Meditation practices such as mindfulness meditation, Japa meditation and mantra meditation can help to reduce Vata aggravation. Vata aggravation can lead to excess and unmanaged stress, depression, anxiety and a dedicated meditation practice can assist in the reduction of these symptoms and an overall improvement in quality of life.

Goal: To help my client reduce symptoms of Vata aggravation through the implementation of a dedicated daily meditation practice.

The metric used will be a detailed intake form as well as verbal intake to determine the level of her symptoms measuring: anxiety, frequency of anxiety, bouts of depression and perceived overall quality of life.

Gender: Female


Age: 58y


Health Conditions: Anxiety (taking Lexapro), bouts of depression (unmedicated), Trigeminal Neuralgia


Brief History: My client is a 58y old female who presents as a VP Prakriti and Vata Vikrti. She reports having a lot of anxiety especially surrounding her career and marriage, intermittent bouts of depression and sufferers from Trigeminal Neuraglia which feeds into her anxiety. She is married, w/ 3 grown kids.

I envisioned working with this client once a week for 45 minutes helping her to start and build a meditation practice in order to help alleviate some of the Vata aggravation she experiences on a regular basis. She is a Vata Prakriti with a Vata Vikriti as well as entering into the Vata stage of life, yet has a lifestyle very conducive to Vata aggravation with her busy work schedule and a stressful marriage. She is already starting to show signs of medical conditions which are derivative of Vata aggravation (Trigeminal Neuralgia).

I envisioned helping her understand the benefits of a regular mediation practice as well as guiding her through a few styles of meditation so she could learn about the different types and start to add meditation into her day in order to reduce stress and anxiety.

Raja Yoga - as Raja yoga is ultimately the path towards enlightenment through meditation, Raja yoga was the key branch of yoga used with this client. Through Raja yoga we achieve peace and contentment through a consistent practice of yoga and meditation which can aid in the reduction of stress and anxiety. Raja Yoga can be equated to the 8-Fold Path of yoga with the 6th and 7th paths being "meditation."

This ultimately supports the goal and is related to the key teaching since the various types of meditation are all part of the 8-Fold Path and can help a person work towards enlightenment and reap the benefits of a steady meditation practice.

Citations attached

I enjoyed working with this client although I did observe her having a challenging time letting go during the meditations. I observed that she enjoyed the guided meditations more than mantra or papa. I strongly encouraged her to continue to use meditation as tool to help her with her stress and anxiety.

I suggested my client continue her meditation practice daily, starting with just 5 minutes a day and then incrementally increasing the amount as she got used to the duration and really started to feel the benefits.

I suggested using tools such as Insight Timer and Calm for a variety of different guided meditations, as well.

Yes I did apply the intended plan with my client. We met for 4 weeks and I do not feel as though the overall goal was achieved, but I do think she came away from the experience understanding the benefits of maintaining a regular meditation practice. I think this client would benefit from an extended period of time working with a Yoga Therapist as I feel that the accountability of meeting with me kept her in it. I feel good coming away from this knowing that she at least was introduced to a holistic way to approach and heal her symptoms associated with Vata aggravation.

I did not necessarily have to adapt anything but I do feel that it took more time for this particular client to quiet her mind and let go during the meditations. Her Vata aggravation was definitely high and because of that, it took more time than with some other clients.