did some short sessions with her, where I started with three-part breath, leading up to breath awareness and meditation. I changed up the way of meditation, in one session I used mantra repetition, in another an affirmation on inhale and exhale and in another breath awareness. She preferred mantra japa, so I asked her to stick with that and then try others when she wants to.

Since I was returning to USA soon, I asked her to continue with the practice daily, slowly increasing the time of meditation. I encouraged her to practice daily, even if it’s for a short time and promised to check-in with her over video/call periodically.

Yes, I applied my intended plan when I met with my client. I was able to give her the taste of the peace and calm that comes after the practice of deep relaxation and meditation. I achieved a part of my goal which was to convince her that the practice of meditation will help her calm her mind and relieve stress. By the time I left India, she had started the daily practice every morning before everyone was up, even if it was for a few minutes.

I adapted my language and cultural references to get the information through to my client. I realized that the challenges in working with people who believe are the same as the people who don’t believe in the practices of Yoga. My client grew up in the Indian tradition and followed a lot of practices, but it was challenging for me to make her adapt the practices daily. I spent 10 continuous days with my client. It was only after the fifth day of seeing my daily practice of pranayama and meditation, was she convinced of the benefits of the daily practices.

If I’m faced with the similar situation, I’m going to start with getting a feel of what the client knows and are most comfortable with, and practice active listening skills. I think because it was a family member and I was in India, I let my ego come into it and tried to “show-off” my knowledge. I hope that these sessions helped my client but I know, for sure, that it helped me become a little more established in Raja teachings for myself. After I took my ego out of my sessions and started practicing ‘non-attachment’, I realized that I was able to help my client, by coming up with ways that she can help herself.