Cultivating an experience of Santosha and acceptance of her body as-is while client recovers from Adrenal Exhaustion.

Through restorative postures / yoga nidra and journaling, client will integrate these practices into her weekly schedule to support her while recovering from Adrenal Exhaustion.

58-year-old female - in generally good health - was recently diagnosed with Adrenal Exhaustion. Symptoms include low energy, constipation, and insomnia. In addition, lab work revealed low sodium and chloride levels. She's working now with naturopath to restore sodium and chloride levels to normal range.

I planned to hold as much space as needed with client - listening and reflecting back what I heard, as she shared about her condition and its impact on her daily life. I sensed her frustration, including a sense of betrayal with her body. I presented Santosha as a first-step towards acceptance, which could then lead to 'contentment' with what is and her recovery process. We'd then discuss the nature of healing and how she wanted to show up for that.

Asana / Svadhyaya - journaling - yoga nidra - connecting with her body - caring for it.The journaling became the cornerstone for her self-care. She shared some of her insights at each followup session. She expressed feelings of anger for her body "failing" her. In time she found herself experiencing gratitude for her body as well as for the support and insights that were showing up as she pursued this journaling practice.
She resisted the Yoga Nidra practice - couldn't "find the time to do it". I then suggested trying a body scan in bed before lights out as well as in the mornings - a personal inventory for beginning and completing each day. She found this option for Yoga Nidra 'doable' Said it's helping her to tune into her body in way she'd never experienced before.

Client was very open during our discussions. While she didn't complete the Yoga Nidra portion of plan, she embraced the journaling and re-started her meditation practice - 10 minutes. I encouraged her to be open and follow her own lead about any practice or rituals that might support her on her healing path.

I encouraged client to search for a Sangha - whatever that meant to her - to support her as she incorporates these practices into her daily life.

I also referred her to a couple of naturopaths for a supplement consultation.

Yes, I applied the plan that I had prepared. I'm glad that my primary intention for our meeting was to hold space and just listen. It helped me understand what her challenges and resistances might be to trying the prescribed plan. That enabled me to direct the conversation to any possible obstacles - find some workarounds with Pratipaksha Bhavana, flexibility and creativity.

I had to adapt the Yoga Nidra portion of my plan. By offering body scans and restorative postures in bed as an alternative - we found a doable alternative for her to connect with her body.

I was happy to improvise on the spot, to adapt it for her benefit and experience and not my ideal plan or expectations. I didn't it to seem that there was only 'one way' to gain benefits from the tools, practices and teachings of Yoga.

I realized that keeping my toolbox open and being ready to improvise is of utmost importance for the client. There's always room for co-exploration in our discussions. I also see that there's a delicate balance of nudging someone to try something new, of being open to whatever shows up in our shared space.

I was pleased to set the client up for success. By staying open, minimizing expectations and welcoming the outcome and results - whatever they may be. Asking for feedback established trust and confidence between us. We were working together considering different practices and tools that supported her objectives. It was a co-creative process of exploration.

Regarding what I might change, hindsight is 20/20. Looking back, I might have left more time to discuss Santosha and what that meant to her. I think that portion of our session was more of a tutorial rather than a conversation.