11/02/2025
Focus of the week: November self-care reset. ✨
Whoosh… what a wild ride life is.
Friend, these past four months have been a blur.
Back in July, we embarked on the start of a new chapter for our family. We began searching for a new home (still here in Waterloo), and found ourselves a really lovely house that is a wonderful fit for us. We then quickly began the process of purchasing, renovating, and moving into our new home, and listing our old home for sale, etc., etc. Throughout that time, we also continued our work, started our 7th year of homeschooling, and Rowan joined a travel soccer club. Whew! It’s been an exciting (and very busy) four months.
Thankfully, things are starting to slow down a bit.
Aaaaaand….. I’m so ready.
I’m so ready to have more time to get BACK to the things I put on pause a bit in order to do allllll of the above.
Mostly:
1) More time for all things Aya (yay!!!!), as well as…
2) More time for other self-care stuff, and (last but not least)…
3) More rest.
More time for Aya —woohoo!
Stay tuned, friend. I’m so excited to soon have more time to devote to Aya again! Although I was still able to teach our weekly classes, there’s a huge list of ideas and inspirations I can’t wait to get going on for us. Including, but not limited to: more get togethers, more time to choreograph, small-group workshops and mini-retreats at our new house, more time to spread the word about Aya, book club discussions, artsy/creative projects, updating the website, reels, travel retreats, and more. Ahhhhhh…. I can’t wait! I’m soooooo looking forward to having more time and energy for all things AYA. I’ll definitely keep you posted, friend, so please stay tuned. But in the meantime, do any of the above sound especially good to you too? If so, I’d love to hear! Please do reply anytime and let me know what sorts of things you’re excited about too. :)
More time for other self-care habits.
While I was able to keep dancing going throughout the move (thank goodness——for me, Aya is essential——dancing is LIFE! 🙌 ), AND while I was able to still enjoy plenty of movement over the past few months (packing, hauling, unpacking, painting, pulling up and refinishing floors, laying sod, etc.), I did notice that many of my other supportive “self-care” activities slipped away a bit.
For example: I used to also enjoy short daily walks, a quiet hike in the woods at least weekly, sauna sessions a few times per week, daily seated meditation, strength training a few times per week, enough sleep, cooking nourishing meals, etc. Those practically disappeared.
That said, I wouldn’t change a thing. It has been wonderful to be able to spend this time with (and focusing on) my family, starting this new chapter together, preparing and settling into our new nest. It has been a really beautiful time of growing and learning together, and we’re excited for this new beginning.
But now that things are slowing down, and I have more time, I’m definitely ready to re-focus and re-integrate more of those previously nourishing self-care habits back into my life again.
Also: more rest.
You know that beautiful line: “we will cocoon with the seasons, we will sing without reason, and emerge with widened wings….” in Wild Sweet? Although I am a summer sunshine-lover through and through, right now, I’m feeling so very ready for some cocooning. Cozying in. More quiet. Yummy warm foods. Time for introspection. Soft blankets. Hot drinks. Reading. Snuggling into the couch. Embracing silence. Stillness. Darkness. Less doing. More sleep. Yesssssss…. Sounds so good.
How about you, friend?
Want to join me in a self-care reset this week?
Have any of your once-supportive self-care habits slipped away lately?
Perhaps this could be the perfect week to focus on adding (or removing) one (perhaps tiny little) thing?
If yes, I’m with you. No need for us to wait until January to change anything…. Let’s just… DO it! Let’s give ourselves the gift of a reset. Today. Let’s create a scaffolding of self-care that can support us as we dance on into the upcoming holidays, winter season, and new year ahead.
In class, we’ll play with sensing and enjoying the supportive scaffolding of Aya - the natural structures of the practice that are always there for us, supporting us.
The pre-class connection.
The circle where we join together in a focus.
The starting ritual— the grounding gestures of gratitude.
The flow of the class structure itself…. the playlists… the variety of ways the music stimulates our nervous system, our creativity, the movement of our emotions, our holistic self-expression… the ease in… the way we slowly transition into larger, more vigorous movements… all with lots of variety mindfully woven together to support a healthy holistic being in moving and expressing itself fully… then shifting into a calming cool-down… into a grounding, serene, relaxing dessert…
The closing circle — time to hold space for, share with, and learn from one another…
Our closing farewells…
It’s a scaffolding that supports our whole self. In health. In creativity. In connection. In presence. In fitness. In self-expression. In curiosity & self-discovery. In oneness. In embodiment.
And it is here for us every class.
Then, outside of class, we can also explore: what other self-care support (if any) might you like to integrate into your week?
What are you craving more (or less) of?
As always, I can’t wait to see what we discover together. Thanks for being here, friend. Hope to seeeeeeee youuuuuu sooooon!
Much love,
💛 Dani
P.S. YOU, my dear, are an integral part of Aya’s scaffolding.
And I’m so glad you’re here. Just as Aya is here for you, YOU are here for US too. You are part of the supportive scaffolding of our lives. You are here, and you are a part of it, and you inspire me, and us, and I’m so grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Sunday, 10 AM central, on Zoom
Monday, 5:45 PM, Cedar Falls Woman's Club
Tuesday, 5:30 PM, Dani's house
Wednesday, 5:30 PM central, on Zoom
Thursday, 9 AM central, on Zoom
1st time? Welcome! Your first class is my treat! 🫶
Code: FIRST
