A New Effort
Unpacking Pilates, devotion, growth through daily practice, and upcoming creative projects!
Dear Reader,
I have so much to share with you these days. So many things in my professional and creative ecosystem I want you to know about. It is also day by day that I learn what devotion really looks like, how it moves in the body, how it shows up in small, consistent ways even when no one is watching. Lately, I’ve been filming myself in my movement practice, not to post immediately or prove anything, but to witness how my body shifts, how I hold myself, how I grow. It has helped me gain confidence, not in an extreme way, but in the quiet assurance that comes from seeing yourself commit to something you love.
I remember after I filmed myself dancing every day for a year over at @personalpractice thinking : wow, I got so much better at dancing. I didn’t “try” to get better at anything, I just did the same thing every day and those were the results.
Some days showing up feels easy, like when I’m already on the mat before I’ve had time to think about it. Other days it’s more of a negotiation, a small conversation I have with myself about whether I really need to move or write or sew, and then doing it anyway. I’m learning that devotion isn’t some big dramatic gesture. Most of the time, it looks like doing the thing in a regular, unremarkable way, over and over, and letting that be enough.
These new shapes remind me that the body is capable of constant reorientation, that I can become stronger and softer at the same time. Every time I film myself doing Pilates, I wonder, “Do I start a YouTube channel?” Imagine it: a quiet, gay corner of the internet where I breathe, move, and remind you to do the same.
I’ve also been noticing how everything is connected. Sewing a quilt feels a lot like practicing Pilates—figuring out where something is too tight or too loose, finding the next right piece, paying attention to the details without getting lost in them. Writing feels like that too. It’s all just small steps that add up, moving forward even when it feels slow, trusting that it matters.
This commitment to practice extends beyond the mat. It shows up in the ways I write, self-publish, and share work with you. My next online class, Witnessing Practice, is open for enrollment now, and it’s about exactly this: how the private pages of your journal can lead to public sharing—newsletters, zines, books—without losing the tenderness and integrity that made you want to write in the first place. It’s about devotion to your voice, your stories, and finding a rhythm that allows you to share your work without burning out or disappearing into overwhelm.
I am also opening up space to take on a few 1:1 clients who want to work together on creative practice, business systems, and building structures that support your art. It feels connected to everything else I am doing: the way a movement practice supports writing, the way writing supports our ability to witness ourselves clearly, the way witnessing ourselves can transform how we move through the world. If you want support in this season, I am here.
And yes, Quilt Camp registration is open, too. (Use code QUILTCAMPWAITLIST) I am delighted to share I will be joined by guest teacher saylem m celeste. In September, we will gather with our sewing machines and our questions, piecing together days of sunset swims, improvisational patchwork, radical quilt lectures, and resting. All of these threads—movement, self-publishing, devotion, humor, community—are part of the same fabric I am weaving with you. Thank you for being here, for moving and making alongside me.
Things of Note :
Sky Fusco is hosting TUNE IN DROP OUT : an accountability group to take the month of July off of Instagram
Esmé Weijun Wang is teaching Writing Through Brain Fog on Saturday July 12
My first solo show The Quilt As Archive opens July 12 at Cedar North 5-8pm and I’d love to see you there
If you are in NYC make sure to check out FREEDOM TIME : Undanced Dances Through Prison Walls July 5-August 9 at Recess Art - Opening Gathering July 5 5-8pm : Dances sent from inside Jenin, Palestine
CLASSIFIEDS : Quilt near the North Pole—find space to reflect, reconnect, and create in the deep stillness of Svalbard’s polar night. Receive full spectrum support for gender questioning, exploration, and transition with The Gender Doula! Need fresh eyes on your site? Creative clarity? The Brand Dossier was made for you. Book a free 15m anything-goes chat with Carrie (zoom/phone/text) Scratch That Podcast / queer illustrator & disabled storyteller / on being parents & people at the same time / off script & starting from scratch Graphic designer seeking poster, album art, & branding clients - also offering discounted web design while I learn to code. Let's grow together ~<:)
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Instagram : @codycookparrott @personalpractice
Email : info@codycookparrott.com
Website : https://www.codycookparrott.com
Writing Group : Landscapes
Want to read June’s installment of the Yes Yes Advice Column for paid subscribers : Check out Choosing Our Inner World