Spring is a season I find easier to embrace than the cold winter, having waited through the dark part of the year for its arrival seemingly with baited breath.
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.
I certainly don’t do all of these things every year, not even close, but when I want to revel a bit in this fleetingly gorgeous season, I can look to these resources for activities to choose from that I know I love.
Think of it as a bucket list, a collection of self-care and creative treasures, or a way to connect with the rhythm of the seasons and nature.
In Spring it’s time to bloom!
Let’s Have a Spring Fling!
Seasonal experiences such as reading, listening, viewing, tasty treats, crafting and creative themes delight my students and also my own inner Artist Child! When I sample a few of my favorite experiences of the Spring (and each successive season), I feel I have fully enjoyed and made the best of this time of year, am better ready to embrace the change that continues to come.
Experiences
Late February through June feel like springtime here in the Northern Hemisphere, and my current base of Cologne, Germany is a wonderful vantage point from which to observe the emergence of fresh new life. Both the weather and human and animal activity levels pick up, energy tends to rise, and it can get really quite hectic with events, holidays, and all the tending required to bring our planted seeds, metaphorical and real, to fruition.
Holidays & Special Events
- Women’s History Month, International Women’s Day in March
- Ramadan
- Lent into Easter
- Camp NaNoWriMo or Sarra Cannon’s Rough Draft Challenge in April, for which you can set your own writing goal along with the Heart Breathings community
- Poetry Month in April
- Earth Day in April
- Mother’s Day & Father’s Day
- Coaching Week in May
- PRIDE Month in June
- Juneteenth, World Refugees Day
Traditions & Activities
- Eat Chocolate Bunnies
- Dye Eggs
- Bake & Decorate Spring Cookies
- Tarot Readings, reflection, intuition
- Wardrobe Refresh, Declutter
- Spring Clean
- Spring Equinox Ritual, Altar (Ostara altar), Meditation, Crystals & Magic
- Switch meditation background (Wind in Spring/Summer, Fire in Fall/Winter)
- Easter Sunrise Service
- Strawberry picking
- Birdwatching, Walks, Picnics
- Visit Botanical Gardens
- Planting Seeds: Literal and/or Figurative and tending them as they grow
Food & Eating
One of my personal favorite ways to celebrate every season, holiday, and life in general! Not necessarily the most ambitious cook or baker, but I’ve got a few standbys that I make myself, others I just buy and enjoy that others have prepared.
A few of my favorite edible Spring treats:
- Baking & Decorating Easter Cookies
- Decorating & Eating Easter Eggs
- Egg Salad, Devilled Eggs
- Eggnog
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Chocolate Bunnies (the most delicious shape milk chocolate can take, I don’t make the rules)
- Jelly Beans
- Malted Milk Eggs
Inspirational Spring Themes
Creative Dance/Yoga/Movement Themes
For personal and creative exploration, alone or with children and people of all ages:
- Seeds, Roots, Sprouting, Growth & Tending
- Flowers – early Spring Snow Drops, Crocuses, Daffodils, Cherry & Apple Blossoms…
- Rainbows 🌈
- Weather: Rain, Sunshine, Wind, Storms
- Leprechauns + Gold, Shamrocks
- Animals, Birth, Eggs, Crysalis
- Butterflies 🦋
- Dragonflies
- Ladybugs
- Grasshoppers
- Honey Bees
- Caterpillars, Inchworms
- Birds, Pigeon, Eagle, Crow
- Bunnies, Peter Cottontail
- Baby Chicks & Ducklings
- New Life, Bright Green Leaves
- “Sleeping Beauty,” waiting
Spring Practices
As the Earth wakens to life, this time of year can be a great time to emerge from our own hibernation with mindful and joyful movements.
Ballet & Creative Dance
Practice videos available on the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel:
Butterfly Creative Ballet Arms
Balletlicious Seated Butterflies Creative Stretch
Butterfly Catching Creative Dance Exploration & Warmup
Spring Surprise Adagio
Yoga & Meditation
Spring Meditation & Visualization to Tend & Bloom
In the above video, I wish you a Happy Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere in real time, Autumn in the Southern, arriving in late March, and a time of celebrations of growth in many cultures.
As the hours of daylight increase, so can our energy. In this video we practice about 5 minutes of gentle movement, breathwork, and visualization, then 5 minutes of questions for contemplation or written reflection which you may then bring into action.
You may use this quiet moment and reflection questions as part of your Spring ritual, to tend to all areas of your life at this time of rich potential, in order to bloom bountifully in the coming season.
Spring Fresh Seated Yoga Practice 20-Minute Chair Stretch
Blossom Visualization 60-Minute Yoga Practice
Surya Namaskar – Yoga Sun Salutations
We can also summon the solar energy of the season with Sun Salutations and by being creative with our home yoga & mindful movement practice.
Spring Yoga & Meditation from other creators
- Ostara Yoga for the Equinox from RebEarth
- Naomi Gottlieb-Miller’s Spring Equinox Yoga
- Yoga with Kassandra Spring Equinox practice
- Yogi Witch Ostara
- A New Season for Awakening & Growth (Spring Equinox Guided Meditation) from Great Meditation
Creative Planning
Bullet Journaling is my main crafty hobby, and in this season I am enjoying collaging with origami papers and gathered ephemera, stamping, choosing color palettes, and evoking a playful and festive mood that motivates me to plan, reflect, and record thoughts about my life.
- March 2024 Setup on Instagram
- April 2024 Setup on Instagram
- May 2024 Setup on Instagram
- June 2024 Setup on Instagram
Listening
Music
Nothing sets a mood more quickly than putting on suitable music.
Playlists By Me
- Spring Sensations Dance Music Playlist on YouTube
- International Women’s Day Dance Playlist on YouTube
- Fly on the Wind – Airy Mood Music Playlist on YouTube
- Waltzing into Spring Playlist on Spotify
- Say Yes to Spring Playlist on Spotify
- Pocketful of Sunshine – Springy Ballet and Dance Playlist on Spotify
- BCS Sleeping Beauty Ballet Story for Pre-Ballet/Creative Movement Playlist on Spotify
- BCS St. Patrick’s Day Irish Ballet Playlist on Spotify
- Karnevals Lieder Playlist on Spotify
- BCS Spring Ballet List Playlist on Spotify
Songs
- “Butterfly” by Daigo Hanada is a favorite track for ballet and dance classes with a light and mellow feel
- “Let’s Do It” by Louis Armstrong: let’s fall in love!
- “Pink Moon” by Nick Drake is pretty and wistful like April
Podcasts about Springtime
- Spring Bucket List from Soul + Wit
Reading & Books
Fiction Series
- Veronica Speedwell Mysteries by Deanna Raybourn feature a lepidopterist heroine, great for Spring
- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery depicts all of the seasons beautifully
Nonfiction
- Yoga Through the Year: A Seasonal Approach to Your Practice by Jilly Shipway
- Chakras & Self-Care: Activate the Healing Power of Chakras with Everyday Rituals by Ambi Kavanagh and Poppy Jamie
Stories & Fairytales
In my Sleeping Beauty Ballet Story & Music video on YouTube below, I detail how I use the ballet “Sleeping Beauty” in ballet and creative dance education for children and adults, including book and music recommendations.
Poems
Poems are an inspiration to me in all seasons, and most especially Spring. As a celebration of late Spring bounty and my upcoming birthday, I recorded a reading of these verses: “Spring” & “Seven White Butterflies” by Mary Oliver, “To the Thawing Wind” by Robert Frost, “Lenten” by Olga Braumas, and “Dirty Poem” by Marge Piercy.
One resource I find incredibly useful in my dance, choreography, teaching and yoga practices, is the deliciousness of exploring visualization.
Along with a solid technical foundation, imagery helps bring lush texture, and diverse qualities to movement, developing artistry. The imagination feeds us as humans and creators. How important the life of the mind is to us these days, and any time we can’t explore the outside world as much as we might like or when we need to become present to our internal landscape.
As mindfulness teacher Dandapani has stated, “Visualization is a big part of a meditation practice.”
Spring Poetry Favorites
- “Spring” & “Seven White Butterflies” by Mary Oliver
- “To the Thawing Wind” by Robert Frost
- “Lenten” by Olga Braumas
- “Dirty Poem” by Marge Piercy
- “To Free the Heart” by Francis C. Anderson, Jr.
- “Invitation to Love” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
- “Fragile and Rooted” by Carolyn S. Owen-Towle
- “In Time of Silver Rain” by Langston Hughes
Articles with Recommendations for Spring
- Spring Activities List from Atiliay
- Ostara with Kids from Learn Religions.com
Viewing
Compared to my list of Fall Films & Movies, Reading & Books, Spring tends more towards action and outdoors wherever possible, less so indoor reading and watching.
Movies
- “The Sound of Music”
- “Mary Poppins”
- “You’ve Got Mail”
- “Ever After”
- “A Bug’s Life”
- “The Secret Garden”
YouTube Videos from other creators
- How to Romanticize Your life in Spring from Haley Madison
- Use Less’ Spring Capsule Wardrobe provides inspiration to edit and declutter your spring clothing situation
- Ostara Blog, how to celebrate from The Witch’s Cookery (she records seasonal content regularly)
- Ostara Seasonal Living Ideas 🐣 Astrology and How To Celebrate The Spring Equinox / Pisces Season ♓ by Afura Nefertiti, the Writing Witch, whose approach I appreciate, since it emphasizes practices for the whole season, not just rituals on a certain day or limited timeframe
- Ostara Yoga for the Equinox from RebEarth
- Things to Do in Spring from Randi Lynn Reed
- Spring Starter Pack by Darling Desi (she records a new one every year)
Questions for Reflection
- What seed(s) have I planted/will I plant this season?
- How will I tend to them (and myself, and others) to flourish this season?
- Which fruits do you hope to harvest as a result of your labors during this time of growth?
- What weeding/spring cleaning will help make the way?
- What first small baby step will I take today?
- Which holidays do you celebrate in the Spring and Summer?
- What readings, resources, pieces of music, viewing should I add to my Spring Bucket List?
Resources for Further Exploration
- Reflective Practice Through Journaling in Dance, Yoga, & Life Article
- Wonderful Warmers Whet the Appetite – Movement, Dance, & Ballet Warm-Ups to Get Ready & Feel Good Article
- Arts of Allegro – Types of Jumps in Ballet, Modern Dance, & other forms Article
- Attitudes to Time in Dance & Life: relating to and transforming conceptions of time Article
- Embracing Ballet Balancé – Classical Waltzing Theory & Practice Article
- My Minimalism Memoir Article
- Roses Have Thorns: Time, Love, & Mortality in “Sleeping Beauty,” “Hamilton,” Poetry, & Life Article
- Autumn Equinox Magic – Rituals to Romance the Transition from Summer to Fall Article
- Summer Fun In or Out of the Sun Bucket List Article
- Winter Wonders & Warmers Bucket List Article
Thank you for reading, for being, and for moving with me, in spirit or in fact. Take care of yourself, keep moving mindfully, and let me know how I can be of service!
I hope you savor the delights of spring and blossom in the world.
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst
they/them or she/her
A Blythe Coach: @ablythecoach
helping multi-passionate creatives 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.