Hello beautiful,

Spring is here in this "real time" and place of Cologne, Germany in April, 2025 and it's time for me to take on another creative writing challenge!

Also want to accomplish something artistic this month? There are a lot of ways to make the process fun with support and accountability from others, and here I'm sharing how I'll be doing so this season (and how I keep my writing practices going on all year).

On the blog this week, I'm sharing about my writing challenge for April:

​Read the Spring into Stories – Rough Draft Writing Challenge article here​

Classes in-studio and online as usual this upcoming week April 7th-11th, then the following week vacation (also plan not to email or post a new blog or video) while I travel to PDX and KOA. The following weeks I will offer online classes as "usual" from the other end of the Earth, and the week of April 12th I return to Spring classes in Cologne.

I am so excited, and more than a little nervous, to travel home to the places of my birth and upbringing and will be taking some time off from publishing along the way, but writing and checking in as well. Making many preparations for coverage and special projects, plus packing and logistics.

On video we're practicing nice slow, gentle Foot O's:

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My other creations, recommendations, and questions for you are:

Viewing:

• ​Yet Writers Keep on Writing Onward (No Mo NaNoWriMo) from Jenna the Soul Writer is for folks like me looking for NaNo alternatives this year
• The "Babylon" film from 2022 with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie was like a sexy, family-unfriendly 3-hour "Singin' in the Rain" mixed with the play "The Wild Party:" it had it's moments, but not an instant favorite for me
• The "What We Do in the Shadows" series has been a silly diversion as ever, finishing off the latest season
• ​The Art of the Tea Tray looks so lovely, I probably won't actually do it but it makes a nice background

Listening:

• Will be grooving all season snd making updates to my Spring Sensations Dance Playlist on YouTube

Reading:

• Finished reading A Red Herring without Mustard #3 Flavia De Luce by Alan Bradley, a whimsical mysteries set in 1950s rural England, and started in on #4, I am Half Sick of Shadows​

Practicing:

• My latest Slow Foot O's - Mindful Ankle Circles Dance Cross-Training, Injury-Prevention & Joyful Movement video on YouTube is a 5-minute mindful lower-leg exercise is a good warm-up and training for before or between dance sessions. Breathe, activate the small stabilizing muscles of the feet and lower legs, become aware of your body at the present moment.
• ​Being a storyteller, brave and strong like sophiekathleenn​
• ​Play your anxiety away like Spirituality + Health
• Practicing healthy relationship with the News as in The News and Your Attention: Engaging without Getting Consumed by Mike Vardy and
• Matt D'Avella: "I quit the news and it saved my mental health"
• On the other hand, we need to stay informed about important issues, and here's What you should probably know about Project 2025 from Dasia Sade
• ​Using yoga props to completely personalize my practice like Lucy B Yoga

Practicing Together LIVE / Adult Movement Classes this week:

• In-Studio Adult Beginner Ballet, 6-7:00pm CET Mondays, Tanzschule Tanzraum Nippes, Cologne, Germany creates a strong, body-friendly, and graceful foundation for dance (German)
• Online Yogalicious Gentle Yoga. 7-8:00pm CET Tuesdays (8-9:00am HI) provides a delicious mindful movement feast which balances strength, balance and coordination for mind, body, and spirit adaptable to all levels and conditions (English)
• Online Balletlicious Gentle Adaptive Ballet Barre+, 7:30-8:30am CET Wednesdays, consists of mostly barre with a little dancey centre work, building a strong, body-friendly, and graceful foundation for dance at home or anywhere in the world (English)

Inquiring:

• Which of your stories will you tell first?
• In what format and to what audience (if any) do you wish to share your creation?
• Will you join me in writing a story, poem, or other draft this month?
• What resources of support do you have access to?
• How can I help you take this creative leap?

Gladly share your response to the questions above or provide other updates by replying to this email or on social media if you are active there.

Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact. Take care of yourself and keep moving mindfully!

Love, Blythe

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

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