Happy Women’s History Month (March) and International Women’s Day Sunday, March 8th, 2026!
My involvement with causes and special events like this is personally meaningful, and I’m honored to do work that specifically supports girls and women in my community through outreach in schools and association with organizations like Lobby für Mädchen (Lobby for Girls) here in Cologne.
Happy International Women’s Day!
What is IWD?
International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
IWD has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organization specific.
Give to Gain
The campaign theme for 2026 is “Give to Gain:”
For International Women’s Day 2026 and beyond, let’s Give To Gain for gender equality. When we give, we gain. Together, we can help forge gender equality through abundant giving. The IWD 2026 Give To Gain Campaign encourages a mindset of generosity and collaboration. Give To Gain emphasizes the power of reciprocity and support. When people, organizations, and communities give generously, opportunities and support for women increase. Giving is not a subtraction, it’s intentional multiplication. When women thrive, we all rise. Whether through donations, knowledge, resources, infrastructure, visibility, advocacy, education, training, mentoring, or time, contributing to women’s advancement helps create a more supportive and interconnected world. We can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out positive action. Collective activism is what drives change. From grassroots action to wide-scale momentum, we can all Give To Gain. Forging gender parity isn’t limited to women solely fighting the good fight. Allies are incredibly important for the social, economic, cultural, and political advancement of women. So strike the #GiveToGain pose to show solidarity. Encourage others to help forge a gender-equal world by sharing your #GiveToGain image and statement across social media using the hashtags #GiveToGain #IWD2026. Remember, all IWD activity is valid. That’s what makes IWD so inclusive, not exclusive. Collectively, let’s Give To Gain for women and girls everywhere.
Blythe strikes the #GiveToGain pose for #IWD2026 in front of a brick wall
IWD Offerings
In honor of IWD in the past I have given free yoga, ballet, and floor barre classes in-person and online (some also recorded and linked below). Sample classes are still available anytime for those who would like to get a taste of my inclusive, adaptive, and joyful teaching and coaching style, with current teaching schedule at the homepage at ablythecoach.com or message me with your inquiries.
This year I thought deeply about how to celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. Unfortunately, I’ve also been sick for most of February and now into March, so this has put a bit of a crimp in my plans.
Essence Conversation
Still, I’d like to offer you one of the most empowering tools I have yet to experience. If you feel like you could use a jumpstart for your springtime, Quarter 2 and Annual aspirations, this is it!
A Power Tool for Living
For 2026 I am offering the Essence Coaching Conversation in honor of IWD and Women’s History Month, a transformational tool I learned from my training with Accomplishment Coaching back in 2008 that has shaped my life in positive and surprising ways ever since.
The foundation for ontological coaching work where we dive deep into your state of Being and design action in alignment, the Essence Conversation can serve as a standalone coaching experience (comprised of an initial 60-minute session and then a shorter follow-up) or become the first of a whole comprehensive toolkit for unlocking your human potential.
You will encounter no obligation whatsoever, just an opportunity to discover your own essential nature and develop concrete steps and strategies to put it into action to create the life and world of your dreams.
Me? In giving this tool I get to gain the fun of supporting you in the unfolding of your greatness!
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing as well as other exciting campaigns, causes, and creators is to subscribe to my email newsletter. I also post regularly here on the blog, on social media via Instagram, and the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel.
What tools and practices empower you as a woman or ally?
How are you celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month?
Where is the growing edge of your current creativity?
In what ways can you #GiveToGain for gender equity?
Thank you for celebrating women of all sizes, ages, colors, and stripes with me, in spirit or in fact! Take good care until next time.
Blythe Stephens, MFA, Bliss Catalyst they/them or she/her Creator of A Blythe Coach: dance through your difficulties and take leaps of faith into a joyful, fulfilling life
Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW)is an annual campaign to educate the public about the realities of eating disorders and to provide hope and visibility to individuals and loved ones impacted by eating disorders.
With Black History Month in February, Women’s History Month in March, and International Women’s Day March 8th, it is important to note that women and marginalized communities are particularly adversely affected.
In 2026, NEDAW takes place February 23–March 1, with the theme Every BODY Belongs. Eating disorders affect 30 million Americans across all ages, sizes, races, genders, and backgrounds. Too often, people go unseen or unsupported due to stigma, misinformation, and barriers to care. This #NEDAW, we come together to fight for change, commit to change, and remind everyone that every body belongs.
Proud to announce that this is my 4th year as an NEDAW Collaborator!
For 2026, I shared a Message of Hope on my Instagram Feed/Story and my YouTube Channel to amplify encouragement across the community, sharing that:
I have personally witnessed bias, limiting societal ideals, distorted body image, restriction in our society, exacerbated in the high-pressure world of classical ballet.
However, if you have or are recovering from an eating disorder, or know someone who is, there is hope. It is possible to heal, to recover, to reinvent our relationship with our bodies, food and eating at any age!
At 44 I have worked hard and continue to resist diet culture, take morality out of eating, disrupt body policing/surveillance, comparison, negative comments (about self or others), in favor of healing my relationship with food, eating, and my body.
I am committed to doing what I can to continue to improve in my teaching and coaching work, promoting nourishment, sense of self-worth, access to needed treatment, and appreciation for the whole range of human embodiment.
Let’s come together to fight for change, commit to change, and remind every person impacted by eating disorders that they are not alone because #EveryBODYBelongs.
Some risk factors for eating disorders are genetics, family & personal history
Every Body Belongs
This year’s theme is Every BODY Belongs. Our goal is to create urgency around the need to recognize eating disorders as a public health concern and to push the importance of early detection through screenings, funding research, and accessible treatment and resources because:
Every Body Matters
Every Body’s Voice Matters
Every Body Deserves Compassion
Every Body Deserves Treatment
Every Body Deserves Support
Every Body Deserves Hope
Every Body Deserves Change
NEDAW 2026 spread in Blythe’s seasonal Bullet Journal
My Commitment
Myself, I re-commit to body-positivity/neutrality/inclusion and adaptivity in my classes and programs, to rejecting diet culture, fatphobia, and negative body size bias. I will continue to grow in my relationship to food, eating, and body diversity, as it is a lifelong journey!
In ballet and Mindful Movement classes and coaching, in-person and online, I seek to offer an open and accepting perspective and well as referrals and resources as needed. Grateful for NEDA’s toolkits for Educators, Coaches, and Loved Ones.
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as my favorite work from other creators is to subscribe to my email newsletter. Would love to be connected to you there, on social media, online or in-person!
“You’re not the problem, it’s the culture of dance that you have grown up in, it’s also society and the world we live in, your body is not the one to blame.”
What is your relationship with body, food, eating?
Could you or someone you know benefit from an Eating Disorders assessment?
Which organizations do you know of who do good work in the area of Eating Disorder education, prevention, and treatment?
What resources does my community need and how can I connect them?
How can I support you in taking exquisite care of yourself so that you may dance through difficulty?
Look forward to sharing how in March I am taking part in International Women’s Day and invite you to special events for Dance Week, Coaching Week and more coming up soon!
Take good care of yourself until then, thanks for reading, for being, for moving together in spirit or in fact.
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst, they/she Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach dance through difficulty take leaps of faith
DISCLAIMER: A Blythe Coach recommends that you consult your physician regarding the applicability of any recommendations and follow all safety instructions before beginning any exercise program. When participating in any exercise or exercise program, there is the possibility of physical injury. If you engage in this exercise or exercise program, you agree that you do so at your own risk, are voluntarily participating in these activities, assume all risk of injury to yourself.
Having enjoyed the benefits of tracking “Twenty-three 23’s in 2023,” “Twenty-four 24’s in 2024,” and “Twenty 25s in 2025” actions in my Bullet Journal collections, I’m back for more in 2026!
This setup and structure are inspired by Jess, aka JashiiCorrin on YouTube, which I wrote about my in my 2023 Review blog, and it’s become a playful way to gamify my annual objectives! Making my leading metrics for the year concrete and fun helps me take action and track data in order to “move the needle” on my lagging metrics and results that follow.
Arranged according to my 8 major focus areas–Read, Write, Create, Serve, Connect, Practice, Sustain, and Adventure–this way I get a somewhat holistic picture of my intentions and goals for the year. I focus setting intentions, taking specific actions I can take to uphold them, then see what results occur. Then I reflect, recommit or change direction, and carry on creating!
Here’s the spread in my Bullet Journal, with a collection for each item to follow:
Twenty 26s in 2026 BuJo Spread in my Annual Collections Book
20 Actions, 26+ Times
Last year I realized that I don’t intend to increase the number of measured actions annually, which would generate “Twenty-five 25s” and escalate each coming year. Instead it seemed prudent to reduce the number of projects tracked in this way and focus in more. Some actions in my eight focus areas I continue to loosely track, but I discovered evaluating some actions numerically, keeping metrics on everything can take the fun out. For example dates, artist dates, and other such adventures are important to me, but sheer quantity is less important than quality.
That said, it has never been a 100 percent, A plus, perfectionistic game, rather an experiment in awareness, an opportunity to check in regularly with my declared priorities.
This year I’m taking action and being accountable to Twenty 26s.
Some of the activities truly do fall about every two weeks, sufficient for 26 within a year’s time, whereas others are meant to occur weekly or even daily (such as yoga practice, meditation, and language practice). Therefore I arrive at my goal of 26 at a different rate for each type of action and for many I have planned to continue well beyond that.
In fact at the time of this writing, I have already reached at least 26 actions in 8 areas already! Each is something that I value and want to nurture, but the precise frequency that supports me best depends on the action.
In future articles, videos, and posts I’ll share my progress and results, though some metrics I may not share in detail for personal or privacy reasons.
What projects, actions, and measures are important to you will probably be different from my priorities, but I hope this sparks ideas and avenues for your own evolving practice.
Twenty 26s Flip-Through
The video below on YouTube is a flip-through of the initial setup of my 2026 Annual Collections Book so far, including my Twenty 26s in 2026 projects and creative challenges planned as well as my Adventures and Future Log.
Just sharing my own process and preferences, what works for you might very well look very different and most certainly will change over time! Brands and items I mention in the video are just what I have access to and currently use, based on personal experience and opinion. This video is not sponsored (none are so far) and I encourage you to use whatever supplies you have at hand and enjoy.
These are the twenty actions I chose, grouped into eight thematic areas (with a lot of overlap) and with a couple bonus spreads and plenty more room in my Annual Book to capture further ideas, research, workshops, collaborations…
Read
1. Books
Fiction Novels such as cozy mysteries and rom-coms, Nonfiction, Personal Growth, Scriptures, Poetry, anything goes! Enjoying reading every day, learning from new perspectives, and diving into favorite topics are my main reading goals, so consistency and value is more important than volume.
Subscribers to my email newsletter are privy to what I’m currently reading, top recommendations, and thoughts about current reads. Goodreads also tracks at least my eBook titles, most of which I borrow from the library using the Libby App.
Books Read & TBR
Write
2. Publish Blog Articles
Like this one! I write about dance, mindful movement, creativity, lifelong learning, coaching, and joyful living. I started blogging in order to share my knowledge, provide references for students and clients, and find my voice.
I continue because it has done all of that and also connects me to a community of likeminded people!
Blog Articles Published and To-Be-Written
3. Email Newsletters
The best way to keep in touch across the globe! I love sharing my latest creations and offerings and valuable resources from other creators as well in my email newsletter. It’s important to me these days that I own my email list and website, so am less affected when social media goes down or otherwise behaves badly, and this also assures that you never miss out an anything I create or recommend.
My ongoing log (both analog and digital) of “acorns” or nuggets of poems and songs for possible eventual completion helps keep me in practice and creates a bank of material for future use. Short poems may also come through all at once, like the 365 Haiku I wrote in 2021.
5. Letters
Telling loved ones how I feel, pen palling, keeping in touch through “snail mail.” Historically I have good intentions for regular correspondence, sending timely birthday cards, etc., but establishing the habit of writing and sending the post is still a growing edge. Pleased to continue improving my consistency in this area and it is very rewarding, I’ve been receiving some responses and the personally-addressed envelopes in my mailbox make my whole day!
This is also a splendid opportunity to play with my hobby of fountain pens, inks, and stationery.
Letters sent and To-Be-Written
Create
6. Videos
Ideally I’d like to publish videos at least weekly, and in fact I shared 53 of them in 2025, but 26 is a good minimum. Consistently publishing content on YouTube and for social media develops my body of work, grows my skills, and engages my students and audience. You can view and subscribe to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel here.
Videos published on YouTube and To-Be-Created
7. Choreography
Engaging in movement and artistic research is an ongoing feature of my practice. Like writing acorns or small segments of poems, the daily practice can be small, involving improvising, moving, and brainstorming. In addition to choreography for my classes and larger projects I create other challenges for myself, such as the micro video choreography sketches for the #alphabetsuperset creative challenge that then inspired my Dance Daily December movement advent calendar. All of these become my working drafts – ideas and sequences that may find their way into (or ate least influence and inspire) a video, a class, workshop, collaboration, or other creation.
Ongoing Mindful Movement classes in Ballet, Barre+, Barre a Terre, and Yoga as well as special workshops and master classes are all a part of my professional service as a teaching artist and educator.
9. Coaching Sessions
Coaching clients, offering sample sessions, and supporting people in taking leaps of faith to create the life of their dreams are integral to the professional service that I provide.
Being of service in Dance & Mindful Movement Classes, Coaching Sessions
Practice
10. Bullet Journal (BuJo) Spreads
Got a good start on this as the year turned over and I set up my Annual Book spreads including my Future Log, these Twenty 26s and my Seasonal Book, the Monthly and Weekly spreads I created in my Seasonal Books and other special collections, meeting this goal.
Like journaling content? Some of my spreads can be found on Instagram, in videos (in relation to art and creativity), and in blog articles like this one that relate my personal process.
Practicing German and Music
Connect
11. Social Media
Posting, engaging, sharing resources, behind-the-scenes experiences, connecting with my creative community on Instagram and Facebook several times a week as @ablythecoach
Connecting through Creative Challenges & Social Media
Sustain
12. Financial Fun & Adulting
Weekly check-ins with accounts, bills, budgeting, balancing books, profit, debt, insurance, investment and adulting also need to be regularly updated. Staying real and being on top of this area eases anxiety and helps me focus on what is important.
Practice (more)
13. German/Deutsch
Duolingo helps me continue to build my vocabulary and correct my grammar alongside practicing in teaching and everyday conversation. Being a daily activity, usually two short sessions mornings and evenings, I completed over 26 sessions by the end of January.
Also related to the adulting topic of maintaining my work visa and other living-abroad to-dos.
Sustainment includes Adulting, Financial Fun, an Empties List, Wish List…
14. Music
Creating music playlists and practicing playing an instrument or singing are also efforts that contribute to my artistic output and inspiration in other areas.
Then I share the musical selections and playlists in dance classes and use them for choreographic impulse, yoga practice, setting the mood for various other activities, and for celebration of life. As with books and reading, I sometimes share my favorite songs, pieces of music, and playlists including those I create myself in my videos, articles, and email newsletter.
I do enjoy including singing, harmonica, percussion, and other musical creative practices that complement my choreography, dance, and movement education. This is one way that I continually develop rhythm and musicality as I wrote about here and expand my potential artistic expression.
15. Yoga
Short or longer daily yoga practices have been one of my most consistent daily habits since 2019, so this year I completed my 26th practice in January. Here is an article where I wrote about Healthy Habit Building, and I also share about yoga on my YouTube Channel and in-person and online teaching.
16. Meditate
As with Yoga, Meditation is a part of my daily ritual of healthy habits. There are so many benefits and I’ll absolutely continue to practice.
Practicing German, living in Germany, practicing Yoga, Meditation, Gratitude, etc.
17. Gratitude & Abundance
In my pocket notebook Captain’s Log, and for several years to build my streak I created entries digitally in the Gratitude App, but now I’m on a roll it is analog-only, and I stop as often as I can to be present to the abundance and beauty I enjoy.
18. Physical Therapy
With a Thera Band, Balance Board, Foam Roller, Ball, Pull-Up Bar and more, I do a lot of cross-training in order to be able to continue actively dancing and teaching mindful movement.
19. Daily Logs
Having my pocket notebook on hand at all times allows me to keep ongoing notes throughout the day, my “Captain’s Log,” based on the sort of rapid logging Ryder Carroll describes in the Bullet Journal Method.
Although this collection does not need its own spread in my Annual Book, I
20. Morning Pages
Starting when I did Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, now I write my freewheeling freehand Pages most weekdays as part of my creative morning ritual.
Bonus: Adventure & Celebration
Adventure for me means everything from trying new experiences, taking romantic or artist’s dates, providing nourishment for my soul and creative process.
Travel, Events, Dates & New Experiences are one of my favorite areas in which to set goals and broaden my horizons, connect with loved ones and meet new connections. Trips home to visit my family and on other getaways are in the works for 2024.
Playfully fueling my creative fire, using my art & craft supplies, journaling, coffeeshops, bookstores, museums and galleries, performance and adventures, park time sketching, bird-watching…pretty much anything that inspires me can qualify as an Artist’s Date! Like that of Morning Pages, this concept comes from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.
Adventure, Travel, To-See
Further Tracking
The Annual Book is also where I record things like a Future Log of coming events, Kan Ban Board of actions to produce content, and other projects that I design and challenges I participate in during the year.
Future Log
The Future Log is an important spread in my Annual Book
What are Your 26s?
If you’ve chosen intentions and objectives or projects for the year, I’d love to hear about them and how it is going! You can start now, or at any time, just by choosing one action you’d like to complete 26 times in the coming period. Build a new habit and see the impact taking one small step (repeatedly) can have!
Questions for Reflection
What goals and intentions do you have for 2026, the coming quarter, season and month?
What small actions or habits do you practice regularly in alignment with your intended outcomes?
How will you reach out to me for support in dancing through your difficulties?
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst they/them or she/her Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach helping multi-passionate people dance through their difficulties, taking leaps of faith into fulfillment through coaching, yoga & dance education
Pluck ephemera: strut like birds, stretch for the stars (what is pluckier than a Mynah?
Pluck what’s mine
Harvest what’s meant for me, take what opportunities present themselves as I so choose, grab life by the horns, be bold, brave, courageous, have gumption, like a plant reaching for sunlight, a bird diving after it’s target.
These are the sorts of images that moved through my mind as I came upon my Word of the Year, in deep reflection in the liminal period at the end of one cycle and beginning of the next.
As a dancer, the metaphor involves movements of a ready stance, decisive strike or leap, like a pounce with springy rebound. Grabbing, grasping, holding on, with firmness, dedication, resilience, agility. Adventure is in store, and yet I don’t need to go out of my way, the right things will present themselves.
Choosing a guiding word or phrase each year has been a part of my intention-setting process since 2015, thanks to my friend Liz, and I also shared about my 2023 Word, 2024 Word, and 2025 Word and intentions on Instagram, YouTube, and here on the blog.
My Word of the Year of Pluck will fuel my projects, goals, short- and long-term vision.
Purpose, Vision, Mission, Values
Metaphorically boldly plucking generative opportunities meshes to my Purpose of Joy, Essence of Buoyant, Creative, Curious, Love, & Leader, my Mission to inspire, equip, and liberate, Vision to support my community to live extraordinary lives through coaching, dance and mindful movement education, and even my Artist’s Prayer includes the line “give me my daily bread, may I be content.”
We all have many choices and chances available to us this year, but which we are able to take, what we own as ours depends on many factors. None of us is free until we are all free, and my work includes an intersectional commitment to emancipation for all.
Empowering and uplifting myself and others starts within and then moves out into the world.
My role as a Bliss Catalyst is to assist others in navigating their own brave moves, whether they be artistic, athletic, professional, or personal, and I would be honored to support you in moving powerfully through this year!
Present to Plucky Intention
Practicing acting from this intention informs my attitude and choices throughout the year and helps me get oriented again when I get lost in the circumstances of everyday life, derailed by crisis or distraction. Situations from personal dilemmas to international events will occur over the course of a year, so this is a tool to come back to as we navigate the waters of change.
Writing out my word and poem in my Bullet Journal and grounding it in beautiful imagery, verse and rhythm, placing it where I will interact with it daily and be reminded or where I’m coming from in 2026 will provide support for my commitment, provide a solid place for being and making a powerful stand.
Blythe’s word / stand / intention Bullet Journal Spread for 2026: Pluck!
Collage of Pluck
For my opening spread of my 2026 Annual Book, pictured above, I created a collage to represent of my Word of the Year along. Along with my poem-in-progress, it serves as a regularly-seen abstract Vision Board of colors and textures evoking the mood.
This year I’m continuing to take inspiration from flying creatures I love such as birds and butterflies, from air and skies and celestial imagery, stars and the sun, moon and planets, clouds, rainbows, storms, wind and weather patterns, with botanical, floral, fruited, plant imagery as well.
All year, the word and imagery will provide a reminder of what I am up to, and I’ll continue to collect and share resources such as books, essays, poems, quotes, and videos along the way.
The 2026 Plucky Tunes playlist has just begun, with a growing collection of tracks new and old that embody my Word of the Year and the themes of the year as it goes on. I plan to add to it regularly, what would you include?
Connection & Accountability
Will be applying my stand of Pluck and a plucky approach in all of my creations, coaching, and teaching this year. This includes in-person and online workshops, courses in dance and mindful movement, life coaching, topical video creation, articles and other media.
I regularly share playlists, songs, videos, readings, and other juicy resources from myself and other creators in my free email newsletter. It would be wonderful to be in purposeful community with you and I would love to help make your vision for 2026 be real in any way I can.
Questions for Reflection
What is your Word(s) of the Year?
Which small action(s) will you take today to embody it?
What images, quotes, songs, and other resources will inspire you?
How will you return to your intention when life inevitably carries you away?
If you’d like to actually learn how to spring like a pouncing balletic cat through the air or dive like a darting bird, you can find a large collection of my ballet-related articles in this Dance Digest Article
May you be plucky and prosperous this year, embodying whatever words of power and purpose you so choose!
Take care of yourself, keep moving mindfully, and let me know how if I can be of service. Would love to connect with you in my email newsletter or on social media as well.
Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact!
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst they/she Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach helping multi-passionate creatives dance through their difficulties & take leaps of faith through coaching, dance & yoga education
December means winter festivity in Cologne, and a whirlwind of activities to complete and celebrate the year!
The last quarter of 2025 and holiday season were particularly full for me even compared to past hectic years, and I worked (danced, taught, published…) hard, then partied hard with my beloved, friends and family. I then collapsed into a short period of lovely rest to reset before returning to my joyful commitments in the New Year.
As evidenced by the publishing of this article in January, my personal completion process continues into the New Year, as I prefer to reflect on the month once it is complete. At the annual shift there are many things to be present to, plan for, and look back upon and I want to set the tone for gentle action and sustainable growth.
With my cousin Blake at a Cologne Christmas Market, basking in holiday family time!
December’s Bender
Amidst a month of festivity, I was also wildly creative, teaching and publishing, enjoying the artistic work and presence of others, recovering from a demanding and exciting period, and beginning the process of reflecting on the past year as a whole, dreaming and planning the next.
Dance Daily December is my own interpretation of a Create December type of challenge, where I share daily clips on social media, a kind of movement advent calendar
Last Physical Therapy sessions of the year and of this hip pain/injury I dealt with in 2025, learned that my stretching practice needs to increase as my daily physical demands escalate
Last Baking projects of the year: muffins, sugar cookies to decorate with the kids, ginger snaps
Got sick and well again
Last Classes of the year in all locations
We celebrated my partner Ela’s Birthday on the Winter Solstice / Yule
Advanced Dance Program acknowledgements: my daily ballet students, a professional group of dancers I’ve been so delighted to work with for the 3-month program, brought me flowers and a sweet card signed by all
My cousin and his family visited, celebrated Ela’s birthday with us as well as many Christmas Markets
Christmas feasting, partying was magical but exhausting
Family medical emergencies, from Ela’s aunt breaking her hip on Christmas eve to other beloveds suffering various ailments
Rest, recovery, deep reflection, planning
Decluttering, cleaning, home organization
Fresh Socks & Soap to step into a New Year clean, comfortable, and well-resourced
Silvester with neighboring friends: Happy New Year!
The above YouTube Video is a flip-through of the month in my Seasonal Book including goals, glows, media favorites, and events I recorded along the way.
I shared my initial setup on Instagram here: “Bullet journal has donned its gay apparel and I’m ready for Dance Daily December, #createdecember and much festivity.” A bit of wintry, Christmassy decor was good for my soul.
Continued to update my Monthly, Weekly, and Daily logs, Annual Collections, and especially created my January spreads, started scheming about my 2026 Annual Book spreads.
Got the physical books for my Annual, Spring & Summer Seasonal Books and considered my upcoming Word of the Year, themes and projects, visual design theme.
Also watched a lot of fun videos of folks’ Notebook Lineups and Planner/BuJo Set-Ups for the New Year as well as current pen & ink pairings to inspire correspondence and journaling.
Teaching & Coaching
Regular Mindful Movement classes in Balletlicious Ballet Barre+ and Yummy Gentle Yoga continued throughout, and studio classes in Ballet continued, plus a new project, the Advanced Dance Program, for whom I gave daily Ballet Technique each morning at 9:00, creating amazing results in the 3-month intensive.
There are a couple of coaching slots available in the New Year and I will keep you posted on further offerings as they come together!
Christmas Eve soup course at Petra’s, I absolutely got seconds
Writing & Publishing Articles
I didn’t publish any new articles at ablythcoach.com in December, but was working on reflections like this one and November‘s, as well as upcoming content about my projects and Word of the Year for 2026, personal curriculum and reading, ballet, dance, and creative living…
For Quarter 4, this brings my total articles published to 6, and 35 for the year, not bad!
Filming & Sharing Videos
In Quarter 4 I created and added to the Tasty Technique Tips playlist on YouTube, which will continue to grow as I capture further tricks for developing brilliant dancing.
I published 3 videos to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel in December on the topics of dance, creativity, and joyful living, for a total of 14 in Q4 and 53 for the year, averaging one every week:
Strong Cylinder – Balletlicious Dance Alignment Visualization – Tasty Technique Tip video, the latest in the series: While our bodies don’t closely resemble a cylinder in shape, the visualization of equal length and support evenly on every surface can help us channel the shape’s strength and resilience in the face of tension/stress and compressive forces (balancing, movement).
Foot Foundations – Golden Triangle Weight Distribution Visualization for Dance – Tasty Technique Tip video: the feet are the foundation of all ballet movements, so how do we build the architecture of our strong stance? It starts with awareness of where our weight rests in the feet, equal between the inside/big toe and outside/little toe, across the whole of the metatarsal/front of the foot, and equal or less in the heel/back of the foot. A dynamic golden triangle results, readiness to move in all directions.
Connecting: Email & Social Media
Email Newsletter
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as work from others that I believe to be of value for fellow creatives is to subscribe to my email newsletter.
In December I also posted 26 times to Instagram, every day during my #dancedailydecember “movement advent calendar” and a couple further entries. That makes 57 posts to IG in Q4, and 125 total for the year.
It is my honor to be connected to you there, here, on social media, online and in-person!
Cologne Christmas markets are indeed pretty, here with cousins and Ela
Creative Challenges
Dance Daily December is a creative challenge that I created in 2024, while other artists worked on Create December, Vlogmas, Inkvent, and other wintery artistic undertakings, this is a movement-themed playful project.
This in addition to writing in my journals, playing with my new fountain pens, publishing articles, creating improvisations and choreography, video filming and editing.
Dance Daily December
I took on the personal challenge to dance every day in December up until Christmas, a mindful movement advent calendar, and invited others to join in, too!
Inspired by Jess/JashiiCorrin on YouTube), this creative challenge is a playful way to track various leading metrics, projects and activities I wish to keep an eye on.
Having found such a structure useful since 2023, for 2025 I am reduced the number of categories tracked to 20, and raised the actions by one for a catchy “Twenty 25s in 2025.” In December I continued to take action towards my 25s goals, and final results and reflections will be in my my article reflecting on the year as a whole to come…
Strawberry rose and gold dessert
Media Musings
My December in reading, listening, and viewing pleasures:
Books & Reading
The month of December was so full that I didn’t have many opportunities to read (or watch films or series), but I continued small daily selections from current fiction and nonfiction picks.
Books
Still reading along on my nonfiction picks (poetry, scripture, self-help), and I completed one novel in December:
Finished listening to Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things: A Novel (Sisters of Light and Shadow Book 1) by Breanne Randall as an audiobook on Libby, forget who recommended it, interesting premise and one queer character, who unfortunately just kind of served their purpose of supportive friend of a troubled family and then disappeared
Worked on the novel Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan and its been compelling so far
Poetry
The new anthology I started that will take me through 2026, Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Lifecompiled by Ben Crystal and David Crystal is now my daily poetry reading
Listening Highlights
Favorite things heard over the course of the month go here, such as concerts, songs, pieces of music, playlists, podcasts and more.
Music: Songs, Playlists & Albums
“Everybody Scream“ from Florence + the Machine is a good way to let off steam
My final recap of 2025, 2026 Word of the Year, Twenty 26s, explorations in dance, coaching, further adventures in creative living and more coming soon.
Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact!
Take care of yourself and keep moving mindfully, let me know how if I can be of service, would love to see you in my email newsletter or on social media as well.
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst they/she Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach dancing through difficulty taking leaps of faith
The currently trending lingo the kids are using on YouTube and elsewhere online is a “Journal Ecosystem” and while that’s a cute name, it personally peeves me just a bit since every system is does not work together symbiotically as a true ecosystem does.
Still, the concept of relying on analog tools, paper first, for planning, writing, organizing thoughts and projects is absolutely down my alley.
For years creators have used the term “Techo Kaigi” or planner meeting in Japanese, to describe this reflection on current notebooks in use, as well as the journals and creative supplies that go along with them to form a cohesive method.
Though my main squeeze is dance, if you’ve been around you know that writing, poetry, collage, photography, music and other creative media are very much at play and in recent years I’ve caught the fountain pen & inks bug, too.
Whatever term you use, if you want to be more creative, organized, and effective, then developing such a system for yourself could help unlock the next level of your practice.
My ManufacTica journal cover is a trusted companion, protecting notebooks since 2022
Learning & Teaching
I’ve been writing (daily-ish) Morning Pages for a few years since going through _The Artist’s Way_ by Julia Cameron, I use a version of _The BuJo Method_ by Ryder Carroll, and have applied concepts from James Clear’s _Atomic Habits_ to help those practices stick, and these continue to form a foundation for my current journaling practice.
Being inherently flexible, my system continually evolves to suit my needs well as other tools I learn along the way, such as Tiago Forte’s _Building a Second Brain_. I’m not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned, they are just what I happen to enjoy and currently be using.
Creative Notebook System
In the videos, articles, and playlist below can be seen the real-time evolution of my journaling and notebook system. Depending on my posts, projects, inspirations, it is an ongoing process of adaptation, growth, experimentation and play!
The core books of my note-keeping, journaling and planning are:
Daily Field Notes/Pocket Rapid Logging BuJo: small pocket notebook (Moleskine Cahier or similar) with leather cover from Liebhardt (gift from my gf coming up on 7 years ago!), this is what I actually have with me almost all the time to capture inspirations, nuggets of ideas and poetry, memories, gratitude, tasks, etc.
Annual & Seasonal Books BuJo A5 dot grid notebooks (previously Moleskine Cahiers, now Rhodia Rhodiarama softcover notebooks due to their fountain pen & ink-friendliness), inside ManufacTica saddle leather traveler’s notebook-style cover handmade in Germany, contain everything to do with my current classes, workshops, projects
Morning Pages: college block, composition book, looseleaf, or scrap paper
Current Tools Binder: teaching tools, illustrations, visualization, daily attendance and course lists
Signature Program Binder: coaching tools, resources, inspiration, client notes, etc.
Honorable mentions:Dry Erase Board for capturing big ideas, mind-maps, and lists, Evernote for habit reminders, digital project management and archiving and digital, Google Docs for word processing
This has emerged as a pillar of my content, so I created a YouTube playlist to provide a home base where updates and archives of my journaling, notebooks, pens, inks, and creative process can gather. Here is where you may find past, current, and future sharing around the materials I use the most:
2025 Books & 2026 Plan
I recently filmed a video with all of the books I was working in last year and proposed lineup for the next year:
For further behind-the-scenes insights into how I use my books and my reflective process, I have been recording monthly, quarterly, and annual reviews which involve a flip-through of the period in my books, favored materials, glows and grows. These regular reflections too have their own playlist, which will continue to be updated:
What notebooks (or idea-capture devices) do you have in current use? For what purposes do you use each?
Which refinements in your system or supplies are you applying for this season?
What are your plans for the coming year? 5? 10?
How do you stay present to and keep track of your values, priorities, and quests?
Glad you joined me for this nerdy voyage through my current and historical notetaking, journaling, and productivity system.
Now is a great time to align our resources and systems that we need around us, to dream and plan, reflect on our processes and results from the year so far, goals for the year ahead, and what we want to take up going forward.
Thanks for reading and making together in spirit or in fact, take good care of yourself.
I’ll soon be sharing more about my personal curriculum, creative living, mindful movement (dance, yoga) and coaching, see you again next time!
Blythe Stephens, MFA, Bliss Catalyst they/them or she/her Creator of A Blythe Coach: dance through difficulty and take leaps of faith into a joyful, fulfilling life
…for the highlights it brought to my life, including:
Served as a Teaching Artist in 4 locations and age groups from Pre-Ballet to Preprofessional adult training and coaching well-being in between)
Fall baking continued and I made many muffins
Got out my flannel sheets and pajamas, wool sweaters, thermal everything
Autumn leaves dazzled and started to disappear, got interested in the kinds of trees in my neighborhood and throughout the city and discovered a website to help get to know nearly all the trees of Cologne! So far have identified Sycamore, Oaks, Maples, and Sweet Locust…
First (brief in Cologne) SNOW of the season!
Physical Therapy for my hip issue was reduced pain and increase range of motion so I can keep dancing and teaching
Scooter commuting on The Black Pearl was fast, convenient, noticeably improved my strength & balance, and great fun!
Sweet Locust tree on Neusser Strasse in Cologne, Germany, the last there to turn
Creative Challenges
My creative process ranged from work as a Teaching Artist, Choreographer, Movement Educator & Coach, priority projects, many of which are part of my Twenty 25s, actions/habit/leading metric statistics of steps within my control.
Bullet Journaling & Planning
I shared my initial monthly setup in my Seasonal Book on Instagram here with autumn leaves and colors, squirrels, hedgehogs and beavers as a decorative theme. The flip-through video above shows what happened with my goals, glows, media favorites, and events “after the pen.”
Updated my Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Logs, Annual Collections, and set up my December spreads over the course of the month, continued to savor writing my Morning Pages and notes with colorful inks in my fountain pens and cherished the shades of the changing season in nature and culture.
Teaching & Coaching
Regular Mindful Movement classes in Balletlicious Ballet Barre+ and Yummy Gentle Yoga, studio classes in Ballet and “Feel Good” well-being elective courses and daily Ballet Technique for the Advanced Dance Program continued. Stunning, challenging, and inspiring lineup of locations and passionate participants!
Quarter 4 so far in Blythe’s seasonal Bullet Journal
Writing & Publishing
Articles
In November I published 2 articles to the blog here at ablythecoach.com, bringing my annual total to 34. This is a great place to find out what I am up as well as other experts and creators who I recommend in long and short-form writing.
November’s new articles:
October Oohs & Aahs – 2025 Month 10 Reflection: the month was action-packed & suspenseful, spooky & cozy, autumnal & full of dancing & prolific creativity! October is LGBTQ+ History Month and many creatives I know celebrate “Art-tober” or Inktober or such challenges to spark their art, along with seeing the Hunter Moon, World Mental Health Day, National Coming Out Day, Pronouns Day, and Halloween. In this article I wrapped up the month in my projects, life and events.
Kept up my practice of capturing poem “acorns,” lines and snippets, also finished a first draft of a new piece, “Sweet Locust:”
New “Sweet Locust” poem which I also shared on Instagram
Filming & Sharing Videos
In November I began a new video series, Tasty Technique Tips, which find their home in their own YouTube Playlist for easy reference. I published 6 videos to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel on the topics of dance, creativity, and creative living:
Autumn Migration – Notebook Switch & Mood Music for the Change in Seasons video: my October and Quarter 4 plan-with-me continued! Having set-up the rough outline of spreads for the month & quarter in my new seasonal BuJo in my previous video, now I’m sharing further decoration and how I migrate information from one book to the next and flesh out my plans. This is just my process at this point in time and not necessarily a recommendation to others. No items have been sponsored or gifted by brands, but a few things were given to me as presents from loved ones.
Fall 2025 Currently Inked Fountain Pens, Notebooks & Paper for Journaling, Planning & Creating, a very chatty and writing-utensil nerdy three-quarters of an hour of writing with and talking about my much-loved and heavily-used lineup of stationery for Fall 2025. How did I come to have 16 fountain pens inked up and a couple waiting in the wings? What is this pen and ink hobby I’ve become obsessed with? I’ll answer these questions and more, and revel in the loveliness of these tools in this video, which would provide a fitting accompaniment to your own ink and stationery play, writing, crafting, or chores.
How to find a “Neutral” Pelvis? Exploring Anatomy for Dance Pelvic Alignment Primer – ASIS, PSIS video: In ballet and dance technique alignment, we refer to major landmarks in the body, such as organizing the parts around our center of gravity, lengthening the spine, distributing the weight in the feet, and leveling the pelvis to stack it, the ribcage, the head vertically over our base of support. This helps provide stability and mobility for great control and freedom of movement. But what does a level or “neutral’ pelvis look like, how does it work, how can we check our own dynamic alignment to help us balance and create healthy, sustainable movement? Here I share some anatomy basics for movers, landmarks to look for such as the palpable ASIS (Anterior Superior Iliac Spine) and PSIS (Posterior Superior Iliac Spine), and visuals to support proper pelvic placement. See the difference it makes for your technique and artistry!
October BuJo Flip & Reflection – Creative Journal of a Bliss Catalyst Dancer Coach video: October was action-packed and suspenseful, spooky and cozy and autumnal and full of dancing and prolific creativity! This is a flip-through of the month in my Seasonal Bullet Journal Book, media I published & personally consumed, high & lowlights and special events, favorites, creative and personal care empties (a la Project Pan, Underconsumption Core/Intentional Consumption, Minimalism & Mindfulness).
Over 10 Years of Dance Notebooks – Flip Through Teaching Artist’s Journals of Choreography & Records video: This is a quick, mostly-chronological flip-through of more than a decade in my dance-related notebooks, comprised of over 8 volumes of words, diagrams, things I wished to remember and refer to in my moving life. My enthusiasm for analog notetaking and record-keeping is evident, and the curious might wonder what it actually looks like to manage a busy dancing life in this way. Beautiful, messy, barely-organized chaos! These books span from about 2010/11 to 2023/4 so cover well over a decade of my handwritten record-keeping of dance study, teaching, choreography, goals and projects, tracking, brainstorming and creativity. In them, I dance and teach in Portland, Oregon, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Poitiers and Paris, France, and Cologne, Germany.
Egg Beaters Turn Out – Hip Rotation Visualization – Balletlicious Tasty Dance Technique Tips video: Most folks starting a class know that the basic Classical Ballet Positions of the Feet (1st-5th) are performed turned-out such that the toes face to the sides rather than forwards in a parallel forward-facing orientation. But how do we produce and hold such positions and what is it good for? In this video I use the analogy and visualization of the Egg Beaters to demonstrate equal and opposite rotation of the legs at the hip joint and spiraling down through the legs from the deep muscles of the core and hip as well as all the supporting structures. This can help foster efficient activation and alignment for greater stability and range of motion for ballet and other dance and movement forms.
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as work from others that I believe to be of value for fellow creatives is to subscribe to my email newsletter. It lights me up to see new subscribers there as well as responses to me missives.
I sent one Email Newsletter in November, taking a temporary pause from weekly letters during this busy season with the blessing of my readers:
The Guncle by Steven Rowley I will unfortunately have to complete another time, as I had almost finished the ebook before the library due date, but not quite! Have placed a hold and will eventually get to read the end…
Odd Spirits book by S.T. Gibson, a prequel to Evocation which I rad earlier in the year, enjoy the characters if the writing style is not my favorite
Listening Highlights
Favorite things heard over the course of the month go here, such as concerts, songs, pieces of music, playlists, podcasts and more.
Fall Mushroom in the neighborhood in Cologne, Germany
Monthly Viewing Highlights
Saw a wide variety of media in October, including different genres, styles, and appropriate ages:
Live
I was fortunate to enjoy two live performances in November:
“Fantissima,” Germany’s most successful dinner variety show at Phantasialand, truly well-orchestrated performances, song and dance, circus acts…was impressive, delicious, and enjoyable
“St. Pauli – Leichen von der Stange“ on the Moby Dick Krimidinner murder mystery variety show on a riverboat was also a delight, with comedy, dance and song, drama, and even singing along
Film
Saw “Honey Don’t!” in the theater with a friend, found it to have great dialogue, a “2025 neo-noir dark comedy film directed by Ethan Coen, who co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Tricia Cooke.”
“Lisa Frankenstein” Film was strange, campy, fit the post-Halloween mood
Series
Standout series in a few different genres:
“Shrinking” series with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford is a Comedy-Drama with relatable and vulnerable characters I came to love
“WondLa“animated fantasy/sci-fi series with Ela and then my middle schoolers, it brought family friendly action adventure and a strong female lead character
“Boots” Comedy-Drama Series about a young gay man’s experience of boot camp for the US Marine Corps
Dance notebooks are always on my creative menu
Questions for Reflection
On what will you feast in November/last month?
Which books are on your TBR?
When I say Mood Music, which tracks come to mind?
What are you creating, planning, practicing, enjoying?
Which challenges you’re currently facing could use some help?
Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact!
Take care of yourself and keep moving mindfully, let me know how if I can be of service, would love to see you in my email newsletter or on social media as well.
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst they/them or she/her Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach helping multi-passionate creatives dance through their difficulties, taking leaps of faith into fulfillment through coaching, yoga & dance education
A question I frequently hear is how have I managed to teach and dance all over the place?
One important tool is my analog notebooks, accessible regardless of electrical power or internet connection, collecting what I wish to remember reliably.
Often espousing the benefits of handwritten note-taking, in the video below I flip through over ten years of my own such Dance Notebooks for the curious to peek inside and for me to glean themes, learning, and growth through reflection over time.
October cover page in Blythe’s current seasonal Bullet Journal
Teaching Artist Notes
These books span from about 2010/11 to 2023/4 so cover well over a decade of my handwritten record-keeping of dance study, teaching, choreography, goals and projects, tracking, brainstorming and creativity. In them, I dance and teach in Portland, Oregon, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Poitiers and Paris, France, and Cologne, Germany:
In the video above, I flip through my own notes and scribbles.
Dance Topics Tracked
What did I capture?
Everything I want to remember and reference, words, sketches and diagrams, my own ideas and creations and those of others:
Teaching logs of hours for invoicing, credentialing, and memory,
Syllabi and Lesson Plans for Ballet, Modern Dance, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap…tracking the “what” of concepts, steps and combinations covered as well as the “how” it went, our results and what’s next
Work in Studios, Schools, as an Adjunct Professor, guest teaching, directing shows
Notes on various books, essays, texts and live study of dance techniques (Ballet Schools, Okinawan Dance, Hula, Taiko Drumming…), master classes, workshops,
My MFA and secondary Teaching Credential in Dance
Choreography notes on my creations and learning others’ works, collaborations,
Music listening, songs & compositions, playlists,
Creative and educational themes, dance ideas, fairytales and stories,
Feedback, praise, reflections
Brainstorming, goal-setting, visioning
Learning to teach online, YouTube, Zoom, blogging, podcasting, social media…
and more!
Blythe’s leather cover from Manifactika houses their current Bullet Journal system
Threading Tactic
Although all are connected through the theme of dance creation and education, you can see that there are too many disciplines, locations, and ideas to break them out into separate books.
Thus Ryder Carroll’s The Bullet Journal Method, especially the concept of “threading” where various subtopics and contexts can interweave, has been of value in my practice. Each spread contains one subject, tabbing and color coding helps keep them distinct and easily-accessible on a daily and weekly basis, and then when I run out of space on one page, the thread gets picked up later in the book. Indexing and then digital backup of especially valuable references further aid future retrieval of information.
How does writing contribute to your artistic process?
What are you creating?
Let me know what works for your own dance, creative, and educational process! Thanks for reading and practicing together in spirit or in fact!
Take care of yourself and keep moving mindfully, let me know how if I can be of service, would love to see you in my email newsletter or on social media as well.
Blythe Stephens, MFA, Bliss Catalyst they/them or she/her Creator of A Blythe Coach: dance through difficulty and take leaps of faith into a joyful, fulfilling life
The month of October was action-packed & suspenseful, spooky & cozy, autumnal & full of dancing & prolific creativity!
October is LGBTQ+ History Month and many creatives I know celebrate “Art-tober” or Inktober or such challenges to spark their art, along with seeing the Hunter Moon, World Mental Health Day, National Coming Out Day, Pronouns Day, and Halloween.
In this article I wrap up the month of October of 2025 in my projects, life and events.
Served as a Teaching Artist in 4 locations and age groups from Pre-Ballet to Preprofessional adult training and coaching well-being in between)
Got out my Halloween candle and witch hat, music playlists, “Cinderella” story, and fall leaf props for dancing inspirations
Nordrhein-Westfalen had Herbstferien / Fall Break, during which I continued to teach some classes but had a pause from others and Germany also had our Time Change “falling back” from Central European Summer Time to CET
Getaway to Liege, Belgium by train with city tour, Waffel, meatballs, beer tasting & laughs with friends and stayed in a cute Airbnb
Another friend’s art gallery opening inspired
Physical Therapy for my hip issue was starting to help reduce pain and increase range of motion
Scooter commuting on The Black Pearl was fast, convenient, noticeably improved my strength & balance, and great fun!
Fall baking: Apple Cinnamon Muffins, Chocolate Chip Cookies; eating other seasonal specialties such as Petra’s homemade Sauerkraut Soup
Blythe and Ela at golden hour on the Meuse river in Liege, Belgium
Creative Challenges
My creative process supports me through it all, not just financially since that is my profession, but as a Teaching Artist, Choreographer, Movement Educator & Coach, I get to explore my soul’s expression, my Being.
Many of these priority projects are part of my Twenty 25s, which I reflect on below, these being actions/habit/leading metric statistics of actions within my control.
Bullet Journaling & Planning
I shared my initial monthly setup in my Seasonal Book on Instagram here with Cat-Tober decorative theme and lots of Halloweeny pumpkin and bat accents, then the flip-through video above shows what happened with my goals, glows, media favorites, and events “after the pen.”
Updated my Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Logs, Annual Collections, and set up my November spreads over the course of the month, continued to savor writing my Morning Pages and notes with colorful inks in my fountain pens and cherished the shades of the changing season in nature and culture.
Teaching & Coaching
Regular Mindful Movement classes in Balletlicious Ballet Barre+ and Yummy Gentle Yoga, studio classes in Ballet and “Feel Good” well-being elective courses continued and I also began giving daily Ballet Technique for the Advanced Dance Program. So far it is the absolute treat that I imagined the opportunity would be, and it’s stunning to see how much the dancers are growing as artists!
Apple Cinnamon Muffins kicked off my Autumn baking season
Writing & Publishing Articles
In October I published 4 articles to the blog here at ablythecoach.com, bringing my annual total to 32. This is a great place to find out what I am up as well as other experts and creators who I recommend in long and short-form writing.
October’s new articles:
How to Find & Foster Safe(r) Spaces in a Diverse Dancing LifeAs a dance educator and teaching artist, creating a safe space for learning has long been a topic of interest and top priority in coaching and classes. Being familiar with the concept of Safer Space codes of conduct in the context of queer nightlife, parties, dances, and demonstrations, the same tenets are applicable in a variety of social and educational contexts.
SeptEMBER was Fire – 2025 Month 9 & Quarter 3 ReflectionSeptember brought the last gasp of Summer in Cologne and I basked in the warmth, as well as events such as the Harvest Moon, Autumn Equinox, back-to-school, Oktoberfest, and more! In this article I wrapped up the month of September and Quarter 3 of 2025 in my projects & life.
Mood Music that Moves Me- Playlists of Songs & Pieces to Inspire the SpiritNothing sets the mood like the right music! Tastes vary, but the exploration of music that moves us is full of delightful discoveries that become lifelong memories. As a choreographer, teaching artist and coach, music, songs, and playlists are a huge part of my life, as I disc jockey sessions in real time and build up my library of music with which I resonate.
Filming & Sharing Videos
I published 5 videos to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel on the topics of dance, creativity, and purposeful living in October:
October Plan With Me – Fall Seasonal Bullet Journal Setup: Here is my process of setting up for a new week, month, and quarter in a new seasonal BuJo, which made of a cozy Sunday afternoon and a well-organized and whimsical entry into the new period. Due to an increasingly packed Fall teaching, coaching, and dancing schedule, it behooves me to incorporate the contents of my existing creativity and productivity practices into my channel sharing, and I find October particularly delightful to set up for.
Finding & fostering Safer Spaces in a diverse dancing life – Research Bullet Journal Spread: As a dance educator and teaching artist, creating a safe space for learning has long been a topic of interest and top priority in coaching and classes in studios, colleges, universities, and schools. Having previously become familiar with the concept of Safer Space codes of conduct in the context of LGBTQ+ nightlife, parties, dances, and demonstrations, the same tenets are true for a variety of social and educational contexts. Here I’m sharing a quick review of my research in progress in the form of notes in my seasonal Bullet Journal.
Autumn Personal Curriculum 2025 – Looking forward to Learning & Teaching this Season: Let’s romanticize, gamify, bring the fun to our learning and creating goals this season with a “Personal Curriculum!” It is a trending topic that I can really jump on board with. This nerd is ahead of the times, as I lifelong student constantly pursuing curiosity. Here’s what I’m planning on researching, teaching, reading, writing, creating, listening to, and viewing in cozy season 2025.
September , Summer & Q3 Flip & Reflection – Creative Journal of a Bliss Catalyst Dancer Coach:September was on fire with back-to-school action, wild times around the world, and conclusion of summer and 3rd quarter! This is a flip-through of the month in my Seasonal Bullet Journal Book, media I published & personally consumed, high & lowlights and special events.
Plummy Plumb Lines – Finding Your Center of Gravity – Ballet & Dance Alignment Tool Visualization: Perhaps you are familiar with the concept of vertical alignment, the dimensions of space, planes of the body, and center of gravity in support of balance and dance technique. If so, what tools and visualizations do you utilize to develop spatial awareness? If not, here’s a valuable visual to apply to your dancing and/or teaching. Add further visualizations, like Betsy Fisher’s effervescent bubbles rising, to enhance dynamic balance!
Curtius Brewery & Restaurant in Liege, Belgium with it’s fall finery
Connecting: Email & Social Media
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as work from others that I believe to be of value for fellow creatives is to subscribe to my email newsletter. It lights me up to see new subscribers there as well as responses to me missives.
I sent one Email Newsletter in October, taking a temporary pause from weekly letters during this busy season with the blessing of my readers:
My “Twenty 25s” are a playful way to track various leading metrics, projects and activities I wish to keep an eye on this year.
In Quarter 3 I completed another three “25s” for at total of 14/20, getting closer! Particularly taking action toward the remaining categories in Q4, so working on Pieces of Choreography, Music practices, and Letter-writing.
Went to the flea market on a sunny day and got fresh Reibekuchen with applesauce
Media Musings
My October in reading, listening, and viewing pleasures:
Reading
Books
Someday is Todayby Matthew Dicks, one of my nonfiction picks of 2025, finally complete and a good motivating read. I don’t agree with all of his time-saving tactics, but it’s worth a look if you’ve got work you want to produce and can’t seem to find the time, lots of valuable takeaways that I will apply nonetheless.
The Happy Ever After Playlistby Abby Jimenez was another sweet romantic dramedy from this author who has a knack for writing characters I feel like I’ve met
Still reading along on some of my nonfiction picks (also scripture, personal growth):
Commuting through the peak fall colors was absolutely stunning
Monthly Viewing Highlights
Saw a wide variety of media in October, including different genres, styles, and appropriate ages:
Live
Attending the “Beethoven 7“ dance concert by Sasha Waltz & Guests electrified me in week 41, and our friend Arthur’s latest art opening inspired as well.
Film
“Fly Me to the Moon” film with Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum was a cute historical romance
“28 Years Later” zombie movie for Halloween was the right mood for a mellow evening of pizza with friends
Series
Standout series in a few different genres:
“Chief of War“ series with Jason Momoa in Olelo Hawai’i (and English), is a stunningly beautiful (and also violent, as the name would suggest) historical depiction of just before King Kamehameha I, “the Great,” united the islands as one monarchy
“Shrinking” series with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford is a Comedy-Drama with relatable and vulnerable characters I came to love
Started the “WondLa” animated fantasy/sci-fi series with my middle schoolers and it is bringing family friendly action adventure and a strong female lead character
The Koelner Dom / Cologne Cathedral from Deutz streetcar station, sunset city beauty
Questions for Reflection
What October/last month memories are you saving?
What are you creating, planning, practicing, enjoying?
How will you make the most of this season?
With which challenges you’re currently facing might I help?
Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact!
Take care of yourself and keep moving mindfully, let me know how if I can be of service, would love to see you in my email newsletter or on social media as well.
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst they/them or she/her Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach helping multi-passionate creatives dance through their difficulties, taking leaps of faith into fulfillment through coaching, yoga & dance education
Tastes vary, but the exploration of music that moves us is full of delightful discoveries that become lifelong memories.
As a choreographer, teaching artist and coach, music, songs, and playlists are a huge part of my life, my data streaming, and WiFi usage as I disc jockey sessions in real time and build up my library of music with which I resonate.
With constantly changing technologies, this sort of data management is not necessarily easy, so I’ve found it helpful to keep logs of songs, pieces of music, and playlists that I want to refer to, many which I return to again and again. This collection of playlists are on two different streaming services, Spotify (to which I used to be a subscriber) and YouTube (where I currently subscribe), but can be used as a reference to find and listen to pieces of music elsewhere such as on iTunes, CD or other disc, even borrow from the library.
Some of these collections are analog, like lists I keep in my dance notebooks and journals such as the one in the photo above that features a recent sampling and which I will link below.
Mood Music spread in Blythe’s Bullet Journal, collecting playlists by theme
Musical Moods
Themes, impulses, settings & contexts for my collections include:
Dance & Mindful Movement
Classes, improvisation, choreography, play and concentration.
Spring Flings & Bright Things: a Bucket List of Fresh, Joyful Seasonal Experiences Being a (late) spring baby myself, I’ve always been especially drawn to the season, the themes of new life, rebirth, emergence, vitality, fertility, the increasing warmth and light, and joy! From the first early blossoms and rays of Sun leading up to the Spring Equinox, to the long, bright days of the Summer Solstice, I do my best to make the most of this richly potent season of growth and development.
Summer Fun in or out of the Sun: a BucketList of Hot-Weather Hits Warmer weather lends itself to many activities I enjoy, such as time outdoors, bicycling, picnicking, and eating fresh produce. I try to seize the sunny fleeting days wherever I can and not miss out on my favorite bits before they’re gone again. Less decoration and dressing up, more dressing down, decluttering, deep-cleaning, taking in the natural beauty. Here is a collection of resources and activities that might provide a jumping-off point for your own longer-day adventures.
Autumn Equinox Magic – Rituals to Romance the Transition from Summer to Fall Seasonal rituals help me celebrate each transition, acknowledge how I’ve learned and grown and what it’s time to let go. Today is the day before the autumn equinox if you’re here in real time, a great time to start your ritual, or you can take inspiration anytime. September in Cologne sees the earliest leaves changing from green to yellow, the dry crunch underfoot, nuts and berries aplenty even in the heart of the city. Outside my door hazelnuts are falling onto the cobblestones, cars rolling over pop them open and the pigeons gorge themselves.
Building Momentum by Seizing the Back-to-School Mood: Ambiance, Supplies & Action Living based in a temperate climate like I do in Cologne, Germany, as soon as I feel the first chill in the air and sight a colored leaf or Back-to-School sale, I feel a surge of energy, motivation, and curiosity. Whether we currently find ourselves in an academic environment or not, this time of year is an opportunity we all can seize if it suits us, to invigorate our inspiration to create and grow.
Winter Wonders & Warmers: a Bucket List for Dark but Festive Times / Solstice – Return of the LightThe stark, bleak, dreary days are here in Cologne and strings of lights, candles, treats, and traditions help to warm the cold of winter. It can be a difficult time for many reasons, so be gentle with yourself and make exquisite self-care and kindness for self and others a priority. As the longest night passes and the days begin to grow longer, so can our hope, clarity, and vision.
Be Buoyant like a Butterfly – Flights of Fancy – Airy Inspiration Roundup Light as a feather, fluttering in springtime and summer, having had encounters with butterflies in just about every place I have been, I always feel blessed by their gentle presence. Butterfly, Schmetterling, Farfalle, Papillon…I love their many names, their movements, the science and the mystery behind their lifecycles. Beloveds come to mind as a butterfly flits by, and art, literature, poetry, music, and movement all help me embody the qualities of the butterflies I marvel at, in this article I share these as well as many more flights of fancy and airy inspirations to delight.
Seaside, Oceanic & Watery Inspirations – Dance, Yoga, Music, Poetry & Creativity Though watery ocean, lake, river, and rain concepts can ignite the imagination yearlong, I find them particularly fun in the warmer months, for children’s and all-ages dance, yoga, meditation and visualization, poetic and artistic inspiration. This is a (growing, dynamic, never comprehensive) collection of resources I personally treasure and love to share as a teaching artist but may also be useful to families with children, other creatives, or to delight your own inner artist child.
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Thanks for reading and moving together in spirit or in fact. Take care of yourself, pay attention, and hope to see you again.
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst they/them or she/her Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach helping multi-passionate creatives dance through their difficulties, taking leaps of faith into fulfillment through coaching, yoga & dance education
