Private Yoga Sessions - Multiple Injuries

Yoga Discussion Structural Yoga Therapy
#1

Dear Mukunda,

Thank you so much for providing this forum for us ? I appreciate receiving all your emails. I was hoping you could provide some guidance - I am preparing to work privately with a woman with the following conditions:

Intestinal Cancer (recently diagnosed)
Shingles (recent development)
Knee surgery to both knees ? twice on the right - it needed to be redone because of car accident shortly after the first surgery
Broke Shoulder in 4 places
At times has trouble breathing often this is due to anxiety
Sinus problems
Stress
Quit smoking recently ? she was never a big smoker ? mostly a social smoker

She has recently taken a break from a very successful, very high-stress job. She is 34 and has been working since she was a teenager. She has been successful at all her businesses and yet her health has suffered. She is seeing doctors and therapists for her conditions and wants to begin a regular yoga practice because it makes her feel good. I teach a Vinyasa style of yoga in a heated room ? 90 degrees. She has done this class on several occasions and while she feels tired during the class, she feels wonderful afterward – her doctors are aware of this and say it is fine. When I work privately with people with any serious conditions I tend to use the Forrest Yoga method developed by Ana Forrest. Also, I have recommend that she work with a Homeopath by the name of Ron Kruickshank ? he is based in Cambridge, MA ? his specialty: Acupuncture, Chinese Herbs, Homeopathy, Dietary advice.

Any thoughts you have would be greatly appreciated ? also, please let me know if you have any questions or need clarification.
Thank you. Namaste

#2

First thoughts that come to me are these words from Ramana Maharshi –

  1. The rent, which we must give for this shop (our body), is simple, basic food, clothing and shelter. If we do not pay this rent, we will have to go out leaving this body, just like a merchant who has to vacate his shop when he does not pay the rent.

  2. The worldly life that we live is similar to the business done by a foolish merchant who earns only enough to pay the rent. Only he who toils hard and thereby earns a profit that is many times greater than the rent, is a wise and skillful merchant. Like such a merchant, we should try to attain the great profit of Self-knowledge before the death of this body.
    From the book, “A LIGHT ON THE TEACHING OF BHAGAVAN SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI ? The Essence of Spiritual Practice” (Sadhana Saram).

For someone who has not taken good care of the temple, there is little that can be done by others. It is not our responsibility for her to be motivated. What you can do for yourself to yourself may be an example for her. To understand the essence of suffering and know how it extends to all is the deeper meaning of Yoga Therapy. To know the Self which is not affected by all these ailments is yoga. Everything else is a Band-Aid on a tremendous wound.

Best would be a residential yoga program where she can stay and be doing practices all day long. I can make some recommendations in this regard should she approach me about them. What you can do once a week for a couple of hours without medical yoga training is a drop in the bucket. The methods you are doing are strongly increasing pitta with heated room and increasing kapha with Ana Forest method. They will have some stabilizing and purifying effect for a while, the question is what will she do as she becomes detoxified of what toxins she has been accustomed to.

On a more practical note I would recommend you send her to Loretta Levitz in Brighton, MA at 617-782-1727. She is experienced in such complex cases as a yoga therapist and Ayurvedic practitioner for over 15 years. This is too complicated a situation for me to comment on in this format. Blessings to you and your intention to heal and be of help.