Savor Amuse-Bouches

This can feel like a big, broad & generalized idea so I want to break it down into the 3 key components,

which when blended together in the way I walk each of my clients through, is what leads to the ultimate end result of:

A truly joyful & fulfilled life, not just 'someday when', but 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦.


#1 - Self Resourcing

Learning how to live your life with a nourished & regulated nervous system, getting enough deep rest, rejuvenating your physical body, putting yourself first, and ultimately having peace & relaxation become more and more of your default state of being.

#2 - Pleasure

Infusing every single area of your life with more ease, simplicity & feel-good feelings, so that everything you are doing is actually sustainable and therefore effective. Pleasure is the not-so-secret key ingredient that empowers you to do the hard things that are necessary to do when you're changing your life and going after your biggest dreams.

#3 - Aligned Courageous Action

This is the big WHY that the Self-Resourcing + Pleasure are supporting and making possible: action. You cannot create a life that prioritizes your BIGGEST dreams & desires without taking the required actions. And time and time again, our dreams will require us to go outside of our comfort zones and push our edges in order to expand into the version of ourselves who have what we want.


When you weave it all together, savoring your life is resourcing yourself & infusing your entire life with pleasure, so you can take the courageous action you know you need to take in order to live a truly joyful & fulfilled life! ✨

--

This is the exact work we do inside my 1:1 container, SAVOR.

If you are any bit less fulfilled, lit up, inspired, and alive in your life than deep down you know you are meant to be, I would love to invite you to an alignment call.

Schedule your call here: calendly.com/haleyreese/alignment-call

To begin, find a comfortable seated position. Notice if there are any adjustments you can make to get 5 or 10% more comfortable.

Begin breathing…

• Notice where your breath is: in your throat, in your chest, in your belly?

• Invite it to drop down deeply into your body and expand out on all sides of you.

• Notice where your attention is: on multiple different things, on what’s happened in your day so far, on what’s to come?

• Invite it to center on this present moment. Attune it to what is alive for your 5 senses right here and now.

• Notice where your energy is: pulled in different directions, scattered, connected?

• Invite all of your energy to come back to you, into your body.

• Breath in the fullness of your presence, in this moment.

This is a fantastic practice to help you drop into presence.

It works especially well if you’re feeling anxious or spinning out

And just need that little nudge to return to the safety of the present moment.


Here’s how you do it:

First, simply press pause on whatever you are doing and drop into being the observer

Spend a moment savoring each of these elements

🌹 Focus on your sight & look around ~ name 5 things you can see right now

🌹 Focus on your touch & sensation ~ name 4 things you can feel

🌹 Focus on your hearing & listen in ~ name 3 things you can hear

🌹 Focus on your smell & breathe in ~ name 2 things you can smell right now

🌹 Focus on your tongue & palate ~ name 1 thing you can taste

Now…notice what’s different

What’s shifted?


Give it a try and let me know what this technique does for you!


And remember ~ presence, ease & relaxation are always at your finger tips…

Take two minutes today and literally

Stop 🤚

And smell the roses 🌹

...And they don't even have to be roses!

The point of this practice is to consciously take 2 minutes today to become present & aware of the beauty and goodness already around you right this minute.

You can do this anytime, anywhere to infuse more pleasure & gratitude into how you're feeling.

All you need to do is:

• Stop whatever you're doing

• Look up, look around

• Notice something beautiful or sweet or interesting

• Bring your full presence & attention to that thing for 2 minutes

• Simply observing, taking it in...appreciating it fully

• Let it absorb all of your attention for those 2 minutes

• Allow yourself to be surprised & delighted, as if you're looking at the world through the eyes of child-like wonder

• Breathe it in...feel it in your body

It can be a rose

It can be a picture framed in your house

Or, just as I did before I started writing about this practice, it can be the blue skies after a rainy day that you can see out your window while you're working on your laptop.

It doesn't matter what it is.

What matters is that we stop to look for, acknowledge & appreciate the beauty already around us.

And the best part about this practice is that the more you consciously practice this, the more you'll automatically start seeing more beauty everywhere!

And just imagine what living life with that perspective can do for you...✨

Give it a try & let me know how it goes for you.

Play a quick game with me...

Take a moment and look around your life.

⌲ Tell me ~ do you currently have in your life something (anything!) that was once upon a dream or a desire of yours?

• Maybe it's being married to a wonderful partner

• Living in a beautiful home

• Having healthy & happy children

• Getting to take incredible vacations & travel the world

• Or maybe it's something like you get to go to yoga 3x/week now

• You're working a 4-day work week every week

• You have a VA who does all of your social media posting

• You're finally hitting those esteemed $10K months consistently

It can be anything that was once something you were hoping & wishing for in your life.

...Got it?

Great!


Now...

⌲ When is the last time you felt deep gratitude & appreciation for having that thing in your life?

When is the last time you marveled at its presence?

⌲ And (now this one might hurt)...when was the last time you complained about it, to yourself or out loud?

Or wished it were different...better?

When was the last time you critiqued it for not looking exactly like your vision?


For the record - there is ZERO shame or blame in this.

We ALL do it from time to time!

And I will be the first to say that I am absolutely guilty of this too! (I mean, we teach what we once needed to learn, amirite?)


And it's because as humans, we are quick to adapt to new things.

And as soon as we do, they begin to feel like the old things.

We become so used to them that they seemingly lose their glimmer & shine (they don't in actuality, but this tends to become our perspective).


Then...as creatures with ever-evolving desires...we start to want MORE.

And especially for those of us who deal with perfectionism, we can tend to look for that "more" in the form of wanting to change, to improve, and to have those once dream-come-true things match our new "ideal" vision.

And while our desires for more are absolutely valid,

Let's not forget to acknowledge, honor, marvel at, and appreciate the very real dreams that we have already created in our lives!

That were once something we wanted soooooo badly. Something that we were craving and yearning for and even sometimes felt desperate for.


But the key to shifting this is really simple:

{And..it won't work if we don't actually work it.}

🗝 Actively & intentionally practicing gratitude.

Here's all you have to do:

⌲ When you notice yourself being overly critical of one of your manifested dreams

✧ Pause

✧ Take a deep breath

✧ Exhale the mean girl mind chatter & criticism

✧ And name 3 things you appreciate about that dream being in your life

• How does it make you feel to now have it?

• How is your life better because of it?

• What do you love about it?

It can be anything and everything, big or small!

✧ Just take one minute to feel these appreciations FULLY.

That's it!

That's the practice.


And overtime, you'll find...

• You're less agitated with your loved ones

• You're nagging your partner less

• You're feeling less stressed out in your business

• You're enjoying the sound of your children's voices more

• You're feeling more alive after each yoga session

• And more supported than ever by your VA...

Or whatever truly enjoying the journey looks like for you.

So…I dare you to spend one minute a day for the next 7 days practicing this and let me know what you notice ✨

✧ What does your body need?

✧ What does your mind need?

✧ What does your soul need?

〰️ How can you prioritize & meet these needs today? 〰️

I’ve heard people talk about how baths aren’t “real” self-care.

That it’s things like doing the deep inner work, healing from trauma, and having healthy boundaries that are the “real” acts of self-care.

And while I absolutely agree that those are exquisite forms of self-care!

I ALSO believe that baths are self-care.

BOTH can be true.

Both can be real forms of self-care that support us, nourish us, and help us grow.


Here’s how baths are self care:

Baths are…

🛁 Grounding ~ they soothe your nervous system and help you come back into your body.

🛁 Cleansing ~ you can take a very purposeful bath with the intention to release energies that no longer serve you and allow them to wash away down the drain.

🛁 Celebratory ~ I often take baths as a sweet & simple at home way to celebrate and digest the good in my life. I add luxurious little touches like Prosecco or fresh flowers or a favorite jazz playlist, and treat myself exquisitely.

🛁 Relaxing ~ they naturally help bring your body back into a calm, cozy state. And when we are in a relaxed state, we have access to more of our potential and are more effective in everything we do.

🛁 Pleasurable ~ baths help you slow down and savor the moment more. They put you in touch with your senses and invite you to open up to more receiving more pleasure. {Pro-tip: Get a bath caddy. I often will use baths to add 10% more pleasure to my work by doing things like writing content and catching up on emails from the bath.}

These are benefits of baths that nourish us in all kinds of ways ~ physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.


Self care at the end of the day is what you make it.

It’s the energy and intention behind it.

And it’s what it does for YOU that matters.

Some days I’ll take a bath, but my mind will be somewhere else and I’ll sit there soaking while mindlessly scrolling on social media or watching Netflix. Even on these days, I still leave my bath feeling noticeably more relaxed and soothed.

Other days, I’ll set up my bath very purposefully, I’ll be intentional, and I’ll remain connected to the present moment. When I do this, I find I really squeeze all of the juice out of my bath and harvest the benefits.

Full permission to have both kinds of baths and not make yourself right or wrong for either.

Full permission to keep counting your baths AND all the other ways you nourish yourself, as self-care.

Full permission to decide what self care means for YOU.

Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and journal on: What does self-care mean to you? What are you personal self-care practices?

I always talk about my little daily luxuries

Things like ~

• Lighting candles

• Sipping cappuccinos

• Cuddling with my kittens

• Writing in my journal

• Reading a good book

And at first these things might seem shallow or insignificant

But the truth is -

It's not actually about "the thing"

It's about the PRACTICE of the thing

And what that kind of daily devotion will have on you as a whole person


⌲ See, the lighting the candles is really about taking the time to beautify and bring warmth & coziness to my environment, which nourishes my nervous system. It's also a small, but meaningful way to show myself a little extra love.

⌲ Sipping & savoring cappuccinos is about giving myself so much pleasure from one tiny moment in my day, that I'm reminded of just how much abundance I already have at my finger tips.

⌲ My kitten, coincidentally named "Cappuccino" (in fact this was already her name when we adopted her), will insist on cuddles in the middle of the day by climbing into my lap and nudging my hand off of my laptop to pet her instead. I take these moments as an opportunity to press pause, slow down & take some deep breaths. She also simply reminds me of just how wonderful life can be.

⌲ Writing in my journal is a commitment to examining my thoughts & beliefs and reframing the ones that don't serve me so that I can get my (often times asshole) brain on board with everything that's required to go after my dreams & desires.

⌲ And reading a good book is the perfect pleasure break to have some screen-free time and fill up my cup in a deeply fulfilling way.


I could go on and on with examples from my own life that look simple or meaningless or indulgent on the surface, but are actually the rituals that lead to the big shifts.

But like I said, it's not about the thing.

It's about the meaning we give to the things

And the impact that practicing them again and again has on our lives.


This is exactly what we do together in Savor 🌹

We take the things YOU want or need to do in order to pursue your dreams and desires + and pour your particular version of pleasure all over them so that you actually WANT to do them

AND feel really good all the while, so that you keep wanting to do them.

This is the key to unlocking the life of your dreams AND having it actually feel like you always imagined.

I’d love to know ~ What seemingly small or subtle practices do you do in devotion to your desires?

Case-in-point: MOVING

I certainly did not feel plugged into the 'Savor Way' of life during this time.

And while it felt out of reach during this weeklong race to pack our entire life into suitcases & boxes,

Taking even just two minutes to slow down & savor...made a WORLD of difference.

And it reminded me that it's not about how much time you have

It's not about doing it perfectly

It's about doing what you can with what you've got, making it count and letting it be enough.

So that's exactly what I did:

• We went to happy hour on Thursday and made it our dinner.

• I'd take 5 or 15 mins to do stretches on the floor in the middle of packing.

• On Friday when we were totally spent we took ourselves out to a new restaurant in our (now) old neighborhood & ate the best bread ever.

• I set a timer to play Harry Potter Legacy for 30mins from time to time when I needed a break.

• I took a 45min epsom salt bath when my body was achey.

• When a surge of emotions around this ending & new beginning arose, I'd pause and spend 2 minutes just feeling them.

• The day after the movers came we slept in a little extra and snuggled with our kitties before going back over to do the final clean.

Was any of this as much as I truly was craving? Absolutely not!

But it's all too easy for us to get into an "all or nothing" mindset when we're crunched for time, and just do nothing at all because it's not as much as we really want

And that's how we run ourselves totally ragged.

By sprinkling in these little moments of rest & pleasure...

✧ I was able to stay grounded & regulated through a very stressful & overwhelming time.

✧ I had so much more patience with myself and others.

✧ I never lost my shit.

✧ I was present with the big feelings of this big transition instead of just rushing by them.

✧ I was able to step back enough to celebrate & acknowledge us for all the work we've been doing to get here.

✧ And last night when we had a family dinner, my sister-in-law even remarked on what good spirits we were in, given it was our final move-out day and the movers had come the day before.

Just by taking the little bits of time I did have, and using them to nourish & replenish myself, I was able to walk away from this naturally chaotic & stressful time feeling incredibly proud of how I showed up and held myself through it.

And that means a lot to me.

So my invitation for you today is:

Even if you're stressed.

Even if you're overwhelmed.

Even if you think you "have no time.”

⌲ Just take two minutes or more for yourself.

To stop what you're doing.

Give your mind, body, spirit, soul, whatever it's asking for.

And let it be enough.

For extra accountability, feel free to drop me a line on what you're craving & let me know when you've done it!

yes, Even Taxes!

Here’s exactly how I’m infusing more pleasure into the arduous task of doing my bookkeeping & taxes:

• Giving myself an open afternoon so I’m not task-switching every half hour and can really dig in

• Choosing a super comfy spot in my house and wrapping myself up with cozy blankets (it’s raining after all)

• Making a cup of tea with honey so I have something warm, delicious & soothing to sip on

• Watching Gilmore Girls while I work (it has to be something I’ve watched a million times over so I can easily follow along without needing to be glued to the TV)

• Rewarding myself with chocolate truffles every so often

• Setting a timer for 90 minutes and then giving myself a 30 min break (to play Harry Potter Legacy haha)

• Having a cocktail, or in the case of this week while I’m on a cleanse, a mocktail to celebrate when I’m finished!

Obviously these are very specific examples based on what I personally find pleasurable, and also that work well in conjunction with this particular task. But the point is to see how it’s possible to get creative with adding 5 or 10 or even 20% more pleasure to the tasks that you otherwise might totally dread.

Adding pleasure will naturally amplify the ease & joy you get to experience.

So tell me…how do you like to infuse more pleasure into your least favorite tasks?

⌲ To begin, spend a moment dropping into your body and landing in the present moment:

• Take a few slow, deep breaths

• In through your nose & out through your mouth

• Breathing all the way down to your belly and feeling it expand in every direction

• Allow any thoughts that are pulling you into the past or future to be released for the time being

• Continue breathing in this way until you feel more grounded and present in your body

⌲ Once you’re settled and in your body, move onto these journal prompts:

Feel free to pick the ones that resonate or go through them all one by one. Invitation to put on some writing music, ideally without lyrics, as you journal.

• What are you ready to release? From the last year? From all of the years up until this year?

• What are you ready to let go of?

• What is no longer serving you?

• What is not yours and never was, that you’ve been carrying with you, dragging along, or holding onto for far too long?

• What’s one thing that you’ve been holding onto that it’s your time to release? It could be ancestrally, past lifetime, etc.

• What’s that one underlying mindset belief that’s constantly holding you back? It’s time to let it go…

⌲ As soon as you feel complete with your written release, move right into a somatic release:

• Choose one song for Grief & Sadness

• Choose one song for Rage & Anger

• Choose one song to rise & anchor back into Empowerment

Put your music on. FEEL all that you just wrote down in your body. Tap into the emotions of what you just wrote down. Allow your body to guide your movement. Let your body express these stuck & stored emotions that you are now releasing with intention. Release from your body all that you’ve been holding onto.

Let it go…let it go…let it go…

⌲ And now that you’ve mentally, emotionally & physically released and cleared out that space in your being, it’s time to fill back up with all that you desire to bring in. Journal on the following prompts:

You can write out your vision in the present tense as if it’s already happened, you can write a list of desires, or both.

• What do I desire to fill this space that I just created with? 

• What is my vision? 

• What are my desires? 

• What are my new beliefs?

Throw on an uplifting song and dance this vision & these desires into your body, feeling the feelings of them already being yours.

⌲ To close:

• Place one hand over your heart and one hand over your belly

• Take three deep, slow breaths. In through your nose and out through your mouth

• Notice how you feel now

I’d love to hear how this ritual goes for you! Feel free to drop me a line to share & be witnessed in your experience.

Whether or not you get to create the repair you desire

• Holistic Inquiry: This is a tool that you can use to clean out and clear out all that you’re bottling up and holding onto. The way it works is you’ll pick one simple question, such as “What is coming up for me [around this rupture]?” and you’ll have it asked to you over and over again until you feel a shift in the energy, such as feeling lighter. You can do this on your own, but it’s often easier and more powerful with a partner to ask the questions & witness you.
  
  

• Emotional Release: Physically move the energy & emotion of the rupture through your body. Do you feel angry? Do you feel sad? Do you feel frustrated, irritated & annoyed? GOOD! Your emotions are sacred and get to be honored. Feel your feelings FULLY and let them all OUT. Throw on some music that matches the energy of your emotions and let your body express what you’re feeling inside. Even better if you can do this in a group of sisters where you can be witnessed and held by one another.
  
  

• Write a Letter: Write a letter to the person, people or situation that you’re experiencing the rupture with. Pour out all of the things you want to say, the things that are circling around your mind again and again, and the things that are on your heart. Now, the key is that this isn’t a letter you will ever send! So you can really let it rip and go wild, knowing that these words won’t be seen by anyone else. For added release, when you’re done rip it up and/or (safely) burn it.
  
  

• Get Support: This can be one of the hardest tools for so many of us to reach for AND it can be one of the most powerful & helpful ones when we do. You do not have to hold yourself in your rupture alone. Reach out to one or more people in your trusted inner circle, let them know you’re going through something challenging, and make a clear ask to let them know exactly how they can best support you. For example: “Do you have time for a 30 minute phone call to listen and hold space for me?” or “Can I share what I’m going through and have you reassure me that I’ll ultimately be okay?” And then…actually allow their support in. (And p.s. if that particular person is busy, that’s okay! Sometimes we have to reach out to a few people before we find the one available to hold space for us, it means nothing about you!)

After using any of these tools, I always recommend spending some time self-soothing or filling back up with goodness. You can do this by:

• Sharing 3 ways you are deeply acknowledging yourself

• Speaking out a list of gratitudes

• Writing down your new desires

• Taking a walk in nature

• Getting into a hot epsom salt bath

• Lovingly stroking your skin

• Having a dance party

• Slowly drinking a hot cup of tea

Or any other number of things that you know soothe your nervous system and help you fill up that space you just created with the fresh energy you desire to bring in.

What tools do you use to move through ruptures, even and especially if you aren’t able to create repair? Drop me a line and let me know!

When you recognize you're stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted, or heading towards burnout - stop, drop & rest.

We are no good to ourselves or others when we run ourselves ragged.

AND

I see time and time again how it can be mentally & emotionally challenging to do this.

We live in a capitalistic culture that values productive & efficiency over wellbeing. We are constantly bombarded with messages of "hustle! grind! faster! more!" So of course this is going to be easier said than done.

Here is my powerful process for overcoming external & internal pressure and giving yourself guilt-free rest:

1) Awareness: Get in touch with your body and tune into your needs. You can sense when rest is needed and you know when it will be the highest and best way you can take care of yourself.

2) Decide: Make the decision to prioritize rest and choose to make space for it, whether that's rearranging things in your day or letting less high-priority things go.

3) Get Curious: Acknowledge the guilt & pressure that start to bubble up as soon as you try to begin resting (especially if it's on a day that's a "work day") and start examine what's underneath those feelings. What are you worrying about? Where is the pressure coming from? What’s causing the guilt? Is it really yours, or is it something you picked up from someone else?

4) Prioritize: If you do notice that there are actual things you want to do because they are within your value system, commitments and integrity to prioritize, create an easeful way to get them done quickly or set aside a specific time to take care of them after you’ve rested.

5) Reframe: For any guilt that is coming from general cultural expectations (of work-work-work, do-do-do), look at it and decide to write a new story. One that is based in YOU choosing and designing a life that uniquely supports you to your fullest, which something only you can know and that cannot be decided by society. Every single time you give yourself true guilt-free rest, your do-tos & commitments will flow to completion with greater ease (*this is the magic!*)

6) Create Space: Decide how much time you need to rest. Tell yourself that for the next X amount of time, the only thing you’re responsible for doing is resting. Everything else gets to be picked up on the other side of this block of time.

7) Lean Back: Take deep breaths and lean back into the guilt-free space you’ve created for yourself. Allow yourself to surrender to the rest. Give yourself exactly what you need. Fill up your cup. Receive. Rejuvenate.

And here’s the magic...ohhhh the beautiful magic & power of rest...

It honestly still astonishes me every single time with the pure ease, beauty & potency that flows in as a result.

Every. Single. Time. That I have done this process…

The to-do list takes care of itself with ease

The creativity floods in

The inspiration is next-level

The commitments are upheld in the most gorgeous aligned way

And the best part is:

It all feels really really really good.

Guilt-free rest is MAGIC!

Give this process a try the next time you know you need to rest and are feeling guilty taking the time you need for it, and notice what’s different.