Workout/Rule of Life
A trellis for your soul to grow
Build Your Rule of Life (Trexo Workout)
A Rule of Life was developed by the early Christian Monastics as a structured framework of spiritual practices designed to anchor the believer in the presence of God.
The word regula (rule) can mean a standard, a pattern, or a trellis—the support structure that holds up a growing vine so it can bear fruit.
A Rule of Life is not a set of restrictive laws. It is a trellis for the soul, providing intentional rhythms of prayer, study, rest, and labor that support spiritual growth and keep God at the center of life.
We call it a Workout at the Gym for your Soul
Work, relationships, community, play. The Workout governs all of it, because at the center of life itself is the all-powerful, everlasting love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
This is what the earliest Christians did when Jesus ascended. This is what the Church Fathers and Mothers perfected in the desert. This is what monastics have lived for 2,000 years.
Your Trexo Workout - your Rule - is your participation in that ancient tradition.
Where did the Rule of Life come from?
The monastic movement emerged in the third and fourth centuries as some Christians sought to remove themselves from the culture of the day and its influence. Monastics withdrew into the desert to live lives of total devotion to God.
But how do you sustain that devotion? How do you prevent prayer from becoming sporadic or self-directed?
The answer: a written Rule.
The first organized monastic Rule was written by Pachomius (292-348 AD), a former Roman soldier who structured his monasteries with military discipline:
monks divided into houses, governed by a hierarchy, following common rhythms of prayer, work, and rest.
For Pachomius, the ultimate Rule was Scripture itself, especially the Gospel, and his written guidelines simply translated the biblical ethos into daily practice.
St. Basil the Great (329-379 AD) refined the Rule further, arguing that Christian virtues like love and service can only be practiced within community. His monasteries were located in populated areas where monks ran hospitals and hostels, demonstrating that the Rule of Life is not just about personal sanctification but about social transformation.
In the West, Benedict of Nursia (480-547 AD) wrote the most influential Rule in Christian history:
Ora et Labora: Pray and work.
Benedict’s Rule also established the Daily Office - a cycle of eight prayer services rooted in the Jewish tradition of praying throughout the day (Episcopalians still find this in abbreviated form in the Book of Common Prayer: Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, Compline (bedtime prayers).
Benedict’s Rule balanced spiritual exercises with manual labor and study, emphasizing moderation, stability (commitment to a single community for life), and obedience.
By the early Middle Ages, the concept of the vita regularis (regular life) defined by a written Rule had become a cornerstone of Western Christian identity.
Why Does a Rule of Life Matter?
A Rule of Life addresses the inherent weakness of the human will (we might say: ‘it’s not a will power problem - it’s a discipline problem!’).
While Creeds define what we believe, a Rule describes how we seek to live out that faith day-to-day in the power of the Holy Spirit. It acts as a framework for freedom, helping the believer to stay centered and providing clarity to their divine vocation.
Without a Rule, spiritual life becomes sporadic, self-directed, and vulnerable to distraction.
With a Rule, you have:
Structured rhythms that prevent prayer from being merely a personal requirement.
Communal accountability (even if practiced individually, the Rule connects you to the Christian community).
A trellis that supports growth without strangling it.
Freedom within form—the paradox that structure creates space for the Spirit to move
This is also where the gym analogy comes through in Trexo.
Any athlete knows that a workout plan and structure guides us to better performance - but it can’t be too strict, or we (or our bodies!) will rebel. And it can’t be too lax, because we will not push ourselves to grow. It’s finding the right rhythm of pushing farther, then resting, then trying again, that let’s us see our transformation over time.
But the spiritual gym is not about productivity or self-improvement. It’s about growing in relationship with God.
The Structure of Your Trexo Workout
Trexo organizes spiritual practices into three categories, drawn from the patristic and monastic tradition:
DAILY ANCHOR (Individual Ascesis)
These three practices work together every single day to maintain constant communion with God:
Hearts Up! (Sursum Corda) = ORIENTATION
You reorient your entire being toward God
Practiced: Morning, midday, evening
Jesus Prayer (Monologistos Euchē) = COMMUNICATION
You maintain unceasing conversation with Christ
Practiced: 10-100+ repetitions daily
Bodily Prayer (Praxis Somatikē) = ENGAGEMENT
Your body participates in worship—soul and flesh united
Practiced: Sign of the cross at every transition
Together, these three practices constitute your daily ascesis—the spiritual disciplines that train your soul for communion with God.
WEEKLY RHYTHM (Communal Life)
Sabbath (Shabbat) = REST
One full day of rest, wonder, trust that God sustains all things
Practiced: One full day each week
Eucharist/Table (Synaxis) = COMMUNION
Gather with the Body of Christ to receive Christ in bread and wine
Practiced: Weekly worship, sacred meals, Agape feasts
Weekly rhythms anchor you in the life of the Church—the community of believers gathered around Word and Sacrament.
SEASONAL INTENSIVES (Liturgical Formation)
Fasting (Nēsteia) = SURRENDER
Train in dependence on God alone, not food, comfort, or security
Practiced: Especially during Lent (40 days before Easter)
Vigil-Keeping (Agrypnia) = WAKEFULNESS
Practice spiritual alertness, readiness for the coming of Christ
Practiced: Especially during Advent (4 weeks before Christmas)
Seasonal intensives align your life with the liturgical calendar—the Church’s rhythm of preparation, celebration, and ordinary time.
How to Build Your Rule of Life
Week 1: Start with One Practice
Begin with Hearts Up! only.
Morning, midday, evening. Thirty seconds each time.
Do not add anything else. Let this single practice settle into your rhythm.
This is how the monastics taught beginners: one practice, deeply rooted, before adding more.
Week 2: Add Your Second Practice
Now add the Jesus Prayer. Start with 10-20 repetitions daily.
Your Rule now:
Hearts Up! (3x daily)
Jesus Prayer (10-20x daily)
Week 3: Add Your Third Practice
Add Bodily Prayer. Make the sign of the cross at every transition.
Your Rule now:
Hearts Up! (3x daily)
Jesus Prayer (20-50x daily)
Bodily Prayer (sign of cross at transitions)
You now have your Daily Anchor established.
Month 2: Add Your Weekly Rhythm
Explore Sabbath. Set aside one full day for rest.
Commit to weekly Eucharist at your local church.
Your Rule now:
Daily Anchor (all 3 practices)
Weekly Rhythm (Sabbath + Eucharist)
Seasonal: Add Intensive Practices
During Lent, add Fasting.
During Advent, add Vigil-keeping.
Your Rule now:
Daily Anchor
Weekly Rhythm
Seasonal Intensive
This is a complete Rule of Life, a full regula vitae.
The Rule Is a Trellis, Not a Cage
Remember: the Rule is a trellis for the soul—a structure that supports growth, not strangles it.
You will fail. You will miss days. You will forget practices.
That is normal. The Desert Fathers and Mothers spoke of “holy feigning”—where elders would invent their own struggles to identify with disciples who were failing, demonstrating that the Rule is a tool for rehabilitation, not judgment.
Every time you fall, you get back up. That IS the practice.
St. John Climacus taught: “Let the remembrance of Jesus be present with your every breath.” Not every perfect breath—just every breath.
Share Your Workout
Every week, Trexo gym members share their current Rule of Life in the Trexo Chat.
See what others are practicing. Get encouragement. Troubleshoot struggles together.
Join this week’s chat: Latest Trexo Chat
Your Rule Will Evolve
Month 1: You’re learning the basics
Month 3: You’re building consistency
Month 6: You’re deepening practices
Year 1: You have a full regula vitae
Every few months, review and revise:
What’s working?
What needs adjustment?
What’s next?
Your Rule of Life is living. It grows with you.
This Is Covenantal
A Rule of Life is not a personal productivity plan. It is a covenantal commitment—a voluntary pledge of loyalty to God that helps you shed the “old self” and allows the “new self” to be formed.
You are entering the stream of Sacred Tradition that flows from the Apostles through the Church Fathers and Mothers, through 2,000 years of monastic witness, to you today.
This is the vita regularis - the regular life, the ordered life, the life that abides in Christ.
Ready to Begin?
Step 1: Read the Gym Orientation to understand the Trexo framework
Step 2: Start with Hearts up! - Quick Start
Step 3: Practice for one week
Step 4: Return and add your next practice
Step 5: Share your Rule in the Trexo Chat
