Welcome, Yoga Body Yogis!

This is our resource page where you can find links to attend class live and on demand. This page will be updated as we go along with other resources so we have one spot we can go to for our group. Note all live classes are pacific coast time.

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Daily Focus

Day 1 A Lit Intention

Body Love is an essential aspect to this cleanse. Start the day with warm/hot lemon water and sip on it throughout the day. At some point today or tonight, take a moment to hand write your intention (word or phrase) on a piece of paper. Light a candle and place the paper underneath or next to the candle to illuminate and give light to your intention. Take a few deep breaths. Notice how your body responds to candle light, how your eyes perhaps feel more ease. In the same way your intention can hold purpose and light as you feel a sense of ease around all of it. This is the way to embodiment.

Day 2 Sweet Dreams are Made of This

Getting good sleep is an essential part of cleansing.  At the end of the day, we can do a simple breath practice to prepare for sleep.  Here is a quick guided practice that can be done at bedtime or at any point of the day you feel overwhelmed or stressed. 

Sound for Sleep, 9pm on IG Live - For more of a wind down into rest tonight, join me for a sound bath tonight.

Day 3  Ayurvedic Remedies | part 1

Healthy habits can become a part of our life and this one provides a little spa bliss moment in the day.  Dry Brushing & Self Abhyanga (warm oil massage) are self care gems.  In our talk today, friend and extremely knowledgeable Ayurvedic specialist, Andrea Emmerich offers a comprehensive overview of these practices among other things.  Thanks you, Andrea! 

Our Ayurveda talk is included in Day 3 on demand link.  Here is a link to instructions for Dry Brushing & Self Abhyanga Routine as well as Product Resources.

Lastly, tonight before bed, practice the 3/9 breathing. There is a guided audio of this from day 2. It’s been quite a day. We’re going to need to down regulate the nervous system.

Day 4 What’s in Your Fridge? 

Today’s focus is inspired by a post I saw by Dr. Junger who created the Clean Program.  In it, there was a picture of a fortune teller’s hands over a crystal ball.  The captions read:  ‘I’m a different kind of psychic… show me your fridge and I’ll tell you your future.’  It’s an interesting idea.  For today’s focus suggestion: go through your fridge and see if there is anything old you need to throw out.  Spend 10+ minutes organizing and cleaning it.   Maybe play some music, put on a podcast while doing this.  See how this makes your feel in  your body.  Just this simple act of getting clear can be so rewarding.

What’s in your mouth?  Oil pulling is an ayurvedic practice I also brought up today.  This very healing practice for our teeth and gums directly affects how bacterial travels in the entire body.  I will update our Ayurveda resource page with more details.

Day 5 Facial Friday

We made it to Day 5 and if you are making up days, not to worry.  You can hop back in here for a sweet facial Friday moment.  

Action:  This evening, give your self a face mask or indulge in an epsom salt bath bubble bath.  Light a candle.  Remember your word.  Enjoy a moment of love turned inwards.  Okay, it could be that, too.  🤷🏻‍♀️

Inquiry: 1. What does being embodied and/or having embodied wisdom feel like for you?  2. Consider how you feel when you do your yoga practice, eat healthy foods and incorporate wellbeing lifestyle habits.  How does this affect your relationships?  Is there a connection there? 3. What is something you did this week that you are proud of?

Day 6  Amenity Cures

Detoxing our home can create a harmonious feeling as we spend so much time in our space.  Let’s try this today!

Amenity Cures: Are you a make up/skin care/amenity hoarder?  (Did she just call me a hoarder?)  It was a question.  I’m just saying… when’s the last time you went through a drawer in your bathroom and cleared the clutter?  Spend 10+ minutes going through a drawer and throw out old and expired products.

• Are there things in there you keep, but you will never use? Donate them!

• If you don’t know where to donate them and you are in LA, you can bring them to me and I will be sure they are given to people in need.

• If you have expired prescriptions, you can take them to a CVS and they will recycle them.

• Wipe the drawer clean and dust off the products you are keeping.

• In the spirit of Marie Kondo, author of the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, thank the products you are letting go of and only keep the ones that spark joy.

Day 7 Pause & Say ‘Thank You’

Take a moment and reflect on our week of cleansing togetherness.  Are there any suggestions during the week you haven’t had time to do?  Today is the day to pause and if called to do so, explore any of the focused suggestions thus far.  As you go to sleep tonight, whisper or say out loud ‘thank  you.’   And when you wake up in the morning, if you remember to do so,  say ‘thank you’ before your eyes open.  I’ll see you at 9am.  30 min yoga + 30+ min chat.  

Day 8 Grace Will Lead us hOMe

As we enter week two, we layer in a detoxing focus around our perception, reactivity and our own imagination.  When challenged, through the power of focus and a moment of pause, we can ask ourselves, ‘how can I move through this moment with grace?’  We can do this on the mat and we can do this off the mat.  And in saying those words, we open a crack in the window of willingness that may change the course of our day.  This shifts the chemistry of the body.  Cortisol spikes soften; adrenal overload quiets.  And in this, we detoxify the effect of reactivity through the power of Grace.

Some define grace as refinement of movement. I see it as light warming up darkness. For the ultimate inspiration in grace, listen or re-listen to this Ted Talk by Amy Purdy. Or check out her conversation on Super Soul: The Power of Visualization,

ACTION || Write down and acknowledge ways you have practiced grace. How did it feel in your body? Is there something going on now where you could apply more grace. How might that feel in your body?

Day 9 Digital Detox

It’s time y’all. It’s really time we reclaim our power and creative life force energy. When left unchecked, our habituated use of our phone and social media creates a toxic environment for our body and mind. So here are the suggested check points for today and moving forward. Say what?

AT NIGHT || An hour before bedtime, set your alarm for the morning. And then don’t use your phone or screens for one hour before bed — unless using the phone to play a meditation app or join my Sound for Sleep on IG live 9pm. Light a candle and shift to entirely natural light if possible. Instead of TV, pick up a book. Enjoy a hot bath with epsom salts. Or play with your kids. Make out with your partner. Play music. Dance. Put your legs up a wall. Turn back time and see how it feels. This is ultimately up to you. But at minimum: no social media trolling before bed. Reclaim your power.

UPON RISING || As you wake up, try to keep your eyes closed and if you remember, say the words ‘thank you.’ Before looking at your phone, sit up and take ten deep breathes. Feel how you are reconnecting to a source of natural power in your day. This will provide you with a minute of meditation before looking at your phone.

Day 10 To Do or Not To Do

As we expand our connection to what it means to cleanse and detox, we now begin to address all the nagging things on our to list.  Things that are taking up energetic space in you. Things that may be important to follow through with, like scheduling a doctors appointment. This cleanse is meant to create a path to feeling free in our body & mind. Let’s do this.

Action:  1. Make a List!  Write down any loose ends like medical appointment, internet upgrade, bills to be paid, bookkeeping, housekeeping, etc.  2.  Spend at least 10 minutes chipping away.  Make the call for the appointment or to schedule the help you need to get the list done.  Pay the bill online.  Rip off the bandaid.  Sometimes, we are able to shift into that other part of our brain that likes to organize in this way.  Most times, it’s just straight up adulting actions and we need to do them in order to get free.  If you end up on a roll, keep going.  Clear the clutter of those things.  They take up space in our psyche which affects our body.  Afterwards & during, you can say out loud ‘I’m a badass and I’m getting clear.’

Day 11 Body Love

Write down something you love about your body both internally and externally.  Also, digital detox one hour before bed.  And when you wake up in the morning, before looking at your phone, sit up, take 10-20 breaths. Reclaim your power and start the day fresh!

Day 12 Power of Transitions + Ayurvedic Remedies | part 2

Whether we realize it in the moment or not, transitions hold a potential for detoxification.  Huge life transitions and small ones alike are markers on our life path and a great time to be mindful and to connect to our inner strength & wisdom.  It can also be a time of letting go.  Think of a time in your life — perhaps now even — that you are/were in transition and you let go of something toxic.  Write about the strength you found in those moments. 

On the mat, we often overlook the power of mindfully connected transitions. So, in today’s yoga practice we focused cultivating awareness and developing strength & support through some of them. As we move through the next nine days together, we can embed these patterns into the fabric of our body intelligence on the mat.

AYURVEDIC REMEDIES || Our talk with Andrea was most nourishing and illuminating today!   Among our discussion topics, we covered the use and benefits of a netipot, nasya treatment, a fab recipe for a daily liver tonic (you can make at home) and other ayurvedic supplements to support digestion. Visit our Ayurvedic Tools & Resources page and/or watch our day 12 on demand chat to learn more.

Day 13 You Matter

If there is one thing we can do to treat the incessant stream of high intensity, fraught, worrisome news & events in our world, it is this:  Be sure you are also taking in nutritious information as well.  So for today’s focus, I am sharing with you one of my all time favorite podcast listens.  ‘You Matter’ by Iyanla Vanzant.  Please find time to listen or re-listen to it before we gather on Monday.  Any time of the day is good for this.  Start your day with this podcast or listen to it in the middle of the day, or end of day is great, too. Because you matter at every moment of the day and Iyanla will set your sh^t straight if you are in any way confused about that.

ACTION || Listen to Podcast.  And then write about ways that you recognize your own mattering.  Do you have a strong ‘yes’ and a clear ‘no’?  Write down any thoughts this listen sparked for you.  Can you see why embodying your own mattering is a form of detoxification?

Day 14 The Negativity Bias

As humans we are ALL pre-dispositioned to what is called a negativity bias.  This is not because we are bad people; it is simply in our wiring.  Fortunately, practices of yoga (which includes pranayama and various forms of breathwork) have been passed down to us as great medicine to treat this tyranny of thought.  Breathwork in particular can be a powerful tool for clearing the body of toxins and moving stuck energy.  In this practice, we bypass the critical thinking of the mind that keeps us held in toxic vortexes of thought.

Note: you might get cramping in your hands when doing breathwork. This is normal and should pass. My hands don’t cramp so don’t feel like this has to happen either.

ACTION ||  My breathwork teacher, David Elliott, has a few simple guided practices on spotify, similar to what we did in today’s class.  If you want to go really deep, try his ‘Entity Energy Release Meditation’ (33 min).  To learn more about David, I highly recommend his book ‘The Reluctant Healer.’

Day 15 Do You Have a Dream?

Thank you for connecting on Martin Luther King day.  This is such an important day and time in our lives to become aware and perhaps change our behavior so that we are more mindful, and so that we don’t put out toxicity in our world.  When we put out toxicity, we hold toxicity. 

So, this might mean dialing back time on twitter and cable news.  It might mean asking ourselves when we are politically active, are we spewing venom and hatred?  Is there a way to adjust and take more actions so that any embodied rage gets transmuted to good purpose?  Rage is not all bad.  It can be a great touchstone from which to launch us into awareness and right action. Begin to identify toxic patterns in this deeper way and how you respond. Do you want to binge on sugar and netflix? I don’t know many people who don’t so onto our actions now.

ACTION || Think and/or write about the word courage and what that means to you?  How it relates to MLK?  Are there ways your embodied action, words and points of view could be less toxic?  How would you feel in that moment?  Do you have a dream?  Write down the phrase: “I have a dream….” and see what comes out.   Just write and see what comes up organically.  

Day 16 Take Out the Trash

Thoughts and story can fill the body with debris like an overstuffed trash receptacle.  Sometimes we don’t realize that we, too, need a regular clearing.  Just imagine how it would be if we didn’t have our trash picked up every week?  (Moment of gratitude for this awesome system).  Well, our bodies fill up with a similar energetic stench when we don’t find ways for release & transformation.  Story and thoughts can ferment and embed toxins in our bodies.  Here’s something we can do about it.

ACTION || There are many ways to meditate, but have you ever tried meditating with your eyes open?  Create for yourself 5 minutes or more today.  Go outside or perhaps just look out a window.  Draw focus to something beautiful from nature - trees, grass, sunset, flowers, a hummingbird, etc.  As you stare, allow yourself to ruminate through the toxic thoughts you are releasing.  Before you finish, really take in the beauty of what you are looking at outside.  The colors, the shape, the smells.  Replenish your energetic body today and have this exchange with nature.

BONUS ACTION || Nature gives us so much — as you will experience in that meditation.  Here is a way we can give back.  As you walk through the world and you see trash strewn on mother natures’ frock, pick it up and throw it away.  If you are Covid weary, you can do this as a more deliberate practice and take a pair of gloves with you on your next walk. 

Day 17 Clearing Toxic Ties

I met a lady in Ojai years ago who seemed to have psychic abilities — and not just because she was living Ojai.  She was highly tuned in to the dysfunctional relationship I was in at the time.  She asked me: ‘who’s the narcissist in your life?’  (Chills).  Me: My boyfriend?   She told me narcissists are here with one purpose and one purpose only: to teach us not to give our power away.

Releasing toxic ties can be painful and empowering.  During our live chat today, some of you bravely admitted to your own narcissism as being the toxic tie you would want to address.  Thank you for that great reminder!  So for today, let’s see if we can go deeper in this cleanse and release some toxic ties.  Trumps gone.  So there’s one.

ACTION || Write about any relationship you are having that feels toxic or where you feel like you are giving away your power.  Bonus: write about any aspects of narcissism within yourself that you would let go of?  If you’re at a loss on this, but you use social media, that is the perfect starting point for this little treasure hunt.  How much of what you do or don’t do on social media is about getting more recognition and approval.  How much is performative based on what others will think? 

Maybe these are not narcissistic traits per se, but they can morph into toxic self obsession. And the coin can flip if you are more of the voyeur than the post-er on social media. Do you feel a charge of superiority when you see the train wreck of other people’s feed? Simply take an inventory of what you might clear up so you feel more free and genuine. The toxic lie of the mind tells us we are not connected, that we are not worthy of love.

BONUS ACTION || Meditate for several minutes and see if you can feel a truer connection to your value deep inside.  Value that is not derived from likes and comments, value that is not derived from feeling superior or devalue-ing to feel inferior. But rather value that is derived from your inner essence of grace and beauty.  The more we clear, the more free we will be.  And the more we will truly love ourselves. 

Day 18 There’s Always Light

Thanks to the brilliance of yesterday’s stunning poet laureate, Amanda Gormon for bringing us the dharma that encapsulates everything we are doing on this cleanse.  Her sage guidance and courage reflect a great teaching — that we can take this light with us.  “If only,” she says:

The new day blooms as we free it

For there is always light,  

If only we’re brave enough to see it 

If only we’re brave enough to be it 

-Amanda Gormon

ACTION ||  Are you still feeling any pangs of darkness that you need to address?  Dark voices in the distant recesses of your mind?  Please, please, write them down.  This is how we bring light to them.  And then bring more light to them and burn them.  Literally (and safely) burn those pieces of paper.  Call in all of the protective support of our group.  Sit quietly and see how you feel.  Where have those stories and thoughts been living in your body? 

Come to practice tomorrow with the intention of putting salve on those wounds by using your breath and your kind attention as powerful & brave medicine. This is freedom. (Don’t make me play George Michael again, y’all).  See the healing.  Be the healing.

BONUS ACTION || As you are about to drift off into slumber tonight, close your eyes and imagine a benevolent light energy encompassing and filling your entire body.  Notice any shifts in color, temperature or sensation.   And with your eyes closed and this light around you, go from seeing it to being it.  Take a deep breath in and quietly exhale the words “thank you.”  

Day 19 Rest & Digest

If we hang on too tight to anything, we either crush it or it slips right out of our hand. One of the five yamas in the ancient teachings of yoga by Patanjali is the practice of ‘aparigrah’ or non-grasping, non-attachment. Today in practice, we explore balancing inner fortitude and commitment, with a mindful ease so we are not grasping. This can happen both on the mat and off the mat.

Now is the time to rest the body after all of this commitment and all of this processing? Rather than grasp for more today, can we feel that we’ve done enough? Can we un-dig our foot out of the ground of self-righteousness? Can we un-grip the fist around our beating heart? Can we release harsh judgment of ourselves and others as we enter the moment of now?

At the level of the soul, we are all connected. There’s always light. Can we let that in right now in this moment?

ACTION || I created a 20 minute Rest & Digest Sound Bath with you in mind just before the cleanse began. I am posting it now on YouTube so you can access it freely. As you listen, perhaps bring your legs up a wall or simply rest comfortably. Take a few deep breaths and let your body rest and digest all of the good work you have been doing. Simmer in your word & digest the things you are proud of, too. Let those things become a part of the fabric of your body.

There is a physiological shift in our bodies with every meal, with every bite of what we digest — whether that be food or information. Come, let's lie down now and relish in the transformative power of all of the bites that have brought you to this moment.

Day 20 Ripple Effect

All the things we do and say have a ripple effect both in our body and in our world.   This is a part of the principle of karma.  When left unattended, our bodies and mind will absorb environmental toxins as well as ones we bring in, often because we are soothing some form of stress.  But, our body won’t always be able to process all of these toxins and the ripple effect can be felt physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Here’s the good news.  The toxicity in our world does not have to be permanent as we witnessed on Wednesday — and neither does the toxicity in our body.    It requires brave action to see that there’s always light.  See it and be it.  Thank you, Amanda.  And thank you, Cleanse Crew for showing up again and again.

Now, just as the food we eat has a physiological effect in our body, the thoughts we think and the energy we put out has a profound effect in our world.  As we wake up mindfully, we can cultivate a Ripple Effect Practice.  Let’s do this.

ACTION || You can’t get what you don’t got.  So, let us now inhabit our original intention.  Coming back to your word, think about how integrated you feel with that word.  See if you can feel it as a part of the ether of your breath that permeates your whole body system.  Sit in meditation and radiate this energy into your electromagnetic field.  This energy is a force field that expands beyond walls and cities.  Allow yourself some time to put this out there today or tonight.

BONUS ACTION || If in Los Angeles, allow the sound of the rain to be a source of clearing residue in your mind.  If you are not in a place where it is raining, spend time either in a bath or run your hands under warm water and clear any residue for yourself.  We are in the ‘final rinse.’

Day 21 Do it for Love

Commitment has played a huge part in the ethos of this cleanse these past three weeks.  It’s an interesting word… commitment.  If you think about it, we are always committed to something.  Sometimes, I’m committed to coconut bliss ice cream and potato chips.  Sometimes, I’m committed to being hard on myself.  Other times, I wake up and I’m committed to flipping the script and seeing that healthier food options can be so delicious and so I am committed to feeling good in my body.  Or, I take a moment to say what I am proud of in myself and now I am committed to self-esteem.  And then other moments, I am committed to saying thank you as the first words, I utter in my day and before bed.

What’s important now is to recognize your commitments and see if you can pass them through this filter:  are you doing this out of guilt or out of love?  When we know better, we do better.  Doing things out of love carries a healing current in our world, our body and our relationships. Generating a feeling of self love is a practice and it is a lesson in getting to know who we are at the level of the soul and at the level of our personal humanity and why we are here.  These are concepts we could expand on in the next 21-Day cleanse.  For now, try these simple actions:

ACTION || Write down all of the the things that your actions would suggest you are committed to.  You can do this in categories: personal, social, romance, finance, health, service.  Identify next to each one and note if it is a commitment rooted in guilt or rooted in love.  Consider how you might change or adjust your commitments that are rooted in actions.  How would you feel?  How would that have a ripple effect in your world?