A free online introduction to Eastern wisdom, Western psychology, and Harmony

Saturday, December 19th | 10:00a-11:30a ET
Free Online Gathering 

Open to all levels of experience

The yin seasons of fall and winter can bring a mix of emotions and experiences. They give us more time for reflection, pause, separation. This quieter time can create room for There may be connection and joy, but also uncertainty, frustration, overwhelm, sadness, or simply the challenge of navigating so many different needs and expectations.

The Five Elements offer a way to understand some of the patterns that arise in us and around us. Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal each carry their own qualities and wisdom. They can offer a different perspective on how we meet life's challenges and find our way back to a sense of harmony.

I'm excited to be exploring this work alongside Cara Reynolds, LISW. Cara is trained in yoga and taiji and brings a compassionate, clear approach to helping people navigate difficult times through compassionate accountability. She has helped hundreds of people find their way through challenging circumstances.

Together, we've been weaving our Eastern and Western perspectives into an approach that is both understandable and, we think, a little magical. Through the Five Elements and an understanding of our own nervous systems, we'll explore ways to anchor into our steady selves, learn from our experiences, and meet life's ups and downs with greater awareness and compassion.

Join us for this free online gathering as we introduce the Five Elements and begin creating a practical Harmony Toolbox. Together, we'll explore a few simple questions and practices:

• Water: What helps me find steadiness when life feels uncertain?

• Wood: What do I do when I encounter obstacles?

• Fire: How do I stay connected to myself when relationships feel challenging?

• Earth: What helps me feel supported?

• Metal: What am I carrying that I no longer need to hold?

Through conversation, reflection, and gentle experiential practices, we'll explore how these five perspectives can help us recognize what's happening within us, remember the wisdom available to us, and reconnect with what might be supportive in the moment.

You don't need any previous experience with the Five Elements. Just bring your curiosity and a willingness to explore.

You must register to attend this online offering. It is a live class and will not be recorded. 

Tuesdays,  January 5 - February 2
11 AM –12 PM EST | $80 | Online
(Free to those with a SWL Monthly Membership - Use MEMBER only links sent via email)

Open to all levels of experience

Exploring the voice, vibration, and qi through the Five Elements

Our voices are among our earliest forms of expression, and yet how many of us learned at a very young age to control them?

We were taught, sometimes repeatedly, when to speak, when to be silent, and which expressions of emotion were acceptable. As kids, many of us learned to hold back our laughter, tears, anger, excitement, and sometimes even the simple pleasure of making noise.

I remember struggling with my voice in middle school when we had to sing in front of the choir director to be placed in our vocal groups. And then, yikes, there was debate class in high school, my radio days after college, and movement trainings and certifications that included sections on using the voice. All of these experiences uncovered just how much discomfort I had developed around using my voice, and how much that holding back had contributed to a sense of stagnation.

But sound offers us a way to expand and encourage movement where qi has become stagnant. Through vibration, we can explore resonance within the body and become curious about the relationship between our voice, movement, breath, and qi. Allowing ourselves to make sound with our voice can open up a different sense of physical and energetic space, inviting a greater connection with our own aliveness and the world around us.

In this five-week Sensing Qi exploration, we'll become familiar with the Five Taoist Sounds and their traditional relationship to the Five Elements and corresponding organ systems. Our organs are not just completing a daily function. These organs have much more dimension from an eastern perspective.

Tuesdays, January 5 - February 2 
| 6:00–7:30 pm | $80 | Virtual Class
(Free to those with a SWL Monthly Membership - Use MEMBER only links sent via email)

Open to all levels of experience

An embodied exploration of presence, perception, and the subtle intelligence that lives beneath form—through the slow, attentive practice of taiji.

Qi of Taiji explores the fluid movements of taiji as a living practice—one that slowly, almost imperceptibly, moves into other areas of life. Like osmosis, the work softens what has become rigid and invites life to move with a little more ease.

Rooted in ancient movements originally developed for self-defense, this practice is less about combat and more about orientation. Through slow, sustained movement, you learn how to find and return to a tethered center—even when conditions feel stormy. Qi is cultivated not through effort, but through attention, patience, and relationship, allowing steadiness to emerge rather than be forced.

This practice includes warmups, targeted exercises to embody principles, time to explore sensing qi, posture repetition, time for questions, and it ends practicing the Guang Ping Yang Taijiquan set.

No prior taiji experience is required—only a willingness to move slowly, pay attention, and explore what lives beneath the surface of form.

Not only are class recordings available, but separate videos are offered repeating single movements (in silence to simply feel the movement) but I also offer videos of the repeated practice up to the point you have learned, so that you are able to practice the movements getting a better understanding of the entire flow.

I have heard from many students how invaluable these avenues of support between classes are. When questions arise, they are always able to go back and remind themselves, or practice along with me in the background.

Have questions? Feel free to email me, or contact me as a member of our free community!

Ready to sign up? Click Learn More below and register!

When I closed my brick-and-mortar studio, it was one of the most difficult decisions I had ever made.

I loved that space: the suspended wood floor (heated in the winter!), the giant light-filled windows, the flower and herb garden, and most of all, the incredible students who taught me as much as I taught them.

At the time, my family needed my attention in ways I hadn’t anticipated, and I knew I didn’t have the capacity to continue building a physical studio while also caring for the people I loved.

I couldn’t fully let go of the community we had created, so I moved my teaching into an online space with the help of some wonderful people.

Two months later, COVID arrived.

Looking back, I’m grateful for the path that opened. Students were able to continue practicing together, and many discovered that having access to classes, courses, and recordings anytime allowed them to deepen their practice in a new way.

The online community became more than a place to watch videos. It became a way to return to the teachings, revisit details, practice at their own pace, and continue learning together.

A membership with Shift With Lucy gives you access to:

• Taiji For Balance — Levels 1 and 2
• Baduanjin Qigong
• Meditation practices
• Five Element Theory and Practices
• Select workshop recordings
• Future courses and teachings

If this sounds like the kind of learning environment you’re looking for, you’re welcome to try the membership free for 30 days. You won’t be charged unless you decide to continue.

The work we do to transform our lives cannot be done alone. We are rich resources that can learn, rely on, and share with each other. This is what the SWL Community is all about.

This is a free-access online place to explore mindful movement and the ancient philosophies that support it.

We all try to use language that is rooted in the culture of the practices we do daily, but we explain those in terms that our Western upbringing has in common. 

This liminal space is special.

Western Mindfulness tends to focus on stress reduction (e.g., Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, MBSR), science-based approach, and therapy, with a focus on practical and goal-oriented results.

Eastern Mindfulness is rooted in spiritual traditions connected to deeper spiritual development and involves meditation as a path toward wisdom and insight, focuses on the interconnectedness of life, and looks to a holistic balance of mind, emotions, body, and spirit.

What we see when we create a ven diagram of these is that we all want the kind of internal harmony that emanates outward toward others. Both approaches have great gifts.

Simply put, a compassionate, non-judgmental space reduces anxiety and stress on its own. It creates community, safety, and connection.

I hope you join me here.