The Gift of a Beginner: The Power of Starting Over

10 basic self-guided principles I’m using to start fresh in life

“The gift of a beginner is fresh eyes. The longer you’re in a field, the harder it is to perceive new truths.” — James Clear

Back to the Basics

Life is not a race, it’s a journey, in my humble opinion. Over the last decade, I’ve walked winding paths through cities, careers, relationships, and reboots. It seemed at every turn, I was reminded that there is power in starting over. One runs around in circles, literally laps around the block, until one day 

In 2022, I left NYC for Upstate New York, spent time in Berlin towards the end of 2023, and returned to the city in early 2024. I hit the ground running — teaching, dancing, reconnecting with friends & family — but just as momentum built, everything stalled. Studios shut down, leads dried up, friendships took odd turns, and I seemed to be lost as to where to start. Yet again.

I was back at square one. But this time, I was asking myself the challenging questions, the ones that were confronting:

Why am I back in NYC?

Have I learned, grown, or regressed in any way?

Who am I outside of work, career, or responsibilities?

What value do I bring to MYSELF?

Why is this happening FOR me (not TO me)?

That moment of reckoning forced me to strip things down in order to reflect, reset, and relearn what I thought I already knew. This meant reevaluating my goals, which were based on my needs in the present moment, something that I have struggled with most of my adult life. I wasn’t just starting over professionally — I was reestablishing who I was as a teacher, as an artist, and a person. I had to become a student again, even if that means that I have to be my own teacher.

1. Keep It Simple, Silly

A mentor and friend of mine once told me: “Just K.I.S.S. — Keep It Simple, Silly”, and it stuck.

I have since that time begun to simplify every area of my life — eating meals that nourish, wearing what I need, and showing up for daily practices. Simplicity has given me clarity.

Not everything important needs to be overthought or overdone. Sometimes, all that you need is already within a thought’s reach. You just have to slow down long enough to see it and tap into it. Speaking of slowing down…

2. Slow Down to Speed Up

I’ve spent years moving fast — thinking, working, dancing, reacting. But I’ve come to learn that speed doesn’t equal progress. Real momentum is built through intention, repetition, and presence.

In high school, I ran cross-country poorly but persistently. I placed last in most of the meets, but I always improved my time in each race, even if only by seconds.

I learned through experiences like those that that is what matters. I’ll take consistency over comparison any day.

3. Movement Is Medicine

As a dance and yoga teacher, I have found that most do not think of mobility as bodily maintenance or upkeep. Mobility is the capacity of the body to move freely and efficiently through a range of motion. Movement is the active expression of that capacity.

Together, they form the foundation of functional health. Mobility enables movement, and in turn, movement enhances mobility. Movement is medicine, and mobility is the gateway through which that medicine flows. This makes movement more than exercise for me. It’s an active form of healing and self-care.

Walking clears my mind.

Dance is the language my body speaks when words can’t.

Yoga asana (poses/postures) is my bridge between stillness and motion.

These practices help to ground me and allow for regulation of the nervous system. When everything else feels uncertain, I can always come back to some form of body autonomy such as the ones aforementioned.

4. Practice What You Teach

I’ve flipped the old saying, “Practice what you preach,” into “Practice what you teach.”

When I began cueing myself out loud (teaching myself as I would a class) during my personal yoga sessions, I found a new depth in my presence. Teaching became less about performance and more about authenticity. If I am being authentic towards myself, then it will express itself naturally.

Speaking out loud to no one, yet speaking as if to someone (that someone being me essentially), has helped me to develop compassion towards myself when I speak.

Just as I would speak to a client or student with understanding, patience, and compassionate guidance, I now speak out loud in the same way, especially when something triggers me into a former negative habit habit of calling myself “everything but the child of god” LOL. 

I remind myself to give myself the grace and compassion I wish I’d had at other times in my life.

5. Food Is Fuel

What you put in, you will get out. If you ingest unhealthy things, you’ll feel unhealthy eventually. Food and water should provide the fuel and energy the body and mind need to sustain themselves.

I’ve had a sensitive system for most of my life, so I pay attention to what I eat, especially now that I am older. No dairy. Less processed sugar. More green-leafy veggies, More fruits. Less stimulants. More holistic approaches.

“You are what you eat”. — Someones Mother

I don’t obsess over food, though I can, and I have in the past. I find myself asking nowadays, “Is this giving me life, or draining it?” That’s the lens I use. Nourishment doesn’t have to be rigid, it just has to be intentional. I try eating to fuel myself, not just because simply it’s appetizing or feels good. I can’t express enough the importance of proper nourishment, especially as someone who has a history of gastrointestinal and autoimmune issues.

6. Rest is Recovery

Rest is not a luxury — it’s a requirement. Like muscles after a workout, our minds and bodies need recovery time to heal and reset. That includes resting and sleeping with intention, too.

Up until about the age of 12, I hated taking naps. I just couldn’t sleep. For whatever reason, once I hit my preteens, I discovered that I suddenly could sleep anywhere, at any time. An odd talent, I know, but now as an adult, I realize I have always taken “power naps”, a short 15 to 20-minute rest, that gives a burst of sustained energy to go for the next few hours of the day.

Also, I believe in the concept of “active recovery,” a method of healing where an individual engages in low-intensity movement instead of complete rest when recovering from illness or injury.

Staying physically active during a recovery period promotes circulation, reduces stiffness, and supports healing without placing unnecessary stress on the body. It’s the middle ground between total rest and full activity.

For myself, that is the perfect hybrid, even when I am not necessarily healing from an illness or injury. I have often been reminded to rest, especially when I am really transfixed on a project, assignment, or activity. I find that setting alarms for when I work, eat, and even rest now is very useful.

7. Student of Self

I’ve always been a student of life. As a kid, I’d record and study dance scenes on VHS tapes, mimicking movements with nothing but curiosity and a reflective window. Or anytime I needed answers to anything or had a burning curiosity and desire to learn and/or know something, I’d open up a book, or magazine, or be at the library for hours.

I once won a collection of Encyclopedias when I was 8 years old. You couldn’t pay me to put those books down. That same spirit still drives me. I show up, I ask questions, I stay teachable, and I do not mind looking or feeling silly when learning new things. I enjoy studying and often learn the most when I do not even intend to study.

Growth doesn’t stop when the classroom ends. As a matter of fact bringing going out into the “real world” and practically applying acquired knowledge is where the true learning begins. 

8. Journal the Journey

Journaling, in all its forms, is how I connect everything to make sense of things in the world, especially that which applies to my life. It gives shape to thoughts that otherwise stay foggy. Additionally, it helps me to remember and stay connected to my history, my actions, and my thoughts from the past, both old and current.

It captures where I’ve been and how far I’ve come. When I look back on some of my materials such as journals, notes, poems, stories, etc, I am amazed that I had the foresight to document things in my life from when I was so young.

Sometimes it’s with a pen and paper. Other times, it’s in a voice memo or a video. It’s how I chart my growth and ground myself in the present. I wil say with the abundance of tools and options, while overwhelming at times, I am grateful to have options to be able to save and document my work both digitally and manually/physically.

9. Fail Forward

If you haven’t found out by now, I am here to tell you: 

Failure is no longer a threat… it’s a teacher. 

I don’t allow failures to define me but rather refine me. To “fail forward” is to move through a learned lesson with purpose. Failure is one of those things that, even I, we try to avoid because who the hell wants to fail?! I know I don’t!

But…

It’s a part of life that can be viewed as defeat or determination to learn and keep it moving. 

So then the upside to that is that we can learn from said mistake, mishap, or “learning moment” as opposed to wallowing in the emotions of the setback.

I now see fear as a signal to slow down, not a as a stop sign…

10. Face F.E.A.R.

Oftentimes, we make fear-based decisions simply because that is how the world is set up.

However, there are two ways one can go about thinking about fear that simplify its essence:

F*ck Everything And Run,

or

Face Everything And Rise.

Take your pick. That is about as simple as it gets when it comes to fear. So, choose wisely.

Coming Full Circle

I’ve learned that starting over isn’t a setback but rather a conscious return to your core. Through movement, rest, breath, creativity, and reflection, I’ve found my way back to the pourpose I originally intended for myself, not the image I once clung to. I’ve always been the person I was seeking beneath the noise.

Each day, within each moment, I am still learning, and unlearning. A work in progress that is always moving, never being still for too long.

One step, one breath, and one moment at a time is all that we need and all that we can ever really do.

Peace, Love & Overstanding