Changing Seasons: A Great Time to Update Your Life and Dance Routines 

Many of us put a lot of emphasis on the new year. You may feel expectations for increased productivity, movement, or reaching big goals. This isn’t always natural for everyone, maybe because winter is a time for hibernation in nature. It’s worth considering that for some (hi, it’s me!), the shift from winter to spring is in fact the best time to put new routines into place. 

This change in seasons brings a change in weather and also symbolizes rebirth, renewal, growth, and new beginnings, making it the perfect time to take a look at your dance and life routines. Figure out what’s working for you and release what isn’t. 

Make space to evaluate what’s working and what isn’t 

Sometimes the hardest part of taking action is actually giving yourself the time and space to evaluate. If you’re not doing something, you might fear you’re being unproductive. By sitting down and writing out what’s going well and what could improve, you’ll be able to take much more pointed and impactful steps forward. 

Start by looking at your routines around fueling, how you start and end the day, and how you recover. Each of these areas provides an opportunity to shift your perspectives and life experience to find greater joy, fulfillment, and productivity. 

Routines for supportive fueling 

In order for dancers to eat adequately, planning and routines are required. You want to make sure you cover your micronutrient and macronutrient bases, incorporating vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, protein, carbs, and fat. 

Start with a list. 

Creating balanced meals doesn’t have to be complicated. To get started with a supportive meal plan, make a list of all the protein-rich foods, carbohydrate-rich foods, and dietary-fat-rich foods that you enjoy. That way when you’re putting meals together you have a quick and easy guide to make meal planning easier.

Plan your meals. 

List out 4-7 breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas for the week. If you have trouble, tap into the many recipe blogs and resources online. Utilize dinner leftovers as lunch options. 

In addition to meals, make sure you have plenty of easy-to-grab snacks available as well. If you’re concerned about sustainability, you can certainly pre-pack snacks in reusable containers. Do what you have to do to make it easy to have lots of meal and snack options ready to support your busy schedule. 

Commit to consistent eating. 

For dancers, the most important factor in ensuring you are getting enough food and also meeting your macronutrient and micronutrient needs is eating consistently. When you incorporate at least 3 meals and 2 snacks throughout your day, you’ll have a greater likelihood of meeting your dance nutrition needs. 

Routines to start and end your day on the right foot. 

The way you start and end your day is going to impact how you feel and perform. The easiest way to create supportive routines is to start with your existing routines. Here are the steps to create an impactful morning routine. 

1. Write down what you do in the morning. 

2. Notice if you’re wasting any time doing things that aren’t serving you (like mindless phone scrolling). 

3. Make it a goal to eliminate the time wasters by replacing them with activities that inspire you. A meditation or journaling practice might be a good addition. 

4. Write down your ideal morning routine. 

5. Consider how you’ll adjust your ideal routine on the days when you need more sleep or have less time in the morning. Always prioritize sleep! 

Your morning routine can include things like breakfast, water, washing your face, brushing your teeth, pilates, yoga, or other movement, meditation, prayer, time outside, reading, journaling or really anything that helps you feel grounded. Morning routines are proven to have a positive impact on mental health and productivity. 

Implement this same strategy to create a nighttime routine that helps you wind down and close out the day on a positive note. 

Routines for recovery 

Whatever your standard aches and pains are, be sure you’re finding ways to address them. Consult with a dance physical therapist for information on how to best care for your body during time away from dance.

Consider if there are daily practices that would help address any physical weaknesses or inconsistencies. Perhaps you can utilize an ice bath or heat treatments to allow for better recovery. Again, connecting with a dance physical therapist for advice on the best protocol is a worthy investment. 

Making routines stick 

You might feel incredibly motivated to make some changes to how you’re approaching dance and life. However, it’s not easy to change habits, and it can be incredibly challenging to make new habits stick. Don’t put the expectation on yourself that everything can change overnight. It’s a process and often a two steps forward, one step back one at that. 

To create new routines a health, nutrition, and lifestyle coach for dancers can help immeasurably. With both the supportive nature of coaching and the accountability that goes along with it, identifying and implementing the new routines and practices that will best support you becomes easy. For more information, schedule a complimentary coaching consultation here.