The client can activate the parasympathetic nervous system and release low back tension through practice of the Therapeutic Yoga pose of Resting Frog. Benefits of the pose include "flexibility in the back, hips, adductors...and groin. This pose increases circulation in the pelvis and abdominal region." (Deepening Into Therapeutic Yoga Manual p.79)

My goal is to offer the client a 90-minute therapeutic yoga session, featuring restorative poses: a heart-opening backbend, a supported lateral bend, a supported forward bend, being the targeted asana of Resting Frog, followed by a restorative pose for final relaxation. Pranayama, guided meditation and energy work will also be incorporated.

The client is a 56-year-old female in overall good health. She is a former personal trainer and is now a full-time massage therapist. Since transitioning full-time to this role, she has performed over 2000 hours of massage. She deals with tension in her low back, forearms and hands from her work. Two years ago she was thrown from a horse. She suffered no fractures but did sustain a large hematoma on the lower right side of her back, and now holds a great deal of palpable tension in that area.

My plan was to guide the client through a 90 minute session, incorporating the following poses: Mountain Brook, Half Moon (each side), Supported Frog, and Resting Star for final relaxation. While in Mountain Brook I guided her through a body mapping exercise, inviting her to share her learnings at the conclusion. I also planned to incorporate guided imagery and breath awareness during Supported Frog.

I incorporated Hatha yoga - specifically asana and pranayama. I encouraged pratyahara, inviting her to use each pose as a meditation, following up on her sharings from the body mapping exercise. I also incorporated hands-off energy work with her.

She shared two significant observations from the body mapping. I encouraged her to ask her body, "What do you need right now?" and then patiently listen for the responses. In the region of her heart chakra (anahata), she felt her body needed comfort. When she focused on the right hip in the area of her injury, she felt her body needed her to forgive - as she was harboring a grievance against her brother-in-law, who pushed her to get on the horse even though she was uncomfortable doing it. These expressed needs informed healing imagery we used during the poses.

As she is a body worker and very empathic, I encouraged her to start her day with the Heaven and Earth grounding meditation - and incorporate both short grounding practices before each client and cleansing practices after. I also encouraged her to revisit the Half Moon and Supported Frog poses as ways to work with forgiveness, and to use Mountain Brook and Resting Star as restorative chest openers and ways to give comfort to all her koshas. We spent a few minutes locating props around her home that she could use as support in continuing her practice.

I believe the goal was achieved. The client thoroughly enjoyed the entire session. When I followed up with her the next day, she said she felt “more aware” of her right hip - as in more connected and in tune with that region of her body. A pleasant surprise was the length of time she chose to remain in Half Moon lying on her left side (opening the right side). She chose to stay for over 15 minutes, sharing how sensations changed in her right hip, which progressively felt more relaxed and open. As she described changes over the course of the time in the pose, I added energy work targeting the affected area. I invited her to breathe into that area seeing the breath as a healing color - which she described as a bright, light green. While she enjoyed Supported frog, Half Moon on her left side ended up being the most significant pose for her practice this day.

When we moved to pose to the other side, we worked in Full Moon, which was more comfortable both for her right hip and left shoulder, which was feeling tender. I offered gentle traction for the left shoulder and arm. Being a massage therapist, she cued me to add slightly more intensity and movement in traction, which brought release to the shoulder. Going back to her observation of needing comfort, I encouraged her to allow the breath to bring healing to that area - as a healing light or cool gel, which she saw as blue color.

Knowing the client had limited yoga props and alternatives, I brought 2 bolsters, 2 pranayama bolsters, 4 blankets, small sandbags and an eye pillow - all of which were used to provide support during poses. It encouraged me to always overpack on my end as I’d rather have more support options for the client than not enough. Reviewing the entire session, there is nothing I would change. It was such a fluid time together, the key being how open our communication was throughout. I appreciated how she fully invested into each pose, allowing herself to notice feedback so we could provide more support where needed, or make the adjustment from Half Moon to Full Moon for the right side of her body.