A New Beginning with a Birthday!
Sept. 1st
Written By Dawn Schaefer Stumpf
PHOTO: My favorite way to celebrate another year is simple; family on the pontoon eating pizza! What’s your favorite way to celebrate? Email me your response for a chance to WIN a free REIKI SESSION or CLASS SESSION as my birthday gift to YOU!
September can be a month of beginnings.
The air begins to change. The light softens. Children return to school. Routines shift. Summer slowly releases its fullness and autumn begins to arrive.
And for me, September also brings a very personal beginning: my birthday.
Birthdays have a funny way of making us look both backward and forward.
We remember where we've been.
We notice what has changed.
We celebrate what has grown.
And sometimes, we quietly wonder, What comes next?
We often think of renewal as something that happens in the spring. But I wonder if renewal can happen at any time—and perhaps especially when we give ourselves permission to pause and reflect.
A birthday doesn't mean starting over.
It means beginning again from where you are.
The body and mind are constantly changing. We are not the same person we were a year ago, or even yesterday. Experiences shape us. Challenges teach us. Relationships stretch us. Joy expands us.
Body-Mind Therapy invites us to notice these changes rather than simply moving past them.
When we pause and become aware of our breath, our body, and our inner experience, we create a little space between what has been and what comes next.
And in that space, something new can emerge.
Maybe renewal isn't about becoming someone different.
Maybe it's about returning to something within us that we've forgotten.
A little more play.
A little more rest.
A little more courage.
A little more connection.
A little more kindness toward ourselves.
This September, as I celebrate another year of life, I'm reminding myself that every birthday is more than a marker of time.
It is an invitation.
To reflect.
To appreciate.
To release what no longer serves us.
And to wonder, with curiosity rather than pressure:
What is ready to be born in me now?
Monthly Body-Mind Strategy: The Renewal Pause
Find a comfortable place to sit or stand.
Place one hand over your heart and one hand over your belly—or simply rest your hands wherever they feel comfortable.
Take 3 slow, easy breaths.
With each breath, gently notice:
Reflect:
What is something from my past I want to celebrate?
Release:
What is something I am ready to let go of?
Renew:
What is something I want to welcome, grow, or begin?
You don't have to solve anything.
Simply notice what comes up.
Your nervous system benefits from moments like this because intentional pauses interrupt the constant push toward the next thing. Bringing awareness to the breath and body can help us slow down, connect with the present moment, and respond to ourselves with greater intention.
Then finish with one simple statement:
“I am allowed to begin again.”
Maybe September is not asking us to reinvent ourselves.
Maybe it is simply reminding us that life is full of new beginnings.
Every breath offers one.
Every season offers one.
And sometimes, a birthday does too.
As I step into another year, I'm choosing to welcome it with gratitude for what has been, curiosity for what is coming, and openness to what is ready to grow.
Here's to another year of becoming.
Another year of beginning.
Another year of being fully alive.
Wishing you a September filled with reflection, renewal, and beautiful new beginnings.
—Dawn
