When Alignment Requires Everything: January, Transition, and Choosing a Life That Feeds My Soul

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post.

Not because I haven’t had things to say, but because life has been full. Full in the kind of way that stretches you, asks more of you than you expected, and invites you to meet yourself honestly in the middle of it.

I knew January was going to be a lot. I could see it coming.

What I didn’t fully realize was how much it would ask of me, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Back in October, I made the decision to begin transitioning out of my work in India, work that has been part of my life and heart for nearly ten years. At the same time, I was saying yes to new beginnings: launching Dance to Uplift classes, opening a new West Coast Swing social in Pleasant Grove, committing to 365 Days to Uplift, and stepping into the creation of something new alongside my husband and our partners.

January became the intersection of endings and beginnings.

Of honoring what has been, while courageously stepping into what’s next.

And while it was full, sometimes overwhelmingly so, it was also deeply alive.

Leaving a Chapter That Shaped Me

Back in October, I made a decision that had been quietly forming in my heart for some time: I chose to begin transitioning out of my role working with individuals and families affected by leprosy in India, a mission and calling that has been part of my life for nearly ten years.

This work has always felt personal to me. Growing up, I knew what it was like to experience hardship early in life, to navigate circumstances that required resilience, adaptability, and finding strength from within before I ever had language for it. Because of that, I have always felt a deep connection to those walking through suffering, not from a place of fixing, but from a place of understanding.

That chapter shaped me in profound ways. It taught me humility, compassion, and what it truly means to walk alongside people with dignity through challenge and healing. It reminded me that healing is not linear and that presence often matters more than solutions. This work lives in my bones.

When I shared my decision, my boss asked for at least four months to transition. I agreed, knowing that the work—and the people—deserved care, continuity, and respect. That meant January would be the final full month of holding both worlds at once.

What I didn’t yet realize was that January would also become a convergence point for nearly everything else I love and am building.

January: When Everything Happened at Once

By the time January arrived, my plate looked something like this:

• Training my replacement while still working 40 hours a week

• Launching my January Dance to Uplift classes in the evenings

• Opening and hosting my UPLIFT West Coast Swing Social in Pleasant Grove

• Continuing to build 365 Days to Uplift, a daily practice of movement, breath, and nervous system healing

• Laying the foundation for launching a new company with my husband and business partners

• Holding space for my family, relationships, and personal healing

• And, perhaps most importantly, learning how to listen to my body through it all

  
  

Looking at it now, I can see why January felt so intense. I bit off a lot. More than I realized at the time.

But here’s the truth: it wasn’t chaos, it was alignment under pressure.

Doing What You Love Changes Everything

Even in the exhaustion, something felt different.

I wasn’t depleted in the way I’ve felt before. I was tired, yes, but I was also alive. Energized. Lit up. Inspired.

Because everything I was doing, even when it was hard, was rooted in what I love most:

• Dance

• Connection

• Healing

• Community

• Creation

• Presence

  
  

When you step into work that is aligned with who you are at your core, your nervous system responds differently. There’s effort, but there’s also flow. There’s responsibility, but there’s also joy.

I’ve watched this truth unfold not just in my own life but also in the lives of my students, couples, and community members through dance, especially West Coast Swing.

Dance as a Language of Regulation and Connection

Dance has been one of the greatest teachers in my life. It has shown me how to:

• Slow down when I want to rush

• Listen instead of forcing outcomes

• Stay present instead of dissociating

• Regulate my nervous system through rhythm and connection

• Build trust without words

• Celebrate progress instead of chasing perfection

  
  

This is why my work, whether it’s Move with Meaning, Live in Love, or UPLIFT, is never just about learning patterns.

Dance is simply the language we practice connection in.

And in January, when everything felt like it was happening at once, dance became the anchor that kept me grounded.

365 Days to Uplift: A Practice That Holds Me

I originally created 365 Days to Uplift as a way to support others with daily moments of grounding, healing, and presence.

But here’s the quiet truth: This practice has been for me, just as much as for anyone else.

Starting each day with intention, with breath, movement, reflection, or stillness, kept me energetically aligned when life could easily have tipped into overwhelm.

It reminded me to ask:

• What does my body need today?

• Where can I soften instead of pushing?

• How can I meet this moment with curiosity instead of control?

  
  

This daily ritual kept my nervous system regulated enough to hold everything else. It kept me anchored in the vibration I needed to meet the responsibilities and opportunities arriving in my life.

Community Changes Everything

One of the most beautiful surprises of this season has been the people who have shown up.

The dancers who walked into class nervous and left smiling.

The couples who chose to spend intentional time together instead of defaulting to distraction.

The community members who showed up to the UPLIFT social ready to connect, move, and be present.

The conversations, laughter, and shared moments on the dance floor.

When you step into alignment, the right people find you.

And I have felt deeply supported by the community growing around Dance to Uplift, here in Utah County, Pleasant Grove, Mapleton, and beyond.

Building Something New Takes Courage

Launching something new always does.

There are moments of doubt. Moments of fatigue. Moments where you question whether you’re doing enough or too much.

January held all of that.

But it also held something else: creation energy.

There is something powerful about allowing yourself to build a life and business that reflects who you are now, not who you were ten years ago, or even one year ago.

This season has required trust. Trust in my body. Trust in timing. Trust in the unfolding.

And each time I’ve leaned into that trust, something has met me there.

Alignment Is Not the Absence of Effort

This is something I want to say clearly, especially for those who are on their own healing or transition journeys:

Alignment does not mean ease all the time.

It does not mean rest without responsibility.

It does not mean things magically happen without effort.

Alignment means:

• Your effort feeds you instead of draining you

• Your work reflects your values

• Your body feels included in the process

• Your nervous system feels supported rather than ignored

• Your joy matters

  
  

January asked a lot of me, but it also gave a lot back.

What I’m Carrying Forward

As I step fully into this next chapter, here’s what I’m taking with me:

• A deeper respect for my body’s signals

• A renewed commitment to daily grounding practices

• Gratitude for the work that shaped me and the work that’s emerging

• Trust that slowing down creates stronger connection

• The knowing that joy is not optional, it’s essential

  
  

I feel blessed. Truly.

Not because everything has been easy, but because everything has been meaningful.

An Invitation

If you’re reading this and feeling stretched, tired, or standing at the edge of a transition, know this:

You’re not behind.

You’re not doing it wrong.

And you’re allowed to choose a life that nourishes you.

Whether through dance, movement, breath, or simply learning to listen to yourself more deeply, connection is available.

And it doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful.

Live in love, Move with Meaning. Play Passionately.

Shalay