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84. 2025 Year in Review and Being Where Your Feet Are in 2026
95 Plays2 days ago
Caitlin here with a solo episode recapping 2025 and chatting about my hopes and dreams for 2026!
Biggest takeaways from this episode:
- Be where your feet are: presence creates deeper impact than constantly chasing what’s next.
- Consistency beats intensity: small, sustainable routines done regularly matter far more than big, all-or-nothing efforts.
- There is no finish line: healing, growth, and goals are lifelong, not problems to “solve” once and move on.
- Understanding your body changes everything: what works for others may not work for you - learn how your body works and advocate for yourself.
- Impact doesn’t have to be global to be meaningful: work in your local community can be just as powerful than scaling bigger and faster.
Tune in to hear how I came to these realizations in 2025, and what I’m doing with that information as we head into 2026!
Episodes mentioned:
33. 2024 Year in Review and Embracing the Gray Area in 2025
67. My Program Launch Failed (So Let's Talk About Rejection)
Links and Resources:
Jennifer Milner (Movement practitioner & Pilates trainer specializing in hypermobility): https://www.jennifer-milner.com/
Camille Sanchez (Avatar Healing, massage therapist based in Madison, WI): https://www.avatar-healing.com/
Brick: https://www.getbrick.app/CAITLIN10476 (affiliate link)
1-1 Career Mentoring: book your complimentary career call
Let’s connect!
My WEBSITE: thebrainyballerina.com
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/thebrainyballerina
Questions/comments? Email me at caitlin@thebrainyballerina.com
Recommended
Transcript
Being Present and Community Involvement
00:00:00
Speaker
And that is one of my big goals for 2026 is to be where my feet are. You may have heard this saying before, be where your feet are. And I've always really loved it, but it's really resonating even more right now because there's so many different things in my life pulling me. i have my family. i have my business. I have my work here in the community. i have so many different things that are important to me. Being more involved in my medicine community has really shown me the benefit of being where your feet are. And it's just made it like so much more obvious to me how much I need that in my life, how much I need to be present in the thing that I'm currently doing instead of always thinking about 10 million other things.
Introduction of the Brand New Ballerina Podcast
00:00:42
Speaker
I'm Caitlin, a former professional ballerina turned dance educator and career mentor. And this is the Brand New Ballerina podcast. I am here for the aspiring professional ballerina who wants to learn what it really takes to build a smart and sustainable career in the dance industry.
00:00:59
Speaker
I'm peeling back the curtain of professional dance world with open and honest conversations about the realities of becoming a professional dancer. Come along to gain the knowledge and inspiration you need to succeed in a dance career on your terms.
00:01:16
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Brandy Ballerina podcast. Caitlin here today with my 2025 wrap-up and talking about my goals for 2026.
2025 Highlights and Recording Challenges
00:01:26
Speaker
As I am recording this right now, it is December 16th, so not quite the end of 2025. But if you tuned into my 2024 wrap-up last year, you heard me say this at the very beginning of the episode.
00:01:45
Speaker
It's now January 3rd. We're finally getting back into the swing of things, and I had to carve out some time today. While the kids are still home from school and daycare to get this recorded. And i sat down at my desk. I was going over my notes, just reviewing a few things I wanted to talk about before I hit record. And as I was about to hit record, my son ran downstairs and said, dad needs you right away.
00:02:11
Speaker
I run upstairs. My two-year-old daughter has projectile vomited all over the carpet.
00:02:18
Speaker
So that was the start of norovirus ripping through my entire household, through my entire family. I was trying to edit that episode while I actively had norovirus, which was nearly impossible, but somehow I got it done.
00:02:36
Speaker
And this year, i am not waiting until the end of 2025 to record this because who knows what could happen. But we are going to talk all things professional and personal today. It all matters in your life.
00:02:50
Speaker
So first, I want to start by talking about some of the exciting things that happened for the Brainy Ballerina and for me in 2025. So one thing that I am really proud of is how much this podcast has grown in 2025. Thanks to you, the listener. You are the reason that this podcast is succeeding.
00:03:11
Speaker
According to my Spotify raps, the audience for the Brainy Ballerina podcast grew 999% in which is a number that is kind of hard for me to contextualize, but feels very massive. So that's super exciting.
Podcast Growth and Sponsorships
00:03:26
Speaker
My Spotify raft also told me that this was the number one show for 104 listeners. So I think that's pretty cool that there's 100 of you out there who tune into this podcast more than any other podcast. That's amazing.
00:03:41
Speaker
I also reached my goal of monetizing the podcast in 2025. I mentioned last year that I wanted to bring on some sponsors to help support all the expenses and time that go into red producing this podcast and also to give a platform to other dance businesses to share their work.
00:04:00
Speaker
So I was very excited to bring on 12 dance competition as a podcast sponsor this year. We are really perfectly aligned in our mission. So it was a really natural fit. I also have another sponsor that's run a slight delay releasing because of some backend things, but but I'm going to be introducing them in 2026, and I'm really excited about that. So things are moving in the right direction as far as the podcast goes, for sure.
Experiencing Live Performances
00:04:28
Speaker
One of my big 2025 goals was to see 12 live performances. I've spoken about this quite a bit on the pod, but I had a really hard time going to see performances after I retired. And to be quite honest, when I think about it, I really didn't see that many performances before.
00:04:44
Speaker
While I was dancing, it was like I was so in that world and always rehearsing, taking class, performing, that when I wasn't doing it as my job, I didn't want to go see any other performances.
00:04:57
Speaker
I wanted a time away from that, which... I get, but I do think I was doing myself a disservice by not going to see more performances because it really is so inspiring. But I'm excited to say that i reached that goal and actually I surpassed it. I saw 15 live performances this year and they range from classical ballet to modern dance, comedy, concerts, musical theater, you name it, I feel like I saw it this year. And I'm really excited because what I noticed near the end of the year as I was working toward the school is that it became almost habitual to start checking for what shows were coming to town.
00:05:37
Speaker
Whenever and my husband were planning a date night, I was like, let me see if there's any shows coming to the overture. Let me see what's happening in town that we could go see. if If we're traveling, I'm looking for shows to see there. So I've kind of rewired my brain to think, what could
Family Theater Experiences
00:05:52
Speaker
we go see live? We already have tickets for a couple of shows right away in the new year.
00:05:56
Speaker
Something that's so powerful about live theater is it just reminds you of the bigger picture. When you are sitting in a theater and you are surrounded by so many people, invested in the same show as you and you're seeing everything on stage that's happening and you're seeing all the production that goes into it and then you're in the lobby and you're seeing all the work that goes into creating this incredible experience, it makes you realize how strong that sense of community is and it makes you feel part of something bigger than yourself. And I know as a dancer, I definitely felt that. I definitely felt that sense of community that sense that like, wow, I'm part of something bigger. i especially felt it during performances where we had live music. I feel like that really triggered that feeling in me, especially of like, wow, we're all in this together.
00:06:42
Speaker
But also as a dancer, you can get really internal and really focused on yourself, which you sort of have to do to achieve that high level, right? You have to really hone in your individual performance, your individual technique, what you're bringing to the group in order to make the whole production work. So it starts to become a little bit individualized in your approach sometimes. And i just found that going to sit in the theater and seeing it from the other side makes you realize how much really goes in to putting these massive productions together. It's also incredibly inspiring seeing what other kinds of works are out there, what people are doing, learning what you like, what you don't like. There are so many things that I learned from being in the audience about what makes a great show, what makes a great experience for the audience.
00:07:31
Speaker
The other thing that was really cool about me making this goal is that people in my life also latched onto it and started inviting me to more shows. So my dear friend Elise, who I'd known since we were 18 years old, invited me to go see our other friend, Fernando. We were all freshmen in college together.
00:07:47
Speaker
And he dances for Giordano Dance Chicago now. And so she said, do you want to go to Chicago with me and surprise Fernando for his performance? And that was awesome because I got to one, see a really dear friend in his element and see him really just shining in this company.
00:08:03
Speaker
and I also got to spend time with another dear friend that I don't get to see that often now that we don't dance together anymore. And I've moved out of Missouri. So that was really cool. And I also got to meet up with my mom and my sister to go see the Joffrey in Nashville. Because I'd been talking about this, my mom said, why don't we all go get together and go see this performance in Nashville and have a whole weekend out of it? And so that was really awesome. My sister got engaged that same weekend, so I got to be there for that. So there were definitely opportunities that came up because I spoke this into existence and said, I want to achieve this goal. Other people said, hey, that sounds cool. Let's do it together. So I feel really good about that for me personally, but also for...
00:08:41
Speaker
the performing arts in general because I want to inspire more people to go see more performances. I don't want to be a hypocrite and tell people they should go see performances and not be doing it myself. I hope that this inspires you to there and see what's going on in your community, see what is coming to your local theater. I also took my kids to a couple of shows, one theater and one ballet. I took them to see the Madison Ballet Nutcracker.
00:09:05
Speaker
And it overall went really well. What's interesting about them is they do pretty good during the performance, but they freak out during intermission. It's like they're just overstimulated and there's all these people and they just like kind of a mini meltdown during intermission. And that really stresses me out because the theater is like my sanctuary. So going into it, I have such reverence and respect.
00:09:25
Speaker
for that building. And when my kids are acting crazy, i definitely get triggered. and my expectations might be too high for a two-year-old and a five-year-old. I don't know.
00:09:37
Speaker
But I found it very challenging to go to performances with them because I just really want them to behave a certain way. And I think that also comes back to the whole idea of just in ballet, You're expected to always make it look easy and smile and show up no matter what's going on in your life. And so i guess I want to portray this like perfect family narrative that like my kids are well behaved and they are respectful of the theater and they know what to do in public. and But the reality is that they're kids and they get dysregulated when there's lots of big sounds and lots of people. And I do too. So that's definitely something that I need to figure out on my end because I don't want
00:10:13
Speaker
to stop taking them to performances because it stresses me out because I really do want to raise kids who at least want to go to the theater. Maybe they want to be performers. Maybe it inspires them to want to act or sing or dance and be on stage. But at the minimum, I want them – want to go see theater and to have that be a part of their life and to think of that when they grow up as an activity that they do, that they grew up doing. So that's been something interesting that I've been learning about myself is how stressful I find it to take my kids, but how important it is for me to figure out how to regulate my own emotions so that I can get them
00:10:50
Speaker
the experiences that I
Backstage Access and Appreciation for Ballet
00:10:51
Speaker
want them to have. My kids were super lucky because of the Nutcracker, because I work for the company. They got to go backstage after the performance and see some with the ballerinas. There are a few dancers in the company who also nanny for my kids, so they know them really well.
00:11:05
Speaker
And they got to go back and see them in their costumes. All of the stage managers and other people working backstage were so, so kind to my kids. One of them was showing my son how to use the cannon from the battle scene, showing them all the different props.
00:11:22
Speaker
And I was just so thankful to everyone in that moment because I know we were there on the Sunday show. it was the last show of the weekend. Everyone had just finished their performance. They're exhausted. They are ready to get home, have a break, and they took some time out of their afternoon to make this experience really magical.
00:11:43
Speaker
for my kids. So I really appreciated that and I'm really grateful for the community of people that they have around them. It truly is so magical for the kiddos. So anyway, this year has been an incredible year of theater, live performances. I am really excited to keep this going and I think it's really cool that this has now become a habitual thing for me. Like I just look for performances instinctually.
00:12:08
Speaker
This is like my go-to date night, my goto thing to do with friends that I want to invite them to Theater is alive and well, and we need to keep supporting it if we want it to stay that way. So let this be your challenge for 2026. Make a performance goal and see how much joy it really brings to your life because it really is amazing. My other big goal for 2025 was to take six dance classes.
00:12:32
Speaker
which I have not yet achieved. I'm at five right now. And I did find this incredibly challenging for two reasons. One, just time, trying to fit in classes. I don't live in a huge city like New York where there's unlimited open class options. There are surprisingly a lot of open adult dance classes in Madison, Wisconsin. There are some really amazing classes great studios, a lot of options, but still not unlimited. So finding the time to get into class was challenging. And also i just have been dealing with a lot of back, neck, shoulder issues that have been ongoing, but they do make it also challenging to get into class because I can't lift my left arm above my head most days. And I haven't been able to for two years. Unless I do a huge rib flare and totally just like splay everything out. If I'm keeping everything in alignment, that arm is not going above my head. And I also am having a lot of flare-ups. Like I'm currently dealing with a pretty bad flare-up of my neck and shoulder issues. I can't turn my head all the way to the left.
00:13:36
Speaker
So looking at the next two
Physical Challenges and Body Awareness
00:13:38
Speaker
weeks, I don't think I'm going to get into a class because of the issues I'm dealing with. So I'm okay with that because five is still way more than zero. And the year before, I only went to one dance class. So five is still way more than one. I'm proud of myself for going, even though i knew some days I wasn't going to be very good on my end and that I wasn't going to maybe live up to my expectations or standards. But it still felt really good to get in the studio. Nothing can quite compare to that feeling. Even though I teach still and I'm in the studio, nothing compares to the feeling of taking your own class. It's always been a really meditative moment for me. It's one of the rare times that I'm not on my computer or not on my phone for that period of time for an hour and a half. I took for granted having that as a dancer, having that hour and a half every single day to spend on yourself. And to just get into like a flow state, basically, i do really miss that.
00:14:33
Speaker
So I'm going to keep trying in 2026, but I am still trying to deal with all of these injuries, and all these issues. And I've had to come to terms with the fact that it's not probably ever going to be totally resolved. I'm probably going to deal with this for my life, which is something that I was not really accepting for a while.
00:14:54
Speaker
It's natural as humans to want a resolution. Like you want to be able to check that box. Okay, I went to PT. I healed that injury. I'm good. Check the box. Move on.
00:15:05
Speaker
And sometimes that happens where you have a freak accident and you're able to kind of rehab it completely and move on. But for a lot of the chronic things that we deal with, that's never going to be the case. And I really felt like I was like, okay, I'm going to get to this place where it's better and then I can move on with my life. And I'm realizing that it's really going to be an ongoing chronic thing that I'm going to have to do the same three exercises every day, probably for the rest of my life if I want to be able to stay pain-free and to stay fully functional.
00:15:35
Speaker
But that has been something that in 2025 I've really been focusing on is doing everything in my power to resolve this issue. It's been an issue for about, well, truly about seven years. It's been building, but it got really bad after I had my second daughter. Postpartum, my pelvic floor was completely toast, which led to so much compensating. And basically what ended up happening is I was primarily using my trap to lift my arm because I wasn't firing my core. I wasn't firing my back. Everything was coming up in my shoulders. And I'd been in PT for a while and I was seeing really no improvements, like to the point where I was like, what am I doing? I'm not seeing any difference here. And it wasn't until I had this huge light bulb moment this summer, I met with Jennifer Milner, who is an incredible Pilates teacher, but just like really movement practitioner. And she specializes in hypermobility. And one thing that I did not know about myself, even though I danced professionally for a decade, is how hypermobile my shoulders are. I always knew that my knees were really hypermobile.
00:16:46
Speaker
And so I worked really hard to strengthen the glutes and to strengthen everything in my rotators be able to hold that without sitting back and locking into my knees. But maybe it's because my shoulder blades are behind me and I just didn't see them that much. like And no one ever told me. I never knew my shoulder blades were hypermobile.
00:17:03
Speaker
Once I realized that, everything kind of started to click into place of why I was having all of these shoulder issues. And so i met with Jennifer virtually. and for the first time, i had somebody explain to me what was happening within my body in a way that I understood. Because I had seen amazing PTs, like they were great, but they just didn't explain to me what was going on. And I think that is something that happens with dancers is that I think people assume that because we're dancers that we understand anatomy in general, but also we understand it functionally within our own bodies.
00:17:35
Speaker
And two, as dancers, we are really good at copying. We are trained to see a movement, copy it, make it look the same. When it comes down to it, like your choreographer most of the time doesn't care how you get there as long as it looks the way they want it to look, right? So you can compensate. You can do things physically incorrectly sometimes as long as you're making it look right. And so I think as a dancer, you can go into PT and you're trained to copy and execute. So like they would show me the exercise, I would do it.
00:18:11
Speaker
I wasn't doing it with the correct muscles that we were trying to train, but i guess it looked correct enough to pass. And so I really wasn't seeing any improvement. and then when I met with Jennifer and she explained to me like what I was actually supposed to be using and feeling, my mind, it was like the biggest light bulb moment I've ever experienced. And it changed everything because, you know, they kept saying, squeeze your shoulder blades together, activate your back. And so when I'm hearing that, I'm thinking like my the top of my back needs to squeeze together. And Jennifer is the first person to explain to me that like your psoriasis is wrapping around into the bottom of your rib cage. So those psoriasis muscles is what's pulling everything and moving your shoulder blades.
00:18:50
Speaker
hope I'm saying that right, Jen, if you're listening to this. But that's how I understood it. And that's what made sense to me was like, okay, you're not trying to necessarily move your shoulder blades. You're trying to move these muscles that are lower lower in your back that are really doing all the work to make everything work up top.
00:19:08
Speaker
And it also helped me understand like Just like your hip socket has to rotate to be able to lift, same thing in that shoulder socket. If you can rotate and almost like turn out within your back and your shoulders, then you have more mobility in your arms. So all of these things like all of a sudden just clicked in my brain, still had a lot of work to do, still have a lot of work to do to get that strength and to get the movement patterns back.
00:19:30
Speaker
Just having someone explain it to me and explain it in my language that I can understand was life changing. So I just encourage you as a dancer, if you have been dealing with something and you might have amazing people on your team, but if they're not explaining something to you in a way that makes sense to you, you have to be proactive and ask Maybe for another way to have it be explained.
00:19:51
Speaker
Just like as a dance teacher, i will try to explain things multiple different ways for multiple different people because we all have different learning styles. Same kind of thing. Ask if you're not understanding something.
00:20:02
Speaker
you know Say like, can you break this down for me like I'm five years old? No, I really do need you to talk to me like I am a kindergartner. What's happening here? How am I doing this? The other really... life-changing thing for me. and And I started working with both of these people around the same time. So it was like everything just started really changing. The other thing that really changed the game for me is when i started working with a massage therapist in Madison, Camille Sanchez, and she owns Avatar Healing. If you are in this area, you have to see her. She is an incredible massage practitioner. She does cupping. has made a huge, huge difference in my recovery.
00:20:36
Speaker
Everything she does, she's amazing at. But I think the most impactful thing that I found with working with her was that she really validated me. And same with Jennifer. Like the last time I saw her, she said to me, I don't want to freak you out or scare you, but this is one of the worst back shoulder issues that I have seen in my practice.
00:20:55
Speaker
And I said, that doesn't freak me out at all. That's actually incredibly validating because I'm over here going, am I just being a baby? am I just being ridiculous? Like just lift your arm above your head. It's not that hard. Why can't you do this? And just to have someone in validate to me like, no, this really is a big issue and you are not overreacting has been huge. And both Camille and Jennifer, but within like a week of each other, both said to me, I think you need to get an um MRI, which again, like I'd been in PT for so long. and No one had ever said that.
00:21:24
Speaker
But they were like, OK, something is like going on. That was another like just really validating push that I needed from somebody to say, hey, like you need to first pursue more medical treatment for this. Because again, I think I wouldn't have done that on my own because I wouldn't have actually even known that that's something that I needed to look into.
00:21:42
Speaker
i wouldn't have thought that it was worth it So having people on your team who are going to push you to advocate for yourself is super, super important. But overall, I'm just so grateful that I've been able to, one, just finally get some answers and get some clarity. And two, I've gotten a lot better this year at speaking up and advocating for myself, figuring out, and I think the biggest thing before is like, I wasn't necessarily shy about advocating, but I didn't really know what I needed.
00:22:10
Speaker
And so one thing I've really learned about myself in this process is that As a hypermobile person, I really need physical touch. Like when you're hypermobile, there's so many different options of where your joints can go. And so your body is like going through Rolodex, as Jennifer explained it to me, trying to search for which is the right option. And it's trying to do this very, very quickly. And it's very overwhelming and confusing for your body. And that's why you start doing weird compensatory patterns.
00:22:36
Speaker
And so I've had to really advocate and say, like, at the PT, I really need physical touch. I need you to guide it over and over again. My body needs that reinforcement. And so I know now to ask for that. I know what things I really need. Before, I didn't really understand that.
00:22:52
Speaker
And this is kind of a big PSA for dancers. Every dancer, but honestly, especially if you're hypermobile, which a lot of dancers are, i would really – advocate for working with somebody like Jennifer or somebody who specializes in hypermobility before you start having issues like me. Because what I've been going through has been constant.
00:23:12
Speaker
I mean, having neck pain and shoulder pain and back pain, I mean, it's your, that's what's holding you up. That's what's holding your head up. Like it makes everything so, so hard. And I don't want to see dancers get to a place where they've been working incorrectly for so long that they start having these issues like I'm having.
00:23:29
Speaker
Because when you're young, you're not going to feel it. Your body's going to work through it, but it's going to catch up to you. So please find somebody that can help you figure out the correct way to work and strengthen you in the way that you need specifically so that you can have a really long, and healthy career and not be 38 like I am and trying to figure out how to lift your arms above your head.
00:23:50
Speaker
and doing exercises that you're seeing much older people doing, like sliding a towel up a wall. Nothing wrong with it, but it's it's very humbling, to say the least, after you've been a professional dancer. So I don't want to see you get there. But coming back to what I said at the very beginning is I've just learned that this is going to be a lifelong thing. I'm never going to check the box and graduate from PT and say, okay, this is not going an issue anymore. I'm going to have to do...
00:24:13
Speaker
these things, this is a very weak spot in my body. And it's a very, my body is very prone to going into these incorrect positions. So it's going to be a lifelong journey of continuing to strengthen the exercises. I'm never going to have to stop.
00:24:28
Speaker
And accepting that it's like laundry. It's always going to keep coming up. has been really helpful to me because now I can play the long game and I can go slow and listen to my body. All those things we say, it feels a lot more manageable when you realize there's no finish line to be reached. It's just going to be continuous.
Mentoring Program Reflections and New Opportunities
00:24:48
Speaker
The last really big thing I want to talk about for 2025 before we move 2026 goals and overall themes is My program launch that I tried to do this summer that pretty massively failed.
00:25:01
Speaker
I talked about it at length in episode 67, but I wanted to launch a group mentoring program for dancers in the first couple years of a dance career because I know how hard those years can be. I wanted to really build a supportive community for those dancers, and it just didn't end up running.
00:25:17
Speaker
And I was really, really bummed about it. But what immediately triggered for me from that was I'm trying to really launch this program on a pretty global scale, But what I'm feeling pulled to do is make more of an impact locally. And this was like the first thought I had as it wasn't running, like maybe this is okay because what I'm really feeling in my heart is like I think I can make a bigger impact on a local scale instead of trying to do such a big global thing. And within a couple of weeks, I had a really cool opportunity pop up, which I was not expecting, and I probably wouldn't have been able to –
00:25:54
Speaker
do if this program had run. And so it was kind of one of those like, okay, you can't always see in the moment why something's happening the way it is, but trust the timing of the universe sort of thing. But I was approached by Madison Ballet's assistant stage manager, Chris Farenthold. And I know Chris listens to the podcast. So hi, Chris. But he approached me about a new initiative he was starting for the company called Madison Ballet Special Projects.
00:26:20
Speaker
And the whole idea of the initiative is to make ballet more accessible, more seen, kind of go behind the scenes and just bring our local community in to our world.
00:26:33
Speaker
And when he approached me, explained the concept to me, talked about what I would be doing. And I immediately was like, I'm in. And he said, I thought I had to convince you a little bit more. And I was like, no, I'm totally in. This is exactly what I am good at. This is my zone of genius. like This is what I want to be doing. I've seen the need for something like this in our community. And I was just so on board.
00:26:53
Speaker
And that's been a really cool journey. getting to support the ballet from a different side. I also started teaching company class at Madison Valley this year. So that's been so, so cool to get to know all the dancers better and to be a small part of their day.
00:27:08
Speaker
There's something about just being in a company setting that is really special. Just to be surrounded by so many driven dancers talented, hardworking people who are so so passionate about what they do.
00:27:20
Speaker
Like that's really special. And being part of that is really motivating for me. So I've been so grateful for that opportunity to get to teach one day a week and be a small part of their season. But behind the scenes with special projects, I've gotten to help plan some really cool community events and We launched a Nutcracker Storytime series at local libraries this year, which was hugely successful.
00:27:43
Speaker
And I definitely can feel the impact this is making on our community, on our ballet company. I feel like we're getting more people excited about ballet. We're getting people to the shows. It's been so special getting to work with this program and feel like I'm making a real difference in my community. And I am really grateful for the global impacts that Brainy Ballerina has made. I mean, this past year, I did workshops for conferences in Australia through Zoom all the way across the world. And I'm giving a lecture on critical thinking. Like, it's been incredible the global impacts that the Brainy Ballerina has made and how many people I've connected with. I have another conference in Australia coming up in 2026. I already have workshops scheduled for summer, 2026 in other states.
00:28:21
Speaker
And last I checked, this podcast has been listened to in 58 different countries. So not to minimize... the amazing achievement that it is to make a global impact through your business. And at the same time, i have continuously said how much I find it a struggle to be sitting in my basement alone, talking to what feels like myself. Even though I am talking to you, it's like I am still sitting here alone talking to your microphone.
00:28:47
Speaker
It's kind of like I'm leaving you a voice memo, a very long voice memo. But I have really found my community here. And I think that everybody needs a local dance community. You need your people where your feet are. And that is one of my big goals for 2026 is to be where my feet are.
00:29:06
Speaker
You may have heard this saying before, be where your feet are. And I've always really loved it, but it's really resonating even more right now because there's so many different things in my life pulling me I have my family, i have my business, I have my work here in the community. i have so many different things that are important to me.
00:29:23
Speaker
And my gut reaction a lot of the times is to always have this sense of FOMO to want to be like working on what I'm not working on. Like if I so carve out time to work on my business and I have to miss a family thing, I'm like so sad the whole time that I'm missing this family thing.
00:29:37
Speaker
If I'm at the family thing and I'm like, oh, I really need to work on this thing for my business, like my brain always tends to be where I'm not. And so I feel like being more involved in my medicine community has really shown me the benefit of being where your feet are. And it's just made it like so much more obvious to me how much I need that in my life, how much I need to be present in the thing that I'm currently doing instead of always thinking about 10 million other things. And that is a natural part of having a neurodivergent brain. So I understand how my brain is operating and I can't necessarily control that.
00:30:08
Speaker
But I think I can have that constant reminder to myself when things start running away, come back, be where your feet are, be present in this current moment. Everything else can wait.
00:30:18
Speaker
Do the thing you're doing right now really well and be fully there. And then you can do the next thing fully well. One really tangible way I'm doing this is I bought what's called a brick. It's this device for your phone and it literally is just like a square. and so what you do is you choose which apps on your phone that you want to brick.
00:30:38
Speaker
And so for me, that looks like mainly email and social media because what happens is that I use my phone so much for my work. that I tend to be always working.
00:30:50
Speaker
I'm a workaholic, like I will admit it, and I love to work. And so even when I'm supposed to be off work and relaxing or being with my family, I will instinctively reach for my phone because i want to check and see if anything's come through my email or check and see my social media, if there's any messages or anything. So what the brick does is you basically lock yourself out of all of these apps, the ones that are distracting for you,
00:31:18
Speaker
And then you cannot unlock it unless you are physically by this square. So for me, I put the square in a totally different room. And that's like just enough of a barrier for me to not bypass it.
00:31:33
Speaker
And it helps me get through the habitual part of just checking my phone. So I'll pick up my phone to check it without even realizing I'm doing it. And then I'll see that it's ripped. And I'm like, oh, yeah, I don't really need to be on my email right now. Put it down.
00:31:45
Speaker
You can look at it later. So I'm going to link that in the show notes because this has been a really tangible tool that I've told friends and family about. And I really do recommend it. Basically, you can change your phone into like a regular old school phone that just does text and phone calls, which I've been saying to people I know, like, I'm just going to go back to getting a landline because I am so sick of always getting feeling like I have to be connected all
Simplifying Life in 2026
00:32:08
Speaker
the time. So this has kind of done that task for me is turn my phone almost into like a landslide phone where I just can call and text people, but it takes away that temptation to always be on social media. So it helps me really be present. And again, be where my feet are.
00:32:23
Speaker
I usually like to pick a word of the year. So for 2026, my word of the year is simplify. And I feel like past me would have conflated simplicity with laziness when it comes to productivity. I really value simplicity in a ballet class and in a lot of different areas, but When it comes to productivity, that equals laziness in my brain. Like I should always be doing more.
00:32:52
Speaker
What if this is a thing that you should be doing because this will change the game? If you just did that one thing, then your business would blow up and you could have all this success. like It's so easy to get yourself into that spiral of like, this could be the one thing that changes everything. And that comes from a lot of our mentality around being a dancer. Like a lot of it is the numbers game, right? You have to go to a ton of auditions. You have to be out there. You have to be doing all these things.
00:33:17
Speaker
And that is true. And I'm no longer in that world, but I'm having a hard time shaking that feeling of like, oh, i have to be doing all of it. Which as a dancer also, by the way, you don't have to be doing everything.
00:33:30
Speaker
You can't do everything. So in 2026, I am trying to rewrite that story in my brain of simplicity to really being smart about what matters. So saying, okay, I cannot make everything matter at the same level. Like it just cannot. And as a high achiever, you know there's that saying, the way you do one thing is the way you do everything. And I used to like live by that saying. And I now hate that saying because it's like, that can't be true.
00:33:59
Speaker
Like you can't do everything 100% all the time. You are going to burn out so, so fast. So like do the things that matter to you really, really well.
00:34:10
Speaker
And then press the easy button on the things that don't matter to you as much. So ways I'm trying to be more simplistic is just overall less stuff. I feel like we all have just way too much stuff. I did a massive closet clean out this year and got rid of a ton of things, which felt very freeing.
00:34:29
Speaker
And I've identified just different things in my house or my business that were not working for me and sort of formulated new system. So being really intentional about like, okay, every time I do that thing every time i walk into that room, I feel incredibly stressed out. What is not working here?
00:34:44
Speaker
What is the system that will make this not a stressful experience? Because I spend... Most of my life, working on my business, being in my house, those things have to run well in order for me to not be stressed out. So being really intentional, and I'm going to keep going through this as I go into the new year of really identifying which areas are not working the way I want them to.
00:35:06
Speaker
and figure out a new system that works for me. And then another way that I'm really trying to simplify is just finding out what works and sticking to a routine instead of constantly changing it up. Our brains crave novelty as humans. We always want to do something new, but what really works And what we see results from is consistent, intentional action. And I have seen this in my life this year, coming back to like my neck and my back injury. It's tempting to want to keep getting new exercises and keep leveling up. And like, yeah, your body at some point will need to do that.
00:35:40
Speaker
But I have been shocked at how long I need to probably do the same exercises for and how always, again, need to keep doing those exercises for for the rest of my life to see the true results.
00:35:54
Speaker
Small, consistent growth that you do every day is going to be much more impactful than the thing that you do once a month that's big and flashy. Right? Like this is a marathon. It's not a sprint. It's really easy as we go into the year to have all these big goals and to be like, I'm going to do all these things and set huge sweeping resolutions that last two weeks and then we can't do it anymore. So what I would challenge you to do and what I'm thinking about is what is the smallest thing I can do that I can do every single day? And like just for instance, my skincare routine, and this is obviously personal, not dance related, but we all have skin. So yeah.
00:36:28
Speaker
It's relevant to us, right? But I really wanted to establish a very good skincare routine. i hate to admit it, but of those people who like didn't wash their face at night for a very long time. I know, very, very gross. But like I'd just get home and be so tired, I would just like fall into bed. So I have been washing my face consistently for a while now. But this year specifically, i was like, okay, I'm approaching 40. I need to get really serious about my skincare. And I would encourage you younger dancers, to do this way earlier. It's much easier to maintain. But I was like, I want to get really serious about this. So, you know, initially I'm like, okay, I'm going to do my red light mask every day. I'm going to dermaplane. I'm going to do my gua sha. I'm going to do all these things, all these different serums, lotions, you name it. Like I'm trying to do it.
00:37:11
Speaker
Obviously that doesn't work in the real world. It works like a week because you're excited about it. But then real life happens and you come home and you're exhausted. You just want to fall into bed. So then you do nothing, right? And then you're stuck again in this all or nothing cycle. So what I would say is for anything that you are experiencing like a big all or nothing mindset about, challenge yourself to figure out what is the minimum that you could do that would still be effective.
00:37:37
Speaker
So for me, my minimum effective skincare routine is I take a shower at night now, which has been a huge thing for me because what I realized is I hate washing my face in the sink, which is why I wouldn't do it.
00:37:48
Speaker
So now I'm a really consistent night shower person. I think I sleep better too when I'm like really fresh and clean. So now I'm a night shower person. So I wash my face in the shower.
00:38:00
Speaker
and do like a microdermabrasion pad. I do hyaluronic acid. I do like a really heavy cream. And that is my minimum skincare routine. If I'm having a day where I'm really feeling like I have more energy, I want to do some more pampering, I'll do the gua sha. I'll do the eyebrow eyelash serum. I'll do the red light mask. I'll do the eye patches. I'll do all the things. But I have this routine that I know I can do even on my most tired days. And I think you have to think of the same thing for anything in your life you want to do. That can translate so easily into dance, right? It's like maybe you have this really...
00:38:32
Speaker
intense warmup routine that you know really works for you and you want to do that. But some days you get late to the studio because you get out of school late or something happens, or maybe you're just really exhausted from the night before. You have had very little recovery time. So figure out for yourself, like, what is my minimum warmup routine that I could do on a really tired day and still make it happen?
00:38:54
Speaker
So maybe it's like, you know, i need to do something specific for my core, something specific for my back, Something for my glutes. Like you have like three exercises that you know These are my target areas that maybe are a little bit weak. I need to fire them up before class starts.
00:39:08
Speaker
You know, maybe it's like 10 jumping jacks to get your heart rate off. Like you have your things that you know, okay, this is my no-brainer warm-up routine that I'm just going to do and not think about.
00:39:19
Speaker
Because again, it's like sometimes you walk into studio and you're like, oh, what do I need today? and And your brain is so exhausted from rehearsals and choreography and all things you're doing. You can't even think about what you need to do. So take the decision-making out of it and just have or routine that you do.
00:39:33
Speaker
And then if there's days where you're feeling a lot more energy and you're feeling more motivated, then you can maybe do something else and do a little bit more. But you know that you have something you can turn to that is consistent and it's small, but it works. And you are going to see so much more results from that. But one thing that I've realized this year as well It takes way longer to see results from a new routine than most people have the patience for, myself included.
00:39:58
Speaker
Like it took me maybe six months of doing this exact same skincare routine every single night to see the results that I wanted. And now I'm really happy with my skin and I'm really happy with the way that I'm aging and I haven't done any other kind of treatments. Not to say I never will, but for now I'm okay with it. But it took me a really long time to see the results that I wanted from doing this consistent skincare routine.
00:40:20
Speaker
And it's the same thing with my neck and back and shoulder issues. It's taken me a really long time of small, consistent action to begin to see results.
00:40:31
Speaker
And so with that spirit in mind, I'm not really making a lot of big resolutions for 2026 because I feel like I still need time to work on the ones that I have. I'm definitely going to continue my performance goal. I'm going to try to reach those six dance classes again, and I'm going to continue working really focusing on healing my chronic injuries so that I can do all the things I want to do, enjoy my life, and just get back to a more simple place. So I'm actually trying to do less, not more, but do less really, really well. And I feel like for a while I had to almost do more as a new business owner to learn what worked and what didn't. You have that period with anything new where it's almost like just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.
00:41:16
Speaker
And I felt like I had to produce things in pretty mass quantities to figure out what worked and what didn't pretty quickly. And of course, things always keep changing, but I do feel confident now that I know what works and what doesn't. And so I can really simplify my systems. I can focus on the things I'm good at. I can start to delegate things that I don't want to do anymore and just really simplify my life.
00:41:41
Speaker
So if this is resonating with you, don't be afraid to keep your same goals you had last year and keep working on them. You don't have to come up with new things to do just because it's a new year. If those things are still in progress and you still need to work on them, that's great.
00:41:59
Speaker
Maybe you'll have new goals you want to reach in the spring or the summer. Be okay with taking the time that it takes to reach the goals that you want to reach. And just remember that it is going to take longer than you probably want it to.
00:42:12
Speaker
And that's okay. I'm right there with you. So here's to slowing down in 2026, focusing our attention on what matters, giving it our all when it counts, and being okay with letting it go when it doesn't. I am so excited to see where 2026 takes
00:42:33
Speaker
Thank you for tuning into the Brainy Ballerina podcast. If you found this episode insightful, entertaining, or maybe a bit of both, I would so appreciate you taking a moment to leave a rating and hit subscribe.
00:42:45
Speaker
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00:42:58
Speaker
I'll be back with a new episode next week. In the meantime, be sure to follow along on Instagram at The Brainy Ballerina for your daily dose of dance career guidance.