The key teaching for Raja Yoga is Aparigraha, non-attachment. from the Yoga Sutras as interpreted by Swami Satchidananda. See attached for the portion that was referenced in the session.

The practitioner will facilitate a ten minute discussion with the client about Aparigraha/non-attachment, including a reading of the story "Yes, My Son" (A Story of Non-Attachment), to assist the client with a different approach to relationships. This story shares the meaning of non-attachment and how that can be practiced in relationships.

The client is a 64 year old woman with chronic health issues, including high blood pressure, hypertension, and rheumatoid arthritis. The client has expressed that her attachments in relationships to family members are weighing on her heavily. On consultation, the client's doctor believes that stress causes more RA flares for the patient.

The initial session is with the client. The primary and secondary assessment will occur in the first session. I will utilize the first part of class to lead a reading of the story "Yes, My Son" and client journaling about their reflections. We will then talk about the reflections from the story and the applicability of the lesson to the client's life. We will discuss aparigraha (non-attachment) and come up with strategies and tactics that might be useful for the client to detach from the negative emotions of the connections with family.

I used Hatha and Raja Yoga, and Pranayama with the client in this session. I taught in an order that would allow the client to move from the Anamaya Kosha, to the Pranamaya Kosha, then to the Manomaya Kosha, and to begin to access the Vijanama Kosha. I chose joint-freeing seated asanas to help the client relieve stress, without increasing fatigue level. I chose extended exhalation breath to more deeply access the parasympathetic nervous system and provide a meditative benefit. The client has indicated repeatedly that she is struggling with her attachment to family and friends and with Raja Yoga she is learning to control the mind and emotions. By offering the client time for reflection and practical application of aparigraha--letting go of attachments--the hope is that with regular practice her stress level would lower, which may have a positive impact on her health.

I utilized seated asanas and pranayama before the Raja Yoga portion of this session to prepare the client for a deeper discussion. They flowed together very well, almost as one long meditative practice. We read the core teaching together and discussed it and then read the story together. The client journaled after the story and then shared her thoughts. She said she had never made a connection between emotional attachment and the impact of resulting stress on the body. She enjoyed the reading and the time for reflection, indicating that she needs to make more time to journal in the future. She arrived at her own conclusion following the story that her attachments with family were impacting her and that she felt her RA flares increase more with stress. The client says she felt relieved at the end of our session. She has asked to continue to have Raja Yoga be part of future sessions.

Client should continue journaling on a daily basis in dated entries on her own, including documenting how she feels and if she's experiencing an RA flare. The client has set some goals to detach more from family. This includes being less engaged in family "gossip" and no longer loaning one family member money, which she says heightens her stress. In yoga therapy sessions, we will continue to incorporate non-attachment through Raja Yoga-related readings and discussion.

Yes, but we spent more time talking than I had originally planned. Yes, the goal was achieved. The client indicated that she immediately felt relieved of what she described as a "burden." The client arrived at her own conclusion following the story that her attachments to family related to "Yes, my Son" and that she could no longer sacrifice her well-being for her family. The client's physical body changed during the session too, with her face softening and her shoulders relaxing.

Yes, I should have planned that the client may have wanted to talk more than journaling. Every client is different, so having more flexibility around the activity I planned is important.

I would approach this differently if this was someone that I didn't know prior to our first session. I knew the client and had worked with her in my professional job prior to working with her in a yoga therapy session, so I already knew the history related to the familial attachment. The client and I already had a trusting relationship established, so she would feel supported. I would not introduce this activity in the first session with a brand new client, as issues involving family can be triggering and it's important to have trust established first.

• Yes-My-Son-Story-of-Non-Attachment.pdf
• Yoga-Sutra-Aparigraha_Raja-TCA-Attachment.docx