Defy the Trend Coaching Community for combating burnout
A coaching community that teaches that you are worthy of rest
In the Defy the Trend community, you will resist the racist, patriarchal and toxic capitalist culture that tells you that working, doing, producing – the habits that lead to burnout – is the only way you have any value. You will unlearn the conditioning that burns you out for the sake of “saving” your workplace, school, or religious community. You will reject the notion that taking time to rest is selfish. You will push back against the conditioning that forces you to be a human machine that tries to get more efficient, more productive, more organized … only so that you can do more, more, more.
The Defy the Trend paid coaching community is closed until fall 2023.
The FREE community with a sample of resources and gatherings for setting priorites, learning to say no and taking time to really rest remains open all year. Join and you’ll be the first to know when the community opens up again. 👇
Make change without burning yourself out
Being a change agent leaves you burned out. Activists, spiritual and religious leaders, teachers and students, executives and managers, or parents, partners and spouses – requires so much of you.
Especially if you are trying to make positive change in your life, family, school and community.
You want to make your corner of the world a better place. That means working hard so that you can have a big, positive impact.
But what often happens is that you:
- Pack your calendar with far too many work, school, family and community obligations that don’t have anything to do with the impact you wanted to make in the first place.
- Say yes even though your calendar says NO.
- Take care of others at the expense of your own mental, physical and emotional health.
- Feel like you are the only one who really wants to make change.
- Finally take time off, only to feel as exhausted as you did before.
AND, worse yet, you blame yourself for burning out after doing all of the above.
At Defy the Trend, we are here to tell you: This reality is NOT your fault.
What if I told you that you can make the change you want to see in the world by getting more rest?
In the Defy the Trend community, you will resist the racist, patriarchal and toxic capitalist culture that tells you that working, doing, producing is the only way you have any value. You will unlearn the conditioning that taught you to sacrifice yourself for the sake of “saving” your workplace, school, or religious community. You will reject the notion that taking time to rest is selfish. You will push back against the conditioning that forces you to be a human machine that tries to get more efficient, more productive, more organized … only so that you can do more, more, more.
The problem:
You are unfocused and spent, not because you failed, but because our culture has failed you.
The solution:
Defy the Trend coaches you to carve out a schedule that makes wellbeing top priority.
Defy the trend has three community packages:
01
Seeker (Free)
- “Create a Burnout Proof Life” 5-part mini course
- Sampler pack of my favorite guided meditations for beginners
- A free pass for one restorative yoga class (Wed. at 8:30 a.m. ET, or recording later)
- Community Connections weekly email newsletter with tips and resources
- Limited access to the Defy the Trend Online Community
02
Explorer ($75/month; $900 yr)
Value: $110/month or $1,430/yr
- Weekly 1-hour restorative yoga/meditation classes live via Zoom
- Quarterly restorative yoga/meditation tune-ups (2 hours) live via Zoom
- Library of 50+ recorded yoga classes (all classes above recorded and archived)
- Access to a members-only library of audio and video guided practices, including: Stress Relief Bundle, Good Sleep Kit, Mindful Meeting Starters, 2-hour yoga/meditation restorative practices
- Community Care Group Coaching sessions (60 minutes) each month
- First crack at my one-on-one coaching calendar in six- or twelve-session packages at $120/session (20% discount), offered every fall and spring.
- Community Connections weekly email newsletter with tips and resources
- “Create a Burnout Proof Life” 5-part mini course
- Full access to the Defy the Trend Online Community
03
Trailblazer ($120/month; $1440 yr)
Value: $205/month; $2,470/yr
- Community Care Group Coaching sessions (60 minutes) each month
- Weekly 1-hour restorative yoga/meditation classes live via Zoom
- Quarterly restorative yoga/meditation tune-ups (2 hours) live via Zoom
- Quarterly planning sessions so you can create a calendar that prioritizes your wellbeing and everything else that matters to you.
- Library of 50+ recorded yoga classes (all classes above recorded and archived)
- Access to a members-only library of audio and video guided practices including: Stress Relief Bundle, Good Sleep Kit, Mindful Meeting Starters, 2-hour yoga/meditation restorative practices
- Learning library including: all mini courses, the Time Boss and Creating a Burnout-Proof Life online retreats, and any new courses and retreats created in the future
- First crack at my one-on-one coaching calendar in six- or twelve-session packages at $120/session (20% discount) offered every fall and spring
- Community Connections weekly email newsletter with tips and resources
- Full access to the Defy the Trend Online Community
How will these things help me?
Planning Sessions
“I don’t have time,” was the reason I heard most when I asked people why they didn’t take time to rest. I developed these quarterly planning check-ins so you can gain clarity about what matters most to you and to schedule the time you need for yourself.
Restorative Yoga and Meditation Classes
Are you beyond exhausted? When you are, you might turn to a glass of wine, a bowl of popcorn and a TV show or movie. Let me be clear: I am in favor of those things. However, I have found that the deepest rest and the most healing comes through yoga and meditation practice. Thousands of years of practice and recent scientific research backs up how effective these practices are at alleviating the effects of stress and anxiety. That’s why I teach it: So I can pass its awesomeness onto you!
Courses and Retreats
Do you yearn for time to step away from the normal rhythms of life? Take time to go deeper into time management, creating a burnout-proof life, getting better sleep, starting a mindfulness practice, and more through my longer courses and retreats.
What do members say about it…
“Nicole came into my life at a crucial turning point and one I didn’t think I could get through. Her guidance and mixture of coaching/meditation/view-reframing helped me once again see a path forward. [It was] 2020 so the path was messy and built by a two-year-old, but it’s a path! I look forward to continuing my journey with Nicole as I find my way through the dense woods to a higher viewpoint of clarity.”
“Nicole is passionate about what she does, and it shows! Since participating in my first retreat with Nicole, I have built an at-home yoga practice, practiced meditation and self-reflection in new ways, and gained support to continue my own personal growth.”
“My sessions with Nicole provided me with a safe space to explore new healing potential within my own mind-body. I felt refreshed, restored and deeply resourced in a way that allowed me to sustain a feeling of well-being even after our time together. I am appreciative that Nicole is an attuned healing practitioner who welcomed the challenges of my everyday living experience and helped me find ways to become more resilient.”
The heart of the Community
Defy the Trend pushes back against our toxic burnout culture by honoring each person, their identities, vulnerabilities and opinions.
Defy the Trend Values:
Diversity. We strive to welcome people of all races, ethnicities, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, body sizes and abilities, neurodiversity, and all other parts of ourselves that makes us the unique humans we are.
Welcome. We extend welcome to each other and presume welcome for ourselves.
Learning. We normalize failure so that we grow and learn.
Grace. We always offer ourselves and others grace as we learn and grow.
Vulnerability. We bring our whole selves, even our mistakes, stumbles and failures.
Commitment. We make a commitment to being part of online conversations and another two to three Defy the Trend activities per month.
Who is behind this community?
Here’s a little more about me and my passion for smashing the patriarchy that fuels the formation of this community.
I am Nicole Havelka.
For starters, here are some of my identities: I am a straight, single, cisgendered, white, U.S.-born, neurotypical, educated woman who has been smashing the patriarchy since 1991.
The most important thing about me: I cannot resist making change. It’s just who I am. (I am an Enneagram 8, “The Challenger,” for you Enneagram aficionados.)
Upside: I was hired often to be the change agent in organizations that desperately needed to move forward from their stale mission and declining programs.
Downside: People resisted the change and took it out on me. That is exhausting. I eventually reached burnout.
Fortunately, I learned very early that I needed to take care of myself to survive and even thrive in these stressful situations. I discovered yoga and meditation in 2004 and haven’t looked back since. I am now a Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500-hour level and I have done specialized training in breath (pranayama), meditation – including iRest yoga nidra, restorative yoga, trauma-sensitive yoga. I am also a Reiki Master.
But wait, there’s more! After working as a journalist in my early career, I felt the wild and totally unexpected calling to ministry in the United Church of Christ in 2000. I went to Chicago Theological Seminary, graduated with a Masters of Divinity, and then was ordained in 2004. I worked with at-risk youth, then transitioned to and fell in love with coaching, training and supporting people who were exploring their own life purpose and calling. I constantly nagged them to take care of themselves, which is why I eventually came up with the idea of combining these three passions: Coaching and training, plus yoga and meditation, that get wrapped into this community.
