Cody Cook-Parrott's Blog

Looking for the Anchors

Dear Reader,

I am always in search of the anchors to my practice. What do I throw in to the water so that I don’t slip away? What do I let sink to the bottom so sweetly so that I can let myself float in the waves above?

Photo by Cody Sells

I feel untethered. Not in the way I usually prefer, but in the way where I don’t see the buoys and I don’t see the shore. The time ahead feels clear but the time now is full. I haven’t been practicing what I preach and I feel my capacity dwindling. Not quite burnt out but staring at the toaster waiting for the bread to crisp.

I return to my anchors, some my personal practices and some within my work :

Prayer
List Making
Morning Pages
Landscapes
Herbal Infusions
Hiking
Pilates
12 Step Readings and Rituals
Flower Essences
Closing my computer at specific times
Using my Brick for no phone times

I would like to take a moment to share that this week is our twice a year FREE LANDSCAPES WEEK where we invite newcomers to try Landscapes for a week and see if they like our vibe. We have a hell of a week planned for you, and I am typing at 6am from Landscapes as we speak!

→ Early Morning Writer's retreat Monday September 8 - Friday September 12 5:30am-7:30am EST (Free Notion tracking template included)
→ Tuesday September 9 and Thursday September 11 11am-1pm EST
→ Saturday September 13 BIPOC Writer's Circle 2-3:30pm EST hosted by Angel Bista
→ Sunday September 14 Guest Workshop with Stephanie Graham : The Glow Up Will Be Televised: A workshop on confidence and reminding ourselves that we are 100% All That (and a bag of chips) (Recorded if you can't make it live) 

TRY LANDSCAPES FOR FREE

When I don’t know how to find my anchors or feel like I have lost them again I always start with a list. It is my greatest tool to get back to all my other tools.

I am talking about pen to paper list. I love my task list in Notion and I started trying things out in TickTick and I think I really like it but when I am lost in the chaos of my own mind and there is nowhere to tie the boat to I must return to the list. List as entry point, list as practice, list as hope portal, list as the only thing left to do.

When burnout starts to creep in the list usually asks me to cancel something. The list usually tells me to drink more water. The list usually asks me to ask very little of myself.

Lists are gentle, lists are rarely demanding in the way that my computer can be.

My favorite list notebook is a steno-pad.

I invite you to make some lists this week in line with the wild new moon eclipse season we’re having.

Some prompts to consider : What anchors always work for me?What anchors do I need to return to? What anchors help me stay with myself? How can I be gentle with myself when I stray from my practices I know I need to come back to? How can I make more room to come back to what I know I need?

Thank you for tuning in. I’d love to see you at Free Landscapes Week. You can always come late or leave early. We’re going to have a lot of fun this week. Especially Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (our regular meeting hours)

Paying Attention To :

I had the immense pleasure of being a guest on Catherine LaSota’s podcast Feed The Art and I am so happy to share it with you today.

Not only is Catherine an amazing interviewer but she is also a brilliant creativity coach and because of our conversation I felt myself start to make the shift of realizing Pilates didn’t need to be part of my job. We also talk about all things WRITING including a lot about Landscapes - so if you’re on the fence about joining I would recommend giving us a listen and checking it out.

This extremely cool online class is coming up and I want to tell you all about it : Foundations: ancestral reconnection for witches & radicals of Celtic Isles descent is an online program for settlers in diaspora to reweave connection to ancestry & root down into land. Over the course of 6 months, we meet plants, remember folkways, disentangle whiteness and dream together toward a just world. Foundations is running for the fifth time from Oct 2025 - April 2026. Enrollment is now open! This program is intended for folks whose people come from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Join us this dark season to reconnect to severed culture & remember who we are, in service to a world beyond whiteness.

Foundations is facilitated by rowan, the nerdy queer behind of hawthorn and yew, a cauldron of anti-racist culture work & ancestral remembrance. they deeply believe that politicized ancestral reconnection is essential nourishment for dismantling white supremacy & building liberation in our lifetime.

Art by Jess Herrera COMMON SHAPES RETURNS! MARK YOUR CALENDARS! SOUND THE ALARMS!

Season Four of Common Shapes returns next week Wednesday September 17 with a special THREE DAYS IN A ROW welcome back mini series going over the free Creative Ideation Portal - a guide to help you vision your projects and share them with the world.

To celebrate - me and my brilliant podcast producer Amelia Hruby, host of your other favorite podcast Off The Grid, are hosting a FREE welcome back party on Saturday September 20 at 12pm where we will go through the Creative Ideation Portal live, do a Q and A about podcasting, and give away prizes - including Amelia’s new book!

Register here for the party (FREE)
Subscribe to Common Shapes on Spotify Here
Subscribe to Common Shapes on Apple Here

Also how pretty is the new art by Jess Herrera who ALSO designed by brand new website which launches next week Monday. VIRGO SEASON BLESSINGS.

The Pilates shed was a dance studio the whole timeThis week in Cody’s World :

Behind The Scenes of Business :
→ All of the launch details for the first two weeks of Cody’s World are live - how many new paid subscribers, how long did it take to build, how does it feel!

The Archive :
→ The Archive for August was added with everything that happened in August

New Dance Experiments :
→ New videos and writing experiments from realizing the Pilates shed was just a dance studio

Grad School :
→ Worked on writing reflections from readings in my CAConrad book ECODEVIANCE (Soma)tics FOR THE Future Wilderness
→ Week Two reflections for my Somatics + Poetry Independent Study

Become a member of Cody’s World for $5/mo or $35/year and get access to my full Notion Universe - you will automatically get an email with access

CLASSIFIEDS : Writers with limitations: discover the cell method—small writing sessions that honor your body & build real momentum. transform limits into creative power.Sobremesa.Institute Autumn Course · 12 weeks 1:1 Online Spanish. Fluency isn’t a checklist, it’s a transformation. SEP 29 - DEC 18. Book your free call.Your emails are great! Let’s make sure they get read. ⭐ E.L.I.E. writes subject lines that feel fun, human + get more opens. Use for free (always!)Amber House : the yoga club for people w/ imperfect bodies who wanna feel more & force less. The world pushes you to change; we want you to just be YOU.Rebelling is an ecosystem for queer neurodivergent adults who want to be free from the limits of normality. Come check it out!

Want to include a classified ad for next week? Click here to read more

Are.na
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com

Your Phone or Your Life?

Dear Reader,

Today there is no regularly scheduled newsletter but I wanted to share a few short announcements.

The amazing Holly Whitaker interviewed me on her very cool new podcast co-regulation and the episode is out now. We talk about leaving behind 80k followers on Instagram, surviving a mental health crisis, living rurally, and the true honor and gift that it is to love and be in partnership with a trans woman.

Over the years Holly and I have found ourselves not seeing eye to eye on topics related to recovery, and yet we always find our way on the path. To me this is true companionship, and it was a gift to be included in the first season of her podcast. Every guest is amazing. Give it a listen.

Our ABOLISH ICE QUILT RAFFLE raised $1143.15 (!!!) and the winner of the quilt is Breesa Culver. Congratulations Breesa! Everyone who entered will receive a postcard of the quilt in the coming weeks. Thank you for supporting this Michigan family - you can still contribute to the GoFund me here.

Photo by Lilian Pitser

I have no idea how Jeff Bezos’ online shop works but I do know that my daily reader Look About You : A Book of Ordinary Prayers is listed at FOUR DOLLARS AND THIRTY TWO CENTS there right now?! That is cheaper than I get them at cost! No clue how long this price will last but it is one hell of a deal : )

Paid subscribers : You will get a second email today that is a Cody’s World Digest : everything that was included in Cody’s World in August!

Dance Experiments in Cody’s World

Thank you for coming to this announcements version of my newsletter! Regular programming will return next week. And thank you to everyone who has upgraded in the past two weeks to explore Cody’s World - my Notion Universe. It is the coolest thing ever to see so many people resonating and exploring. Lots of new writing and dance experiments added this past week. When you upgrade you’ll get an automatic email inviting you to explore the space. $5/mo or $35/year

Are.na
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com

Want to buy a classified ad for next week? Check it out here

Classifieds are a great way to invite people on to your own email list, promote a class, or share an offering. Cody’s newsletter drops every Monday to over 30k inboxes with a 50% open rate. Fun!

Pilates Is Not My Job

Dear Reader,

I have come to an important and profound decision. At this time I will not be folding Pilates into my job. I will not attempt to monetize teaching Pilates or continue on with my teacher trainings on the reformer. I am pleased with my mat trainings and studies and will continue to go deeper there, but will not pursue a comprehensive certification while I am also : in grad school full time, working full time, cultivating a partnership, and attempting to have a life full time.

Me and Pilates

When I found Pilates I found something so much deeper than an exercise regimen - I found a system for moving that minimized my pain, helped me take myself less seriously, and brought me into a complete state of embodiment.

As with most things I become extremely excited about and want to invest in monetarily or with my time I assume I must wrap them into my job because how else can I justify the investment. This aches me to share, as this is clearly a mind warp of capitalism. We are absolutely allowed to take the money we make from our jobs and invest it into any sort of hobby, joy, passion project, or non earning pursuit we want to. This strangely feels like a complete revelation to me, and one I am still letting sink into my bones.

You would have really thought I wrote the book How to Not Always Be Working , alas the Capricorn Moon prevails.

For now I have decided to deactivate my YouTube channel. I know we were having fun there, and I was having a lot of laughs editing videos. I plan to keep experimenting with Pilates and dance videos in Cody’s World - which is my new offering for paid subscribers of this newsletter.

I feel so much freedom in this choice. So much more clarity about what my job IS and IS NOT. I feel so excited to continue researching Pilates, going down rabbit holes, and deeply dedicating my life to the practice. One of the projects I am working on this semester in grad school is an Independent study on Somatics and Poetry and I’ll be doing some research there on the method. I can bring it anywhere! Everywhere! Spend as much time with it as I want. But I do not need to let it consume my work life or charge money to make it be worthy of that time spent digging into it. This work is a big part of what is in Cody’s World as well if you’re interested in following along.

I knew I was taking on too much by filling my fall schedule with trainings on top of getting an MFA and work but I didn’t know how else to make sense of the Pilates shed I already bought and the intensives and everything else I put money into. It felt too selfish to say I had invested in so much just for myself and my in person community to use, like I had to find a way to make it my job.

Then I read through my next book, The Practice of Attention, one last time as I am finishing the copy edits, and read the chapter on the practice of hobbies. Yes - I wrote a chapter all about this exact thing and couldn’t believe what I had done. Or rather, I could believe it. I have done this many times and to great degrees of success. I found quilting, turned it into a hobby I loved for many years, and then in 2020 turned A Quilt is Something Human into an online class that eventually made me enough money that it afforded me the privilege of buying a home. I do not regret turning that hobby into my job.

But I have also known not to start a quilting business on Etsy, take quilt commissions, or have a quilt booth at a farmers market. Not because that isn’t worthy and important work, but because that is not my work. My work is the act of teaching creative practices and creative business. Not making quilts to sell, not teaching Pilates.

I will continue making videos at Public Access Pilates, I will continue to share my findings here in the newsletter, and you dear reader may notice no difference.

But I will have more time to focus on my income generating work, and know when to put it down. I will know when I am practicing something that supports my work, and when I am doing my job. I will put down said job and crawl into a pile on the couch with Katy and June. I will not spend every single one of my free weekends working toward a certification at the same time as being in grad school. I will not push myself to the edge. I will not burn out. I will see the cliffside before I am there and pause and say, I want to pay attention to the life that is in front of me. So I may better love those around me. So that I may be of better service to the world.

Dancing

The root of my entire creative practice is being a dancer, something I have a BFA in and spend much of my life studying. I make almost no money dancing or even teaching dance. This is ok with me. This doesn’t make me feel like less of a dancer or less worthy as a dance teacher. Sometimes it is my job, but for the most part it is not. It can weave in and out.

Pilates may meander through the lines of my writing, as it already has. It may show up in a session in my home, with a friend, or in a zoom with a dear one who needs support. But I will not create a whole new business of doing the practice and selling the service. What a relief.

I hope for you dear reader you find what you love and what makes sense for your earning, not just what you can squeeze into your job. I hope you can create clear containers that support the research, that support the curiosity. May your search be a part of the hopeful generosity that is behind every turn of this work. The work of rejecting what capitalism and systems of oppression have so ruthlessly taught us about ourselves.

May your hobbies be luscious and just for you. May they support the work but not be the work. May their transformative qualities naturally evoke a sense of delight in all those who come to know you.

Paying Attention To :

This morning from my dear friend Chelsea Granger : Want to buy a beautiful art print that directly supports a teenager in Gaza organizing for his family and community? There are two versions Print for Yazan - Etsy and Print for Yazan 2 - Etsy Each print comes with a piece of Yazan’s beautiful writing.

Always returning to these sounds when I write, dance, walk, think

https://open.spotify.com/track/7x1ct7... week in Cody’s World :

Future Visions :
→ Went through and updated the Future Visions database pages with my projects : Prompts, Patterns, and Small Press - explaining more about what each one is and timelines of working on them
New Dance Experiments :
→ New videos from my residency at Atland
Grad School :
→ More prep week updates
→ Created a task database that I linked to all the weeks and months of each class (this was SO helpful)
→ Made a separate page for my professor to show them what I am working on for Somatics + Poetry and linked to that

Become a member of Cody’s World for $5/mo or $35/year and get access to my full Notion Universe - you will automatically get an email with access

CLASSIFIEDS : Your heirloom quilts, transformed into the ultimate cozy housecoat, crewneck, vest or weekender bag. Designed & sewn by Elijah Nykamp in Suttons BayResist the urge to plan everything on a tiny screen, and get the world famous Book of Hours. Astrology day planner with sun/moon/eclipse/mercury info.Want deeply connected queer intimacy without sounding like a therapy speak robot? Take the quiz to decode your intimacy block and reconnect today.Enter into an art raffle to benefit Palestinian families and get a chance to win multiple beautiful prizes. Open through 9/8/25

Want to include a classified ad for September? Click here to read more

Are.na
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com

Note : There will be no Monday newsletter next week. The people tell me it is a holiday and you won’t be on your computer. So I was smart and didn’t sell classifieds or plan to tell anyone about anything. I am taking a break. I hope you can find a small break too.

Welcome to Cody's World

Dear Reader,

Today I am completely reshaping my newsletter as a digital garden, a place that is new and improved.

→ Free subscribers : Everything is the same, onward! You will receive my newsletter for free every week on Monday as you have for over eight years and I promise to keep it rewarding and lively and about my deepest and wildest thoughts on queer love, creative business, rural living, art making, and staying alive - followed by links I am paying attention to and the classifieds. Your readership is a blessing.

→ Paid subscribers : Everything is the same, but more! And better! And with the most robust Notion World you have ever seen built out in your one precious life!

If you want to skip to the magic - scroll to the bottom of this email to either upgrade or click through to the password protected page on my website and find your way to Cody’s World OR watch the video tour below to get a feel for the space.

Welcome to Cody’s World

Not a paid subscriber and intrigued? Today’s essay is all about how it came to be so I will weave it right in. But the quick and crazy is that every week it is updated and every month it includes :

→ Everything I am doing to track my MFA program this semester
→ My extensive reading list and notes
→ Behind the Scenes of Business - Real money! Launch details! Percentages! Marketing Ideas! (Two brand new ones in there right now!) If you loved behind the scenes of launching Witnessing Practice without Instagram and New Mexico Levied My Wages you’ll love these
→ Dance videos and writing experiments
→ New ideas for future visions
→ Project Database Brainstorming Template for YOUR notion
→ Your Creative Project Dashboard
→ Personal projects for my life and land project
→ The containers of my business and how they operate
→ More to be revealed

Since leaving social media I have felt like I haven’t had a place to share some of my on the fly creative ideas, thoughts, snippets, one liners, what I am reading and more - a new container was asking to be born.

Last week you watched the creation of my new YouTube channel. Which by the way - more than 47 of my friends subscribed. Apparently over 700 of you want to watch me be wild in front of the camera! Let me pause from Cody’s World to tell you there are TWO NEW VIDEOS waiting for you

→ Beginner Mat Pilates Warm Up : 15 Minutes of Pilates and 5 minutes of me being a YouTube sensation
→ Hip Release for Expansion : Breaking down some Pilates Essentials so it all makes a little more sense!

While the YouTube channel has been a blast it quickly became clear it mostly feels like a container for me to practice teaching Pilates. While I am sure other things will slip there way into the practice, as they always do with a tornado person, it doesn’t feel like an everything container in the way that Instagram did for me.

Going without Instagram for the month of July I felt really free. I’ve been rebuilding my website behind the scenes (so excited to show it to you soon) and when that became close to finished I felt this ache like - I don’t know where to put my experiments. For everything that was bad about Instagram - it absolutely served a deep and profoundly important artistic purpose for me, and I feel that I sometimes wash over that in discussing my exit strategy.

Between Personal Practice as a dance project and my own feed as a place for experimentation, both places were digital spaces that I could be witnessed in public, experiment and be messy, share unfinished works in progress. Suddenly I was left with only containers where I felt like things needed to be edited and finished and perfected.

In all matters of creation and lineage it feels important to name mentors, teachers, and those who came before me. The public Notion world has been done by others and this style specifically was inspired by Chloe Almeda who has her own version. Chloe was generous in walking me through some of her own process as well as blessing me in doing it myself. I hope to always be generous in my own model of business and teach others to steal my containers and income streams and make them their own, so this felt like a nice cosmic return.

I haven’t felt this lit up by a space in years. It’s what I have been looking for and always been missing. A space to be scrappy, a space to share my curiosities, to track my time, to track my progress, without fear of self judgement. And best yet - to share it with you dear reader.

When I was making the video tour I was like WOW I kind of can’t believe this is only $5/month or $35/year - but I think that’s the magic of this project. I want there to be a little resistance in getting there, but I want it to be as accessible as possible for you to enter into Cody’s World.

Dance Experiments

For the next two weeks I am staying with my dear friends Tori and Ellie in Western Mass at their amazing residency Atland. Tori and Ellie are my dance family, going on thirteen years of collaborating in spaces, learning together, being together, and now being hosted by them.

I feel so grateful to be hosted by them during this time, even just having the last few days to finish building out the databases of the Notion templates, filming myself dancing in the studio, and walking in the morning fog. If you’re ever wondering - what does a paid subscription do for Cody? It fills the gas tank of my truck to get out here. It pays for the paper to print out the prompts for this weekend’s Scores of The Invisible workshop. It creates a life for an artist. It is a gift beyond measure.

Thank you again for considering becoming a part of Cody’s World. It allows me to stay free of social media, give something even BETTER and more consistent to paid subscribers of this newsletter, and is going to be SO MUCH FUN!

→ Free subscribers : To access : Upgrade your subscription and you’ll get an automatic email with the link!

Upgrade now

→ Paid Subscribers : Scroll to the bottom for the link : )

Paying Attention To :

I have extended the ABOLISH ICE QUILT RAFFLE two more weeks! It now goes through the end of August - get those contributions in! Their bond was denied and they are asking for more support. Lets provide! Everyone who enters receives a postcard of the quilt →

Our beautiful quilt made during Community Sewing Hours

My dear one Tamara Santibañez has two more slots for sliding scale private session reiki in Brooklyn this Thursday August 21 : book here. Also - their latest newsletter is very good!

WET magazine covers delight me

Sky Fusco on how she handles copycats

Did you know Amelia Hruby, host of my fave podcast Off The Grid, is putting out A BOOK? Listen to her talk about out in Off The Grid!

Quilts are still for sale! I’d love for one to find a home with you. May the archive live on your wall.

This week in Cody’s World :

Behind the Scenes of Business :
→ Mapping Your Creative Business Launch Process : All the numbers, money, emails, and marketing I did around the class
→ Wind Signal, A Creative Advising Experiment: A new offering I’ve never shared publicly. How I filled 3 spots and how it starts next week
New Dance Experiments :
→ New videos from my residency at Atland
Grad School :
→ Prep Week Updates

CLASSIFIEDS : Therapy for your practice! Kintsugi Therapist Collective is starting a Consultation Group for Mental Health Providers new-ish to the field. WaitlistEmbodied human design readings with em. Deepen in solidarity with your vulnerabilities, gifts, unique wiring, + internal GPS. 30+90min readings ❤️‍🔥Quick and dirty, but make it tidy. Update your digitals (website, email, socials) with I See You: 1 week, 2 zooms, endless voice notes. Get Fall fresh.Calling all creatives at a crossroads – Last chance to join The Artful Career!Rediscover your inner compass and craft your career like a work of art. Book hereSobremesa.Institute Flexible Packs · 1:1 Spanish Online designed for busy, creative ppl. Start anytime, learn on your schedule. Book your free call.

Want to include a classified ad for August 25? Click here to read more

Are.na
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com

Welp, New Mexico Levied My Wages

Dear Reader,

Last week I made a really big financial decision for my business. One of the biggest investments I have put into myself or the work I have done in the last thirteen years. A deliberate choice to level up. Risking it all to be on the edge of something new. We’ll get to this in a moment.

Quick Announcements → LIKE + SUBSCRIBE - New Pilates Class Free on my YouTube Channel→ Contribute $15 to the Abolish Ice Raffle Quilt to receive a free postcard and perhaps win a quilt - We've raised over $800! Let's make it $1k by tomorrow! Madrid, New Mexico, A Place I Lived

As many of you know I have been working diligently to heal my relationship with debt, solvency, and vagueness around money - specifically around taxes. A few years ago I filed several years of taxes at once (hello IRS bill and payment plan) it also meant getting right with multiple states that I lived in. Ready to lift myself out of the haze around money I dove in.

It was my understanding that the last few years I had been completely solvent with my taxes and my debt with payment plans in place or balances paid to zero. Until I awoke last Thursday morning to the state of New Mexico levying all of my wages for my 2021 income taxes. No more money for Cody.

Welcome to Behind The Scenes of Business : A Series for paid Subscribers of the Monday Monday Newsletter.Not a paid subscriber? It’s $5/mo or $35/year! I’d love to have you.

Me and My Little YouTube Channel

Dear Reader,

It began as most ideas do, with a fleeting thought that would carry on for years and eventually cause me to hyper fixate for weeks on making it happen : Cody TV has been the name of the joke and by joke I mean a very real idea for a tv show project of sorts. Some day I would follow the Alice Pieszecki pipeline and go from bisexual radio show host to full on television studio media mogul.

Me and My YouTube Channel

Well friends, My YouTube Channel is here. Stop everything you’re doing. Hold the phone. Like and subscribe. I have no idea how to add music yet or make a transition in between clips. It is my first time video editing or adding text or cool graphics (just WAIT til you see the graphics) to a video. After 900+ Personal Practice videos I never once edited one. I just picked my favorite fifteen seconds. This is a whole new world

I have spent the last week researching the YouTube girlies, trying to understand their ways, how they clip their microphones on, how they use CapCut, how to angle my phone tripod, how to plan what I am going to film. In no way shape or form do I understand how to monetize YouTube nor do I know if I’ll ever try.

I know what you must be thinking. Cody - isn’t this just another social media platform? No, it’s not. Not for me. I have no addictive sensations when I login to YouTube. I absolutely see there are social connectivity functions, the same as Substack or Pinterest, but to me it is a search engine for long form art making. And that is how I plan to use it. If it feels like social media for you and you like that - yay! If it feels like social media for you and you don’t like that - don’t use it!

It also has me turning towards my own values : I never said I would never use any social media ever again, I just knew I couldn’t use Instagram. So if a scientist would like to prove me wrong go ahead I am happy to be a social media user of the YouTubes and happy to report I am not addicted to it.

The plan for my channel is simple : Writing, Pilates, and whatever else I decide to do. Basically anything. I envision a very loyal following of around forty seven people, mostly my friends who will “forget” to watch the videos but will like the thumbnail on principle. I will upload when I feel like it for now which is a strategy absolutely none of the girlies told me to do. But it is my hope that my sheer charisma floods the feed and I am a breakout YouTuber star.

Filming my first video was thrilling in the same way that doing anything alone for the first time is thrilling like baking a pie or moving a piece of furniture. Figuring out how to link the clips together - THRILLING! Adding a sailboat emoji that moves - THRILLING! Adding text over my own hand - THRILLING! Every time I pause is a chance to either cut the clip or add text to make myself look contemplative.

Do I regret this life choice? Nope, not yet. Will I make a second video? Building a Mystery by Sarah McLachlan plays softly in the background. One thing about YouTube is - anyone could find me there who doesn’t already know me and make a horrible comment like this reader who read my book about Personal Practice :

I should apologize to the trees!

I just have to remember. I am not for everyone. But maybe I am for you! The good news about not being for everyone is it opens up more pathways for who you ARE for!

ALL I KNOW IS THAT ON LAUNCH DAY IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO TELL THE PEOPLE TO LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE AND SEND THE VIDEO TO A FRIEND. HONESTY - DROP A COMMENT ON THE VID!

THIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL IS FOR YOU IS :
→ YOU ARE GAY AND WANT TO TRY PILATES
→ YOU ARE A FRINGE HETERO* WHO WANTS TO TRY PILATES
FRINGE HETERO IS THE NEW TERM I AM USING FOR NON QUEERS WHO ARE STRAIGHT BUT COME TO ALL MY CLASSES AND ARE WAY COOLER THAN NORMAL STRAIGHT PEOPLE
→ YOU WANT TO WATCH SOMEONE DO PILATES IN BAGGY CLOTHES INSTEAD OF SPANDEX
→ YOU LOVE BEING GUIDED IN WRITING PROMPTS
→ YOU WANT TO DO WRITING PROMPTS
→ YOU THINK I AM FUNNY

THIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL IS NOT FOR YOU IF :
→ YOU DON’T WANT TO TRY PILATES
→ YOU WANT TO WATCH PILATES DONE IN TIGHT CLOTHES
→ YOU DON’T THINK I AM FUNNY
→ YOU DON’T LIKE WRITING PROMPTS
→ YOU’RE ABOUT TO HIT UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS NEWSLETTER
→ YOU DON’T LIKE YOUTUBE

Thank you dear reader. For being a part of my tornado person ecosystem. For being a part of the launch day of my very own YouTube channel. Videos every Sunday! (No idea if that’s actually true just wanted to type it to see how it felt. Felt pretty good!) Also - WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE ON CODY TV?!?!?!?

Again, what a gift to be in your inbox as always. I hope you have a beautiful Monday.

Xo

COdy

Things of Note :

Today I am on the amazing Scratch That Podcast with the brilliant hosts Caitlin Metz and Rebekah Taussig (two of the coolest people on Earth) please give it a listen!

We talk about money, leaving Instagram behind, and there just might be a little news about my next book but who is to say!

THIS WEDNESDAY IN CEDAR, MI : In person I am teaching BEACH BLANKET IN A DAY - If you need to pay less for class or work out a trade I am ALL EARS please just respond to this email I would LOVE TO HAVE YOU!

CLASSIFIEDS : Join Grief Writing for Children of Immigrants, where we explore, name, and experience our collective and individual grief in shared space. Virtual. FREE. First Sunday of every month. Register today.From Do You Ever: Razzle Dazzle ‘Em // The only tool you need to answer the question, what do you do? Free.99 notion templateThe world you wish to experience begins with your relationship to reality 🪞 Commit to your peace with dedicated 1-on-1 remote Reflection SessionsFor the love of fun and adventure. FOUR RABBIT blends design and function with wearable, playable Bandana Board Games. Free Shipping because it’s my birthday with code BIRTHDAY2552 Ripples Zine is seeking offerings inspired by water from artists, writers, witches. Join the Zine Club to receive ritual in the post each month.

Want to include a classified ad for August? Click here to read more

Are.na
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com

P.S. Do you have a vibrant and successful YouTube channel and want to give me advice on how to make mine better - email me I am open to any and all idea thank you : )

Will I Be The Only Fat Queer At Pilates?

Welcome to the Yes Yes Advice Column for paid subscribers of the Monday Monday newsletter. I write to you from the darkness of the early morning hours where I am my brightest most quick witted self, sifting through my spreadsheet of questions. Today’s is very tender and about Pilates, my current favorite thing to talk about. Before we jump in I have a few things to share.

Announcements :

🪞 Registration is open and flowing for Mapping Your Creative Business this weekend August 9+10 RECORDED! LIFETIME ACCESS! This class is limited to 50 participants and there are 14 spots left.

We’re going to have a lot of fun playing with index cards and markers and a very cool google sheet template I created to vision the last few months of the year and manage your projects and timelines. It also includes bonus office hours Tuesday August 12.

READ MORE + SIGN UP

🪞 I am hosting open gallery hours at Cedar North this Friday 10-2 and quilts are still for sale!

🪞 Do you own a cool shop or gallery and want to carry my books or stickers in your shop? Email info@codycookparrott.com or respond to this email to inquire about wholesale ordering : )

If you have a question for the next Yes Yes Advice Column you can ask it here.

I am not a therapist and I have no training in advice giving. I am an artist, a writer, and a teacher of creative practice with a devotion to how we live. These are my opinions, my best shot at hope, and what I know from 37 years on the planet. As always, may you hold a gentle spirit while reading, take what you like, and leave the rest. Let’s dive in!

Hi Cody, I've been wanting to try out Pilates for a long time, and have taken lots of Pilates-adjacent classes in the past, but I'm nervous about going into a space that has traditionally centered thinness and straightness. Do you have any advice, tips, or resources on how to find a queer and fat-friendly Pilates studio or class near me? Thank you!

Dear reader,

Before I share more, I want to offer you a free gift: a guided Pilates warm-up I created for anyone who’s curious about Pilates but unsure where to begin. It’s gentle, simple, and designed with queer, trans, and fat folks in mind. You can get it [here]—it’s my way of saying welcome. You are not the first person to ask me - Will I be the only fat queer at Pilates? This rings true in our hearts, and we must address it!

I will do my best to talk through my own experience of Pilates and where it all began, what I have noticed, who I have found to be profundly helpful teachers in the lineage and in the current field, and how I cultivate a solo practice.

Solo Practice

I’ll start by saying what I believe Pilates to be, which is not a get skinny and get fit quick trick. It is a system of movement that emphasizes breath, core strength, posture, and mobility—especially of the spine. It was originally developed as a rehabilitative practice, and at its best, it offers a supportive way to move with more awareness and less pain, regardless of body type, age, or experience level. For me, it has been a doorway to less inflamation and daily discomfort, a pathway to more freedom.

No Users Found

Dear Reader,

After thirteen years of using the app, and seven years of experimenting with deactivating, I finally deleted Instagram forever.

No Users Found

No “logging off for now” in the bio.
No “offline for a bit” in the autoresponder DM
No “find me somewhere else” in the final grid post

A final deletion, a freedom known like no other.

Behind the scenes of my business : I am working on a new website and on that website I am working on an archive of all the projects I have done in the past thirteen years. One of them being Personal Practice, which celebrated ten years last month. One thing I made sure to do was download all 900+ videos before deleting the feed. As evil as Meta is they make it surprisingly easy to download all of your material before you delete.

Working on the Archive

There are a few things that made this possible and I would like to lay them out, especially if you are experiencing Instagram addiction (sounds annoying to talk about right?)

Having an email list : This doesn’t have to be a weekly newsletter or a marketing funnel. Just a list. Could be in a spreadsheet. Could be on a napkin. A channel for you to tell the people when you have an offering.

Having a container to express yourself creatively : for me this is Are.na and Landscapes. In Are.na I can stick videos and screenshots and things I used to save in Instagram (I don’t need to be witnessed in this I just needed a container) and in Landscapes I get the witnessing. I get to sing to my people, relish in community, and be witnessed in my queerness and weirdness and magic amongst others.

Being sick and tired of being sick and tired : I was ready when I was ready. If you have been watching me over the past seven years you have seen me try everything. Literally everything. In the same way I tried everything to “drink less” instead of just not drink at all. Giving away my password, scheduling posts, only posting on certain days, the list goes on ad infinitum.

Others who came before me: Specifically Amelia Hruby and her podcast Off The Grid and Nic Antoinette. I had them both on the last season of Common Shapes and it’s worth a listen - Nic here and Amelia here.

Journaling : The days leading up to the deletion (when you click delete they make you wait THIRTY DAYS) I started to fear my decision a bit and needed to journal it out. I was still feeling hooked into the “social validation” of having 80k followers, the blue check mark, celebrity followers. I quickly remembered - I don’t give a shit about that when I think about the people that I love, follow, read, and admire. So why would I care for myself. In many ways it comes down to the gatekeeping of publishing - publishers, big podcasts, magazines - they want to see those numbers. Alas, we will have to go on without them.

Reading my own book: When I read through my final edits of my forthcoming book The Practice of Attention (March 2026), which I wrote while completely deactivated with no intention of returning, I was completely inspired to leave. I basically finished reading it out loud to my self and exclaimed, I have to delete this app forever. That’s how good the book is! It showed me a way to live that doesn’t require an app to validate my existence anymore. I wrote the book I needed. A huge win.

Being annoyed by people who said they quit but then … used it still : I kept seeing this trend (pretty sure I am top of list) of people who would announce they quit, and then keep using it. Or would say they were logged out, but then post, or just post on another social media modality. And it confused me. Or annoyed me. And maybe I felt some - you spot it you got it energy. Sometimes what we are jealous of shows us what we want, and sometimes what annoys us shows us what we are doing and want to shed. Especially seeing people publicly name : this is so addictive, I can’t use it, and then keep using it - feeding into their own addiction and other people’s - I found that interesting (again - me! top of list!)

Remembering Instagram is not a business plan : Spoken by the great Bear Hebert and many others, I must remember - it is a bulletin board that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. My business has so many other tools in the pocket, many of which work infinitely greater and don’t fracture my attention beyond repair.

I didn’t delete Instagram because it feels cool, just like I didn’t quit drinking because it seemed like a cool fad or would be a win or something. I quit drinking because I was going to die. I quit Instagram because it was literally rotting my brain. I really need my brain for my work, for my art, for my life. I could no longer function the way I wanted to while it was in my pocket, or on my ipad, or wherever it was that I had hacked it to be to keep it out of sight.

I couldn’t run my business in a way that felt grounded and honest. My inner world had become so entangled with the scrolling and the lurking and the dopamine hits that I could hardly hear myself think. I had to get all the way out to know what was mine again.

Since deleting, I’ve felt the slow return of attention, of sensation, of time collapsing and expanding and returning in all the ways. I’ve been quilting more, writing more, walking more. I’ve been listening to full albums and books while I do the dishes and cook. I’ve noticed the way the sun moves across the dining room table in the morning and the way my brain can finally settle into a task without checking something every four minutes. I know not everyone can—or wants to—leave entirely, but I offer this as a reminder: a different pace is possible. You are allowed to live a creative life that isn’t shaped by an algorithm.

I don’t know that I am here to say I am against all social media. Perhaps Cody TV will emerge on Youtube. I love to spend two minutes on Pinterest every 5-9 days lol. It doesn’t have a single hook in me. I tried to make a LinkedIn account and I just got confused. But I know that Instagram is a drug I couldn’t regulate. I used it for thirteen years and abused it for seven and today I am free.

And if you’ve been wondering how I’ll promote my work now, the answer is: slowly, relationally, and with care. Through my newsletter, through conversations, through word-of-mouth, through real-time community. If something I make moves you, tell a friend, forward this newsletter. If you want to stay close, you know where to find me. I’m still here—just no longer there. And for the first time in a very long time, I feel like myself.

I am excited to tell you that Common Shapes is returning September 17 and I have a really fun season planned out with great guests :) You can subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

I’m not trying to be elusive. I’m just learning to be elsewhere. In my life. In my body. In the slow unfolding of things. I had to disappear all the way to be free. What a gift to be gone.

Thanks for being on the wild ride of the tornado person XO

Thinking about leaving but not quite ready? Hit reply or drop a comment — what’s making it hard to walk away? Things Of Note :

Early bird registration for Mapping Your Creative Business has been extended by a day - sign up by midnight and take 20% off with code MAPPINGBIZ20 + Join me this weekend for class! (Recorded if you can’t catch it live)

My books are open for the next two weeks for 1:1 Creative Advising Sessions : especially if you want to strategize markeing without social media! (Want to do a deep dive? Email info@codycookparrott.com to schedule)

As Gaza continues to starve - The Sameer Project continues to provide resources for redistribution or places to share amongst your own networks. If you’re looking for somewhere to turn I suggest looking here.

How to be Dissident : Learning From Indigenous Resistance and Resilience with Chris La Tray on Holly Whitaker’s new podcast co-regulation

This Saturday August 9 I am so looking forward to seeing Robin Wall Kimmerer speak at the Traverse City Opera House - what a gift! In my own small town! Physical tickets are sold out but my understanding is it is available on demand virtually.

CLASSIFIEDS : The Artful Career is open! Ready to shape your career to feel aligned, alive & abundant? Claim your spot. Your creative season starts now.✷ Support for creative leaders ✷ Project & operations help for artists & orgs. Flexible systems. Creative clarity. Designed to protect your time & vision.Joyus Studio is a queer-owned storytelling consultancy to make the impossible feel possible. Email for a free 20min consultation - cody@joyus.studio COSMOS: A mythopoetic, queer astrology retreat in Joshua Tree. Explore the stars with us this September and get weird with it!

Want to include a classified ad for August 18? Click here to read more

Are.na
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com
Writing Group : Landscapes

Want to read July’s installment of Behind the Scenes of Business for paid subscribers : Check out Marketing without Instagram : Does it even work?

Consider becoming a paid subscriber of Monday Monday for $5/mo or $35/ year to keep it free every Monday and access Behind The Scenes of Business and the Yes Yes Advice Column

Upgrade now

That feeling of being washed up

Dear Reader,

A friend recently had a dance workshop which used to sell out effortlessly only have four spots sell, two of them sliding scale. She described the experience as : feeling like a washed up artist.

My open rates are down on my newsletter, my cash flow is a little stale, my social media is deleted, and I’ve still never learned a TikTok dance. As 40 sneaks around the corner, it has me feeling a little washed up too.

Photo by Cody Sells

What really is so bad about being washed up? To be washed away? To be smoothed over like a rock from the river? To be less seen? To be more hidden?

I find myself in this strange portal between book writing and book promoting. The book has been written, but the book is not being shouted from the roof tops yet. We slowly whisper its becoming but we do not tell you to order it. I begin to make my spreadsheet of all my marketing ideas, revise sentences in my head while I impatiently wait for copywriting to hand it back to me for another round of minor tweaks.

I made a little website for my new book. I am planning my next classes and slowly inviting people to the next round of Fieldwork. Working on my email funnels. Tidying up my Notion dashboard (it is very pretty). Building a whole new website from scratch out of sight. Everything behind the curtain is changing. What is under water is churning, rip tide and all.

Still dreaming of my roadside stand and how to work around the zoning ordinances. The Pilates shed was delivered - three shades brighter than I imagined with the wrong windows. The outbuildings multiply while I try to keep up with what they will be. Nate confirms he can put bigger windows in and Katy confirms she will put the dry wall in at a later date so Nate can do the windows first. Everything later than I thought, the lessons in patience continue.

The spreadsheets, these are what have saved me this year. My Pilates tracking spreadsheet, my marketing calendar and visions, my book promotion ideas, my finances. My color coded, courier new, very pretty spreadsheets. Give a Virgo rising a spreadsheet and perhaps a habit will change.

Pilates Spreadsheet

The feeling of being washed up is the same as the shoreline pulling me back in. Crashing against my toes greeting me at the break point. The breaking point of here and now. Where my cultural relevance went to live in a square grid I now look for in the corners of a google search and still I find very little. A new name, a short trace back only a year.

There is a relief in being less sure, less booked, less full. And yet my schedule remains stacked, I wonder how to make the spaciousness match my desires. My debut has ended and I enter mid life, the sweet middle ground, the rocky terrain of hopelessness. The work here feels steady, deeply unseen, restless as the current changes.

There is no standing ovation for my five am alarm going off. No fan fare for the color coded spreadsheet. This middle season lasts longer than the dopamine high of my scrolls and my scoops and my sighs. I am building real systems that let the washing up wash over me in a way that I can withstand with some steadiness.

As washed up as the driftwood, I hope to be as rooted and smooth. Both the seat and the seated. Both the log and the branch. What a moment to be in, the good in between.

May it last as long as it needs to, may I remain weathered.

TAKE TWO SECONDS : Last week I asked subscribers what they are into to get a better feel and send more segmented emails outside of Monday Monday - if you want to stay in the loop about future classes, sales, offerings, and special events click hereThings Of Note :

Registration for Mapping Your Creative Business (Aug 9 + 10) opens THIS FRIDAY August 1 with Early Bird Pricing - Jump on the waitlist here

I was lucky enough to have a truly amazing Human Design reading with em tebbetts last week that I can’t reccommend enough. As a 2/4 Emotional Manifestor it can be hard to live in a Generator dominated world! I can feel so misunderstood! Like I always have something to prove! em lead me through so many amazing excercises and showed me my chart in a whole new way.

The genocide in Gaza continues to terrify and crush my heart. Every small action counts, every action makes a difference. With so many deaths related to starvation just in the last month, we must remember this is a death spiral and we cannot turn away. Consider redistributing to an aid organization, supporting your local Palestinian restaurant, or amplifiying a project that supports Palestinian artists, writers, and activists in this time digitally or in your real life.

My dear friends Ellen and Elle are fundraising to build a home of their own and you can help them and read more here - it is a Straw Panel Cabin!

I have really been enjoying the new podcast Personal Business with Amanda Laird

CLASSIFIEDS : Movement maven HanaKyle offers body positive personal training: mobility and strength sans diet culture! Use code MONDAY for 20% off any package.Ready to shape your career like a work of art? Join The Artful Career waitlist to unlock early access and exclusive perks.🎨 Your small biz should look and sound as brilliant as you are. FIMAZO crafts your brand, logo, site, emails, socials, & all your creative needs. 💡Peace is not beyond your being, it’s your inherent nature 🪷 Reveal, reclaim, & embody the magnificence you are through 1:1 remote Reflection SessionsYou are looking to sort your thoughts, get new perspectives, find agency and initiate change? I offer creative counseling to help you find your way.

Want to include a classified ad for August? Click here to read more

Are.na
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com
Writing Group : Landscapes

Want to read July’s installment of Behind the Scenes of Business for paid subscribers : Check out Marketing without Instagram : Does it even work?

Consider becoming a paid subscriber of Monday Monday for $5/mo or $35/ year to keep it free every Monday and access Behind The Scenes of Business and the Yes Yes Advice Column

Upgrade now

Marketing without Instagram: does it even work?

Dear Reader,

Last weekend I taught one of my favorite workshops ever about self publishing. I quickly realized it should have been an entire semester long class, but we managed to get a lot done in a three hour period. If you missed the live class you are welcome to purchase the replay.

Le poids du monde (The Weight of the World) 33 (2017), Etel Adnan.

If you want to join the waitlist for Mapping Your Creative Business (open to fifty students) August 9 + 10 drop your email here.

If you’re in Northern Michigan, tomorrow Friday July 25 I am at Cedar North 9am-1pm hosting open gallery hours for my show The Quilt As Archive.

Today I am here to tell you just how many spots I sold for Witnessing Practice (my class about self publishing) without any social media, how much money it made, how many people appeared live, and how I over prepared for a three hours class.

You will also get links to all my sales emails if you want to study them and use the formats for any of your own sales emails. They worked really well!

Welcome to Behind The Scenes of Business : A Series for paid Subscribers of the Monday Monday Newsletter.Not a paid subscriber? It’s $5/mo or $35/year! I’d love to have you.