The Art of Becoming

How Lasting Change Is Cultivated Through Devotion

Dear Community,

Though we’d paused our newsletter for a couple of months while we recalibrated our lens, refined our focus, realigned our direction, and clarified our voice,

the voice of Feedback Loop Coaching herself,

you have been dwelling on our altar of devotion.

When we think of you, we see the image of Hanuman revealing the muse within his heart: Ram & Sita.

A page from Jennifer Mazzucco’s Shri Hanuman Chalisa book.

There’s a reason why on January 1, 2021, Chris and I felt called to tune into the Brooklyn Kirtan Collective’s chanting all 40 verses of the Hanuman Chalisa, 108 times. A New Year’s Day tradition. We were hooked from the start. As hours passed, and we swayed back and forth in trance state while our new teachers chanted, I felt myself feeling seduced further by the scripture. The living lineage. It was then that I knew I would be learning this Hindu devotional hymn. I turned to Chris and said, “We’re getting weirder.”

I said it in acknowledgement of a familiar feeling rising and releasing from my body. A resistance and acceptance that my Spiritual immersion and expansion could further alienate me from our culture. Could attract further projections and accusations. Further ridicule. As a Woman Who Runs with the Wolves, I’ve been hit with many misguided arrows. And in fact, this act of chanting with my love did result in keyboard warrior attack when we shared our newest passion on social media. While it contracted my nervous system in the moment, I look back and laugh at how illogical one projection sounded. She accused me of being possessed and said, “Rachel, you’re Jewish. You’re not even speaking English.” What does Judiasm have to do with speaking English? I wondered. Wouldn’t that imply that I ought to be chanting in Hebrew?

Though here’s what the hymnal scripture, rhythm, and camaraderie among those chanting and story-telling inspired that my years in Hebrew School did not: The fiery devotion of my Heart.

I was touched by Hanuman’s story. His devotion to Ram and Sita. Familiarizing myself with the Ramayana through these 40 verses felt as though divinity entered my body riding the waves of sound, found the electrical circuitry within my cells, and jumpstarted a strand of DNA that had been dormant. Rekindling a remembrance of my capacity for steadfast service.

Just as we feel called to a Qi Gong practice that must only be pursued with a pure heart, the path of devotion is the river running through our veins.

And though your inbox hasn’t heard from us in a few months, we as a community have been weaving together in realms unseen. The unexpected spaciousness that followed Chris' sudden departure from the yoga studio has removed the debris blocking the path for us to remember the voice of our own entity. The voice of Feedback Loop Coaching.

Page from “How to Lead a Badass Business From Your Heart” by Makenzie Marzluff.

In her book, “How to Lead a Badass Business From Your Heart,” our friend Makenzie invites us to write letters to our entity. To communicate with our business, cultivating companionship and familiarity with her. Chris and I drifted away from this practice as someone else's business became the focus of our daily devotion.

And we don't regret that diversion for a moment. Because at the center of that business was community. Whenever we'd ask ourselves, What would Hanuman do? the answer felt obvious. Serve the temple.

So we did.

When Chris was exiled from the yoga studio, our hearts instinctively reached for another story of exile: Ram's departure from Ayodhya. We found ourselves returning to an ancient teaching that reminds us that exile is not always punishment. Sometimes it is initiation. A sacred call to adventure that strips away borrowed identities until only essence remains. The wild unknown reveals what the comforts of the palace could never teach.

As we returned to our personal Kirtan practice, another remembrance began to glisten within our hearts.

It carried us back six years. To the Spring of 2020.

Those first months of falling in love.

The world dissolved into myth. Bliss expanded our awareness until archetypes felt more real than personalities. The constellations descended into our cells, awakening ancient memories and animating our lives with faith that the devoted heart could transform fate into destiny. Karma into Dharma.

Visions of Ram and Sita streamed through my consciousness. Scripture became poetry. Song became prayer. My Spirit surrendered to the eternal dance of Shiva and Shakti, Pure Consciousness meeting the Activating Force of creation itself.

I could have lived forever in those angelic realms high above the mountains, nourishing my body with sunlight and calling it a mango.

But those versions of Chris and Rachel were never meant to remain suspended in the clouds.

They were codes.

Sacred transmissions meant to expand our DNA through embodiment. Seeds of an ancient stewardship longing to take root in ordinary life, anchored by the belief that with love, anything is possible.

The ecstatic bliss was never the destination. It was the invitation to breathe heaven into the ordinary. To compel devotion into action. To remember that the deepest spiritual experiences are fulfilled not by escaping the world, but by serving it.

As my own dharma called me forward, I was delighted to discover how much my own mission would intertwine with Christopher's.

Love. Serve. Remember.

So six years ago, ready to share from our overflow, we asked the Universe, “How might we best serve?” And Hanuman answered.

During the long months of isolation in 2020 and beyond, we collaborated with Shamanism for the People, each of us choosing a day of the week to offer something freely to our community. Zoom became ceremony. Meditation Mondays with Dustin, Dharma Talk Tuesdays with Chris, Wellness Wednesdays with Chris & Tara, Plant Medicine Thursdays with Rachel, & Dreamer’s Den Fridays with Shanti became virtual gathering spaces where people could feel roots of connection, remembering that isolation is an illusion. That we were all still in community, practicing together.

As the world gradually reopened, so did our in-person offerings. Chris began leading pop-up meditations at the JMAC in Worcester. We welcomed people into our home for Cacao Circles, gathering around the altar to reconnect with ourselves and one another. Chris taught yoga twice a week at Artifakt Supply, creating space for breath and belonging.

Then came the invitation to help bring a brand-new yoga studio to life through its first summer festival.

We didn't hesitate.

We offered our hands, our hearts, our creativity, our leadership, and in the four years that followed, thousands upon thousands of hours in service to a vision larger than ourselves. The investment of our mental, emotional, and creative energy became a living expression of that devotion.

Yet service, beautiful as it is, carries its own shadow.

Sometimes, when service becomes our guiding value, we forget that we are not only Hanuman. We are also Ram and Sita. Not only the ones who devote ourselves to the sacred, but expressions of the sacred itself.

Perhaps that is what exile came to remind us.

As Ramgiri Braun, Ph.D. shares in his ramdass.org article Hanuman and the Evolution of Faith, “When Rama asks Hanuman, ‘How do you look upon me?’ the great monkey gives a three-part answer, ‘When I believe I am the body, then I am your faithful servant. When I know I am the soul, I know myself to be a spark of your eternal Light. And when I have the vision of truth, you and I, my Lord, are one and the same.’”

Chris and I live to serve your eternal light, dear Community. You have our devotion. You are the Ram, Sita, & Lakshman to our Hanuman.

And once in a while, it’s important for us to remember that we are also Ram & Sita. Sometimes we need to call on Hanuman to serve us as well. If we forget that for too long, our own sparks of eternal light dim to mere flickers.

Exile from what we once called our Temple has inspired us to dial up our sparks to full blast. To remember who we are. To remember that our gifts are meant to be shared with passion of purpose and radiant joy. Not dimmed, dulled, stifled, or squeezed out.

And you became our Hanuman, Dear Community. Our Pisces souls are swooning over the way you all have shown up for us.

As our essence, vitality, and enthusiasm returns through focusing on Feedback Loop Coaching’s first retreat, we hear the voice of our entity. Our beautiful loving business who exists to go deep with our clients. Our business who winks at me through song lyrics, such as Phish’s “If you can heal the symptoms, but not affect the cause, It's quite a bit like trying to heal a gunshot wound with gauze.”

And now I also see her in my mind’s eye and communicate with her daily. To me, she resembles the River Spirit in “Spirited Away.” After Chihiro bathes what first appears to be a “Stink Spirit.” The purified River Spirit, so grateful and radiant after being free from pollution rises up and out from the steamy bath to affirm, “Well done” to Chihiro before blissfully flying out of the bathhouse, filling the air with joy and celebration on his way out. Feedback Loop Coaching looks like this Spirit to me. But feminine. A wise crone who is flying around freely now that the pollution has been removed.

Images and Artwork from and Inspired by “Spirited Away” found on Pinterest.

Our entity has also reminded me of her original name: East Meets West Coaching.

Of course, choosing a business name depends not only on inspiration, but on something far more practical: domain availability. And East Meets West Coaching wasn't available.

So we let her breathe.

At the time, we had no idea how far down the rabbit hole into understanding Feedback Loops we would travel. Yet when the name Feedback Loop Coaching revealed herself, we both knew she was the one. And as you can probably guess, the domain was available.

East Meets West feels like the strong sturdy foundation upon which Feedback Loop Coaching is able to flourish.

Over these past few months, we've been tending to those roots, listening for her voice, and allowing that foundation to strengthen within our bones. No longer treating our beloved entity as an after-thought or backup plan or second choice. Instead, remembering to show up with devotion. She is the result of union between Chris and me. Expressed through our creativity and service. She is the unique manifestation of our love in motion. And she deserves our full attention, as any child would.

Thank you, dear community, for your understanding and grace throughout this season of recalibration. Our lungs were in tune with the rhythm of Spring, as we allowed our own buds to develop in divine time. Trusting the process without the urge to rush the unfurling. And now, like the wildflowers blooming all around us, we're witnessing Feedback Loop Coaching blossom in her own time, opening her petals to the sunlight and inviting the pollinators who are meant to find her.

Thank you for finding us in this new chapter.

We have some updates to share with you, beginning with a celebration of the Brotherhood Circle!

The Brotherhood Circle Crossing the Finish Line together.

Band of Brothers

Congratulations to the Brotherhood Circle on this epic achievement! You deserve to feel SO proud of what you've accomplished.

One Tuesday evening in April, a group of men who had been gathering since November chose decisive action. Not just talking about doing something challenging one day, or daydreaming about getting back into shape. They made a commitment, registering for a Spartan Race just two months away.

In the weeks that followed, they honored the promise they had made to themselves and to one another. Training in their own ways, encouraging each other, building momentum, and generating excitement all the way through to race day.

They kept their word.

That may sound simple, but in a world drowning in good intentions, following through is a sacred practice.

Intention is the energy behind what we say we're going to do. Integrity is our willingness to live in alignment with those words. And courage is the heart's unwavering faith that carries us forward on the days when motivation fades and doubt creeps in.

The Spartan Race became a living demonstration of all three.

Spartan Squad Band of Brothers

And the ripple effect is real.

Their commitment has ignited a spark in others. Conversations are shifting from theory to action, as the whole community is buzzing, "If they can do something this challenging.. what might I be capable of?"

This is one of our favorite teachings we explore through Energy Leadership®. The Art of Level 5 Energy.

When we’re resonating with Level 5 Energy, we are seeing ourselves and others as inherently gifted, resourceful, and full of potential. This frequency recognizes that leadership isn't reserved for people with titles or positions of authority. Leadership is influence. It is the permission we give others to believe in themselves, because we've chosen to believe in ourselves. Therefore, we can reflect that faith back to one another.

iPEC’s Energetic Self-Perception Chart, highlighting the dimension of Level 5 Energy.

From Rachel’s Canva Series, diving deeper into the Attitudinal Archetypes

When one person courageously leans into their potential, they knowingly or unknowingly expand what feels possible for everyone around them.

So to every man in the Brotherhood Circle, if you ever find yourself questioning whether you have the capacity for Level 5 Leadership, remember the Spartan Race.

Remember that a single conversation one Tuesday evening became months of committed mindset.
Remember that your commitment inspired people you may never even realize were watching.
Remember that your integrity became someone else's evidence that meaningful change is possible.

Congratulations once more.

You embodied integrity, showing you are the kind of men who keep your word. And that kind of leadership extends far beyond the finish line.

The final obstacle before the finish line.

When we first introduced the vision for the Brotherhood Circle in a previous newsletter, we touched briefly upon the topic of men’s mental health and our hope of creating a space where men could reconnect with their vitality, purpose, and one another. A place where they could lay down their shields, set aside competition, performance, the pressure to problem-solve and provide, and simply connect through authenticity.

We envisioned a place where men could gather consistently, speak vulnerably without censoring themselves, challenge one another with compassion, and remember that strength isn't measured by how much one can carry alone. Sometimes, it's measured by the willingness to allow someone else to carry part of the load.

The Brotherhood Circle is meant to be a space where men can loosen their grip on the expectation that they must always have the answers for the sake of making everyone around them feel safe and secure and instead, find relief, trust, and camaraderie in one of the most courageous phrases a person can say:

"I don't know."

Because when we think we have all the answers, we stagnate. Growth begins when we're willing to ask empowering questions.

Over the past several months, we've had the privilege of watching this prayer take root. Conversations have deepened. Trust has strengthened. Genuine friendships have formed.

The Spartan Race wasn't the purpose of the Brotherhood Circle. It was simply one beautiful expression of what becomes possible when men commit themselves not only to personal growth, but to growing alongside one another.

That's what we've been witnessing.

And we couldn't be more proud.

One moment in particular touched us deeply.

In the Spring, after Chris was unexpectedly let go from his teaching position at a local yoga studio, our financial future felt uncertain. Feedback Loop Coaching had not yet matured into a sustainable source of income. In the midst of navigating that transition, the men of the Brotherhood stood together in covering the cost of Chris' Spartan Race registration.

For the Brotherhood, this may have felt like a simple gesture.

For Chris, it was much deeper.

Anyone who knows him well knows that giving has always come more naturally than receiving. Throughout his life, he has often been quick to offer help, create opportunities, and extend himself for others. Simply put, he shows up. Reliability is indisputably his love language.

Learning to receive has become part of his own healing journey.

Accepting the gift, the investment in the Spartan Race registration, was an invitation to trust that community isn't something we create just for others to experience. It's something we allow ourselves to be held by as well. In those moments when we need to call on Hanuman’s support.

One of the paradoxes of service is that those who devote their lives to lifting others often become the least practiced at asking to be lifted themselves. Our ability to ask for help becomes so atrophied, we forget it’s even an option.

But true brotherhood reminds us otherwise.

It reminds us that there are seasons to carry and seasons to be carried. Seasons to encourage and seasons to receive encouragement. Seasons to give generously and seasons to graciously accept the generosity of others. It reminds us that receiving is not the opposite of giving. Receiving completes the cycle.

While Chris’ crossing the Spartan Race finish line was inspiring, knowing that he crossed it supported by the companionship, generosity, and belief of the men beside him made it unforgettable.

Especially for those who know Chris’ story. Not just of his spinal fusion recovery, but of his long term transformation.

Before & After

When someone joked about sharing "before and after" photos from the race, my mind’s eye began collecting images of Chris’ journey. Those who know us today are familiar with his story of recovery from spinal fusion surgery, though his “before” stretches back much further.

Many people are surprised to learn that the tall, lean man standing beside me once weighed 350 pounds.

Long before the spinal fusion. Long before Yoga became his medicine and vocation. Long before he was guiding others through movement and mindfulness, he had already begun the inner work of rebuilding his life at the molecular level. One ingredient at a time.

Recently, someone jokingly referred to lifestyle change as "the old-fashioned way," noting how weight-loss medications like GLP-1s have become increasingly mainstream.

Our hearts sank a little.

Not because of the medications themselves. Every person's health journey is deeply personal, and we believe people are entitled to choose the path that feels most aligned for them in any given season of life.

Rather, we felt the weight of what the joke reflected about our culture. There is an understandable allure to quick fixes. We all long for relief. For healing. For change when we’ve decided a path isn’t serving. As coaches, we've devoted our lives to helping people excavate the root causes beneath the symptoms. We've learned that lasting change rarely comes from finding the fastest path. More often, it comes from having the courage to explore the deepest one. To understand the patterns we've inherited, question the stories we've been living, and practice new ways of being until they become second nature.

Perhaps that's why the comment landed differently for us.

It overlooked our own transformations. Chris' story especially.

The years he spent transforming his relationship with food by becoming a devoted student of nutrition. The countless trips to the gym. The strength training. The discipline of returning to movement again and again. And finally, the practice that became the chef's kiss of his evolution: Yoga.

His journey wasn't built on one dramatic decision and wasn’t achieved by any quick fixes.

It was built on thousands of ordinary choices.

One meal.

One walk.

One workout.

One difficult decision.

One return to practice.

Again.

And again.

And again.

That is the kind of transformation that has always resonated most deeply with us.

At Feedback Loop Coaching, we often say that awareness is the first step toward change. Though awareness alone isn't enough. Insight without practice rarely alters the trajectory of a life.

Practice does. Devotion does. The willingness to return, especially on the days we don't feel like it, does.

The deepest changes are rarely dramatic. They're devotional.

They're cultivated quietly, patiently, and intentionally until they become so woven into the fabric of who we are that one day we wake up and realize we are no longer becoming someone else.

We've become more fully ourselves.

The Courage to Change

Chris and I are no strangers to the courage required to change. Perhaps that's why we hold change with such reverence.

Not as something to rush through. Not as something to conquer. But as something to honor.

Each step toward expansion along the spiral of embodied consciousness is its own hero's journey. Each season asks something different of us. Sometimes courage. Sometimes surrender. Sometimes patience. Sometimes faith. Sometimes grief.

One of our favorite quotes from The Law of Being reminds us:

"What the caterpillar calls the end, the master calls a butterfly."

So beautiful and concise. Though anyone who has lived through profound change knows that becoming the butterfly doesn't erase the pain of leaving the caterpillar behind or the uncertainty of the chrysalis stage.

There is grief in every meaningful transformation.

Grief for the identities we've outgrown. For the relationships that no longer match our upleveled frequencies.

For the careers, beliefs, habits, and stories that once protected us until, as Anaïs Nin so eloquently describes, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Written in 2018, as I was saying goodbye to one version of myself and learning to trust the woman emerging on the other side.

Growth asks us to let go before we can fully conceptualize what we're becoming. To leap and trust that the net will appear.

Perhaps that's why we feel so humbled by and grateful for every client who has entrusted us with that sacred space between what is and what is yet to be.

Many of you find your way to us at the end of a chapter. You know the old way of being is complete, yet the next chapter hasn't fully revealed itself, so there’s a sense of stagnancy. Of feeling stuck.

You hear your own excuses for staying the same, and something within you demands,

"This. Ends. Now."

That is often the moment our paths cross.

To be invited into that realm with you, to support you as you cross the threshold into the unknown is one of the greatest honors of our lives.

Thank you for trusting us as witnesses your becoming.

East Meets West

It is from that place of reverence that this year's retreat was born.

From a spark of inspiration create the kind of space that has changed our own lives time and time again.

A space where Eastern wisdom traditions and Western coaching methodologies meet.

Where discipline is balanced with compassion.

Where introspection is paired with embodied practice.

Where profound conversations unfold around the dinner table just as naturally as they do on the meditation cushion or hiking trail.

Where there is finally enough spaciousness to hear your own inner knowing again.

This August, we'll gather for ourEast Meets West Retreat.

For four days, we'll slow down together.

We'll practice Yoga and Qi Gong. We'll explore Energy Leadership® and objective evaluation of default patterns. We'll share nourishing meals prepared with love, walk among the trees, laugh, reflect, and remember what it feels like to live in rhythm with ourselves instead of racing against time.

Our hope is that you leave having remembered more of who you've always been.

Because that's what real transformation has always meant to us. It's the sacred process of peeling back the layers that have obscured the truth of who you are. A remembrance of your true essence.

It is placing that soul spark upon the altar of the heart and, through devoted practice, giving it permission to shine more brightly in the world.

If your heart has been whispering that it's time for a new chapter, we'd be honored to walk beside you.

And if this newsletter has reminded you of anything, we hope it's this:

Your life is not measured by dramatic breakthroughs.

It's shaped by quiet choices.

By ordinary moments met with extraordinary devotion.

By the courage to keep returning to what matters.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Because the masterpieces worth creating are the ones that take a lifetime.

May you feel the strength of inner faith along your journey of becoming.