#exercises for beginners

[breelandwalker]

Witchcraft Exercise - Annual Review

The end of the old calendar year and the beginning of a new one are excellent times for reflection and recalibration. We do this in our mundane lives by making resolutions, setting new goals, starting new projects, and sketching out our schedule for the coming year. So why not do the same with your witchcraft!

As a journaling exercise, sit down and record how your journey has progressed over the past year. You can include things like spells you’ve cast, rituals you’ve performed, holidays you’ve celebrated, gatherings you attended, new ideas you’ve encountered or incorporated, important lessons learned, and any significant milestones you’ve achieved. It doesn’t have to be fully comprehensive or bite-by-bite - the level of detail is entirely up to you.

(If you’ve already performed the exercise Quantifying Your Craft, then you already have a place to start. If you haven’t, I do suggest doing that first to give yourself a clear set of data and pre-determined information to reference.)

Once you’ve recorded your progress, decide where you want to go next. What new goals will you set? What new subjects do you want to explore? What habits do you want to alter or adopt? Are there any new books you want to read? Places you want to visit? New methods or techniques you want to try? Dream big and then sketch out a path to get you there, or just decide where you want to go next. And don’t worry about accomplishing everything on the list in the span of a year. Whatever doesn’t get done in the short term can always become the seed of something you grow into over time.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily have to be an exercise that happens exclusively at the beginning or end of a calendar year. You can (and should) review and recalibrate periodically throughout the year whenever you incorporate new information or new ideas or new processes into your practice. This can be done as frequently or infrequently as you feel the need, whether that be monthly or quarterly or annually or just once every few years. Pausing for reflection is a necessary part of any long-term path or project, and it is a good way to both measure your progress so far and decide how best to move forward.

One more thing - Don’t be too hard on yourself or feel like you haven’t accomplished enough or learned enough or progressed enough to be a “proper” witch. Don’t compare your craft to anyone else’s or measure your viability by another's rod. Your journey is your own and will proceed at its’ own pace. Periods of rest or recovery or low motivation or preoccupation with other concerns are going to be part of that. As long as you’re making an effort, you’re doing just fine.

Happy Witching!

Image Credit - Witch Workspace, by Mylène Richard

Want more witchcraft exercises? Check out the masterpost here.

(If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar, tune in to my monthly show Hex Positive on your favorite podcast app, or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

[daydreamsgonerogue]

more grimmauld place era drawing exercise / exhausted sirius black vibes (Hello, @cornishpadfoot)

I'm still at the very beginning, but I feel like I start to dislike my results about 5% less than before :)

shadowing is a bitch, and hair is even worse

[starwolfie]

@dragkbluire , I painted your Time to practice some background effects and do my own attempt at dramatic lighting. 😉

I think it turned out okay, not as great as yours, but I’m just a beginner!

Thank you for letting others exercise with your gorgeous art!

[wanderingblindly]

wow it’s really lame to take my own advice and do new things even if they’re a bit scary

[i-dont-know-what-im-doing-2024]

Workout Tips for beginners/chronic pain

For those of you who don’t know me I am trans and physically disabled (also autistic and have anxiety and depression and ptsd) anyway working out has been something that was totally off the table for me for a long time but lately my energy and motivation have improved somewhat as well as my dysphoria being worse which has made me want to try to working out again.

This legitimately isn’t a post I ever thought I’d be making but being pre T and closeted it felt like the only thing I could do to have some control over my body and I really wanted to try. It took me a couple of months after first getting the idea to actually feel like I was in a place to try and as well as finding a good program. I really didn’t want to put money into this especially because I had no idea how it would go, I’m currently on my second week of working out so I thought I’d share some advice for anyone else in a similar position.

Also, as a disclaimer, not everyone with chronic pain or other disabilities can exercise and there’s definitely been times when I also couldn’t so this purely for people who are in a place where they want to and are safe to try.

- Balance is everything, I say this as a total hypocrite just to be clear but if you haven’t worked out in a long time (I would say it’s been around three years for me) you can’t expect to go super hard right away

- Don’t worry about speed or reps or anything like that, doing your best is the most important thing and trying to take that pressure off yourself helps

- Honestly do fewer reps, shorter times, modify or substitute exercises, skip certain things- none of that is a big deal even if it feels like it is and whether you can do some of it later or not it’s okay

- I don’t see physical results yet which isn’t a surprise but I can feel more muscles when I flex my stomach which is cool and even after a week and a half with a lot of rest days I can do more than I could at the beginning

- Low impact is still a hard workout and it is much easier on your body, highly recommend for people with chronic pain

- Now one of the most important things I’ve learned is that I do not have the option of not warming up and doing cool down stretches, my body cannot handle it if I skip those steps which unfortunately makes everything take so much longer but again for anyone with chronic pain it’s probably better to cut down the harder bits and do a warm up and cool down

- The one time I did skip cool down stretches because I had errands to run and thought walking around would be enough I couldn’t sit or stand up straight the next day because I was in so much pain and the muscles in my hips and legs hurt so badly I had to take a break for several days

- I’ve also found that doing full body stretches after working out significantly reduces pain the next day (at least for me) to the point where after a week of working out I feel more sore than in proper pain

- If certain exercises are too much for your body skip them or do another exercise instead, the pain really isn’t worth it and it’s way too easy to injure yourself or cause a flare up

- Sometimes you can do exercises at the beginning but can’t do multiple reps, I’m serious about listening to your body, especially if you’re disabled. I pushed myself a bit too hard today and managed to hurt my wrist and neck (wrist because I did too many workouts in a plank position and the weight on my wrists was too much, neck from crunch type exercises that strain my neck which can cause headaches/migraines the next day)

- Not related to physical disability but I have some demand avoidance tendencies and personally not telling anyone in my life I’m doing it has been one of the most helpful things in not having to deal with external pressure or expectations (I know for other people outside accountability helps so it just depends on what helps you)

- If money is a concern or you’re not sure if you’ll be able to be consistent long term just working out in underwear is a good option, also there are tons of different types of free bodyweight workouts on YouTube, the only thing I’ve bought so far has been a mat

- Onto the next point, get a mat, preferably s as thick exercise mat with a lot of cushion and not a yoga mat. I didn’t realize there was a difference but there absolutely is and for me having more cushion makes a huge difference on my joints

- I personally have been doing Chloe Ting because I’ve seen a lot of people with a lot of different body types get results after being consistent and because after trying it for a week I feel stronger. That being said they’re also not easy and I have made a lot of adjustments and had to take breaks after causing flare ups but all these tips have helped me find more sustainable ways to exercise instead of doing it once and burning out

- I don’t do explicit cardio EVER, I have tachycardia and get dizzy and lightheaded really easily so even doing bodyweight exercises and low impact my heart rate ranges from 150bpm-180bpm the entire time with breaks.

- Also, drinking lots of water is supposed to be good, I don’t track it but I try to stay hydrated and it probably helps

- Prioritize sleep if you’re able to

- Hot showers after working out also help me manage muscle pain

- Finally for food I’ve been trying not to eat unless I’m actually hungry as I have a habit of eating if I’m bored and trying to incorporate more healthy food into my life rather than cutting anything out. Also healthy being subjective, I’m trying to eat healthier than I used to but that still isn’t like tons of salad and veggies and stuff so whatever you can do is fine

- I’m definitely not following all these myself but I’m working on it and trying to improve

[freeonlineworkouts]

Yoga Poses

[lunalines]

𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐨𝐧𝐞 💌

this was my first full week of dedicating all my time into drawing - and woah was it hard :o.

going into it, i thought it would be easy - but drawing something as simple as a circle to use as reference for a head was challenging enough.

i had to wipe everything i ever knew about drawing and start from scratch - which was both interesting and incredibly frustrating.

but - it’s keeping me motivated + giving me a routine and reason to get up in the morning so i’m excited to see what next week’s progression looks like.

- l.l

[radiotransmissionaac]

start list mostly personal use but hope help others maybe:

Yoga moves that require very little physical exertion or postural changes.

(Good for stretching, not too much moving your head at different levels or having your head significantly below your heart, mostly lying down or on all fours.)

Child’s pose

Frog pose

Cobra (variations for intensity)

Cat/Cow

Happy baby

Half lotus

if you know of any others please let me know and will add them to list.

I’ve been trying to get back into any form of moving my body as a disabled person and I find myself doing a lot of these organically when I need to stretch my body out.

My biggest problems with other beginners’ yoga is too much postural changes with my head (like in downward dog) or just too much physical exertion (like warrior pose).

[fit-ishlife]

Exercise doesn’t have to feel like a chore.

It can be fun too.

As adults we need to learn how to play again. 🎾

[breelandwalker]

You’ve probably maybe gotten asks like this before, but I really need some advice; see, it’s been ages since I’ve really touched my practice. So I’ve been stuck as a “beginner witch” for years. Mainly because I don’t know what my practice should look like. What I want to research. On top of that, Leviathan entered my space a couple of years back, and sources on him are very sparse, from what I can tell.

Essentially, I’m just really stuck. I don’t know what I want to do. I want to have a practice. I want to engage with Leviathan and my ancestry and… what else? I don’t know what else. All the potential options tend to overwhelm me more than they help. I think it may be some kind of executive dysfunction thing, so I was wondering if you had any advice?

Definitely understand if not though, and I hope you have a lovely day. <3

"Executive Dysfunction," you say. Consider my ears swiveled.

I have the SAME PROBLEM. The Decision Paralysis is so real when it comes to figuring out what you want to do with witchcraft, whether it's learning something new or picking a deity to venerate or decided how to put together the latest spell you want to cast. I can't offer much advice on the deity/spirit side of things, but I think I might be able to suggest something for the "stuck" feeling.

I have a little masterpost of Witchcraft Exercises with crafts and journaling prompts and thought experiments to help witches build their craft and hone their skills. In particular, I think you might benefit from the one called Quantifying Your Craft. It's a writing exercise where you sit down and just...record what your craft looks like. It doesn't have to be formal or fit for public consumption, it's just an outline of how you got started, what you believe, what you think, what you know, and what you're curious about.

It's a good way of parsing all those disparate thoughts into some sort of order, as well as creating a sort of mile marker or save point for later on. You can use it to chart your progress, revisit old questions, and maybe discover some new directions for your learning.

This is something that's really helped me in the past when I felt stuck or couldn't decide what to do. I'd go back to my last save point, as it were, and look at the plans and questions I'd recorded at the time. It also helped to revisit the things that inspired me early on, particularly certain books and movies. If anything put me in the mood to Do A Magical Thing, I tried to find time to indulge that whim. (That motivation can be so fleeting and it's so satisfying when you can catch it at just the right to make something happen.)

Beyond that, I recommend jotting down ideas that you have when you have them. That way, when you feel stuck later, you have a little cache of ideas to fall back on and maybe one will jump out at you.

Hope this helps!

[daydreamsgonerogue]

1-day-sketches: padfoot.

[maxisdreaming]

Another quick one to say I did two (less saturated to compensate for tablet being hella saturated)

[writingprompt-ledgers]

Ashen Thrones

In a kingdom where rulers are crowned by consuming a potion made from the ashes of the last monarch, a new heir refuses to drink—revealing a hidden truth about the ashes.

[freeonlineworkouts]

yoga poses

[lunalines]

𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐭𝐰𝐨 💌 (𝐩𝐭.𝟏)

week two of learning to draw was … eventful.

i think something i was unprepared for was the shear amount of frustration i’d feel through out the learning process.

with my other hobbies (like crocheting) i felt like the more i practiced the more i saw improvement, but with drawing (especially in the beginning stages) it sometimes felt like everything i drew was somehow wrong.

so in order to keep the motivation going, i started to do fun animations :) so for this weeks progress report i made two animated gifts - the first one being a vampire undercover, mwahaha :)

- l.l 🌻.

[cxtetootsie]

Her feet tickled from the prickly threads beneath her, the soft blades yielding to her steps as she danced between flowers, trying to avoid their delicate petals. The gentle breeze lifted her skirt, causing the pink and cream silks to flutter like petals in a summer breeze. Petals swirled through her golden locks, shimmering like a sunset. Her cheeks, rosy and bright, lit up with her laughter, ringing through the air like a musical bell. Her skin, as smooth and luminous as a moonlit flower petal, seemed to blend seamlessly with the natural world as she twirled gracefully, her movements echoing the dance of the blossoms around her.