Welcome, Explorer!

EVERYTHING in this course is optional and here for you to use or not - you are an adult capable of making your own decisions and priorities.

Today is just about getting in this portal (woot! You’ve already done that!) and setting expectations. Next, it’s important that you have a sense of who I am as your guide on this 8-week journey of practice & learning, and how I interpret & teach this very popular thing we call yoga. Three important pillars to my style of teaching yoga are:

• CHOICE

  ~ AKA, learning to follow our inner wisdom instead of looking always for answers or validation from the outside. Yoga is a philosophy that explores the facets and meaning of our lives, and as such, we are meant to interpret and adapt it to our own lives and experiences. Take all information and allow it to marinate. How might it apply to your life? If it doesn't apply, let it go and move on to something more helpful. This is practicing the karmic action of non-attachment. Allow the information to come in, make a decision about its usefulness, and let got what does not serve YOU! This method of “allow - decide - release” will be practiced throughout this course.

• COMMUNICATION

  ~ Try to be honest and open about what you are experiencing, especially with yourself. Humility has been one of my personal greatest teachers. It helps us to make small steps that are in alignment with the natural energy and resources all around us. When we tap into nature and energy, magic really can happen. But it requires that we practice the first of the method above: allow. Ask questions to yourself, and be patient in finding answers from your intuition that feel true. Use your journal to document what you are noticing, where things do and don’t make sense, and what you feel about what you’re learning. Email me to ask questions or make requests if you'd like some additional insight, and let me know what is or is not working for you.

• SOLUTIONS-BASED THINKING

  ~ Join in the process of discovering what will and won’t work for you as you develop your home-based yoga and mindfulness practice, and try new things with a learner’s mentality. If something doesn’t feel right, trust that and back away. If something doesn’t feel good, be willing to step into discomfort (supported by a consistent breath) for the sake of learning. This “duality of reality” is in everything the whole universe over. When we allow ourselves to step into discomfort, sit with it, and breathe into it, eventually, over time, and with lots of practice, we step away from focusing our attention on problems and toward solutions. We learn to step into flow and ease, instead of resistance and fight or flight. 😌

Day 1 Task List:

1. memberspace.

You will use your MemberSpace login information to access the Reset & Re-Energize Online Course portal (where you are right now) as well as the Practice Project video library.

You will find links to the Reset & Re-Energize Online Course portal login at the bottom of any page on this website. ⬇️ Put this URL in your bookmarks, so you can easily come back to it!

2. Download the “RESET & RE-ENERGIZE INTENTION AGREEMENT” .PDF below:

Please read this document, mentally marinate on it, sign it, and put it someplace where you will see it and it can motivate you. It may seem silly, but there is research that shows when we set an initial intention and put our name on it, we are more likely to be successful with our intentions. Again, everything in this course is optional and for your benefit, but the more you participate, the more you will benefit! This document is a written statement of what we are both committing to in this virtual course, and it is important to set clear expectations in the beginning so that you have a positive experience. Let me know if you have any questions!

The Learning Model

The left brain contributes to our linear thinking: logical, sequential information that offers repeatable patterns.

The right brain houses our ability to think creatively: adapt, play, and make important changes and solve problems. 🤸🏽‍♀️🤯💃🏽

In this course, we will use this concept of repetition and patterns in short physical exercises which are repeated. When we play with the repetition of a structure (in this case the sequence of poses), we grow our familiarity, which then offers us the opportunity for play and enriched learning through the right or creative brain.

Think about the first time you did something. It was probably just short of awful. And then the next time you did it, it was decent. By the third or fourth time, it was ok, from there it went to great… and then the fun begins. PLAY. DEVIATE FROM THE STRUCTURE. This is the magic of the creative brain at work. And when it works on our bodies, we not only get to do that creative mind play, it expands our physical and energetic consciousness and offers deep and meaningful pathways to improvement / aka / healing / aka increased sense of self. (Potato Potahto)

Learning to discern variability within a pattern is where we get into the depths of what makes each of us unique, often called a holistic approach. Using the rhythm of breath, repetition of the sequence of poses, and frequency (daily practice) offers the right cocktail of factors to more easily grasp these variables for each of our bodies, and build our mindful self-awareness of what our bodies need.

Time Ask & Content

My goal is to help you gain a new routine that is helpful for you and that you want to do at a minimum of just 10 minutes a day. You may want much more the more that you practice, and that’s why each week the asana (poses) practice sequence adds on the last. Below is the list of resources available for you to use each week:

• Daily Mindfulness Assignments

  Check the “Mindfulness Exercises page from the index on the left at the top of this page for 5-7 weekly mindfulness assignments. Each assignment will take you no longer than 5 minutes. These assignments are drawn from the concepts of Mindfulness and help us to shift our thinking, be more present in our day-to-day, and to learn incredible coping skills for the stresses of life. It is recommended that you do them sequentially, but you may also decide to wander through them as it suits your day and mood.

• Weekly Concept & Instructional Video

  Here I will expound on the theme of the week, why we’re learning it, and some examples to help you with your practice. If you’re new to yoga and mindfulness you will likely want to watch the whole video. If you’ve been practicing a while, you may be able to skip the instructional “how-to” part.

• Weekly Audio Guides For Daily Practice

  Every week I will upload 10 additional minutes of the sequence in an audio format. If time is tight, please never skip the five-minute sequence of floor stretches to help settle our energy, and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps us to “Rest & Reset.” The parasympathetic nervous system aids in digestion, and releases pent-up energy such as anxiety and stress, allowing our lymph and immune system to function more productively.

  I have intentionally chosen audio to guide you instead of video so that you are more focused on feeling your way into poses and movement, instead of trying to “look the right way.” If you feel lost, please refer back to the Weekly Concept Video for help, or reach out to me via email. I encourage you to practice these 10 minutes every day. If you would like more, simply repeat one of the audio selections, or put on your favorite music and repeat the sequence on your own. Repetition offers enriched learning, as well as helping to establish a rhythm in the body, which we’ll dive into in weeks 1 and 2.
  

• Practice Journal

  One of the lessons of yoga is how to manifest that which we desire. A big part of manifestation is taking the time to “make our thoughts real.” Writing down important changes or observances throughout your practice is a powerful tool in helping guide energy toward that which you want to create in your life.

print & fold down the middle

• Seasonal Ayurvedic Cleanse

  Take a look at the seasonal cleanse available via the “Seasonal Ayurvedic Cleanse” page in the course navigation. ⬆️ There are videos to explain each component of the cleanse. This cleanse comes from the tradition of Ayurveda, which is over 2000 years old, and was a deeply developed health system out of India before it was a British colony. I personally use this cleanse a few times a year, with various modifications. You can find a 7-day supply of the recommended herbs and tea for sale on the “Calley’s Apothecary” page. I recommend buying them from me if you’re test-driving this cleanse so you don’t have a bunch of herbs lying around if you chose not to continue them. (Most store-bought varieties will offer a 30-day supply.)

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PLEASE NOTE: Everyone responds to these exercises differently. Please take Pillar #1 (Choice) to heart and do what feels intuitively best for you and your body. I do encourage you to challenge yourself, and be willing to try new things that may be “hard,” (AKA “new”), but it is important that you discern between “discomfort” and “pain,” for your own body.

Discomfort = learning

Pain = Your body is saying something ain’t right.

Questions? Email me! I’m so very honored to guide your practice.

🌞🌚✨