The Top 10 Things I learned from Dancing Every Day in August

Hey Gorgeous!

If you’ve been following my emails and social media, you've heard me talk and post about my dancing every day in August experiment, fondly called “Wake and Shake.” 

It began when I received and followed a nudge from the Universe to shift up my morning routine and elevate my physical, emotional, and spiritual vibration. The one thing that does this for me every time is dance.  I’ve had the notion in the past to dance everyday, but I’ve never made the stated commitment.

And so I did in August. 

Soon it became more than just a personal vibration experiment, but an experiment using social media for accountability and growth.


10. Music in the morning helps me come alive 

I don’t know if it’s something inherently human, or ingrained in my nervous system, but give me some deep, booty shaking bass and I feel a fullness of being, like my whole self has come to the table. 

Versus when I wake up and go straight into other favorite morning practices like journaling or listening to inspirational recordings, podcasts etc., I feel very cerebral and like a major part of my operating system is not online. 


9. Shaking my booty gets my energy flowing better than coffee!

Any athlete knows that movement first thing in the morning elevates the heart-rate, and deepens our breathing, therefore carrying more oxygen to our cells, including our brain. 

The brain uses about three times as much oxygen as muscles in the body, so jumpstarting the day with heart-pumping movement supports our cognitive function : like decision making, task execution, memory, and motor function. Who doesn’t want that? 

I notice that on particularly vigorous Wake and Shake mornings, I would not need or desire coffee as I normally do. I also noticed the absence of this clarity & focus when I waited until later in the day for a “mid-day shake.” 



8. I’m just scratching the surface of the potential benefits of this practice. 

For most of my Wake and Shakes, I would dance 3-10 minutes on camera only. There were only two or three days out of the entire month that I began dancing before shooting, or continued dancing after completing the broadcast. Usually when I had a really good track on or when I was having set up issues. 

I definitely felt the physical, and often the emotional benefits that I set out to achieve, but the Spiritual part of the experiment I feel like I was just scratching the surface. 

See, if we move long enough, we can achieve flow state, where we release the ramblings of our pre-frontal cortex and slip into a thoughtless, ego-less meditative state. Our brain releases a highly potent cocktail of “feel good” neurochemicals that are often experienced as “pure bliss” or joy. Which I often experience as feeling the Grace of God. Not that this is a destination or finite goal, but I know that there are deeper levels of Spiritual and inward connection that is available through this practice. I think that the Social Media aspect is a contributor to this, and I speak more about it in #6. 


7. I LOVE the process of discovering new music! 

In the last few years, I haven’t been exploring music as much as I had in the past. Years ago, when I was teaching weekly hoop dance classes and creating unique performances, I was constantly listening to new music on several different platforms, always on the lookout for new, great music to dance to. 

It can be a painstaking task, as there’s a lot of garbage out there, but it can also be highly rewarding discovering a gem that instantly goes straight to #1 on your personal playlist! 

That said, I had forgotten how fun it can be surfing the musical offerings of the mainstream as well as the underground, and today, I revel in how easy it is to find fun, new (if only to me) music and instantly purchase or add to my library. 


6. I gained awareness around what takes me out of my commitment.

I have learned about a lot of my commitment patterns through my regular fitness routine, and especially in the years I trained in endurance running. But it’s always a great check-in to re-visit what takes us out of our commitment to ourselves. 

For those of us identifying as “recovering people pleasers” or “Obligers” (according to Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies framework), this is essential. 

Though I’m not great with “everyday” challenges, I was REALLY into this one. Over the course of 31 days, I missed four total Wake and Shake dance parties, for reasons ranging from completely legit, to self-sabotage.

I intentionally took the day off after my surgery, though I did fantasize of doing a video from bed. It came down to a deep compassion for myself and a recognition that I was doing the challenge for me, and me alone, and that day, my healing requested something different from me. 

Another day missed was due to poor morning planning mixed with contract workers in the house all day. I can get SUPER self conscious about my work and fully expressing myself when there are people working in my home. I even get self conscious about it when Nick is home sometimes, though several W&S were done in his immediate proximity, so that felt like some growth. 😍 

Finally, I missed a day where I was in a super low-vibrational state from a conflict I had with Nick. It happens. We’re not perfect. We are learning how to how to grow a long term, loving, intimate marriage, and it’s not always an easy road. Though, ideally in the future, I will use W&S to support my own vibration shift in these situations, instead of allowing them to keep me from it.

Perhaps he and I W&S together?!? 



5. Social Media accountability double edge sword 

This is an interesting one that surprised me. 

On one hand, the use of social media was stellar in holding me accountable. As mentioned above, I identify as an “obliger”, according to Gretchen Rubin’s 4 Tendencies framework, so being accountable to external sources is a great hack for me. I'm getting really into life-hacking working WITH my tendencies, vs. against them - that's a whole other conversation, so stay tuned. 

I also ADORED all the peeps who connected with me in support, inspiration and affirmation along the way. Some peeps I hadn’t heard from in a long time, and others who joined the challenge and danced with me & tagged me in their videos - you know who you are!!! 

That said, something shifts in me when the camera is turned on. It’s not bad, and it’s still authentic, real and ME, however, it shifts the dance from being a personal practice to an invitation to join me.  I try not to let it get ‘performative’, because that is certainly a different quality that I am not trying to create. I think I’m still working this one out, so stay tuned for more thoughts here on the social component. 

4. I achieved the Holy Grail of Learning: Learning while having FUN! 

Part of the ‘dance everyday’ experiment was to teach myself and utilize various different ways of communicating and sharing content on social media. I really want to utilize Instagram more, and saw this as a way to familiarize myself with this platform. 

I was in the doctor’s office the other day and witnessed an elderly couple in the waiting room struggling through the iPad intake form, and being gently guided through the process by the admitting nurse. And while the gesture was wonderful, it nudges me further and further to keep up to speed with evolving technology. 

I think it’s so important that we continue to learn as adults, even if it’s learning more about a social media platform! 

3. My days were genuinely better when I did my Wake and Shake : because I was upholding my commitment to myself.

I definitely achieved my goal of elevating my emotional vibration with a daily Wake & Shake dance party. Not only for the reasons listed in this top 10, but for the very reason of upholding a commitment I had made with myself. 

Journeying through the experience of depression is a tricky road. For me it felt like no matter what I set out to do I would fall short of my goals, expectations, and take it out on myself harshly and unforgivingly, thus continuing the downward spiral. 

Half of that scenario was due to holding outrageous expectations of myself, (who, me?? Maybe you, too?) and the other half of that was the depression. So, to begin hacking this, I set the small goal of dancing everyday. Which for me was stretchy enough (daily commitment) but desireable enough (music & dancing, YAY!) that it felt achievable. 

And every day that I danced, I felt a surge of confidence and self-satisfaction for completing the dance, because I squeezed through any resistance and stayed the course of my word with myself. 

2. I was more likely to do my other morning practices, self care, & eat well throughout the day 

Self-commitment has a domino effect - I found that W&S was the perfect kickstart to launch me into my other grounding morning practices like stretching, journaling, meditation and affirmations. Again, launching my morning with music and movement drops me right into my body, gives my brain a chance to come online gently, and at a high vibration that I generate from within. 

At that point I am primed to engage in more cerebral practices like journaling and meditation, and I feel they have an indelibility that doesn’t exist on the same level prior to W&S, as every cell in my body feels awake and alive. 

1. Wake and Shake is a way of Life!

Likely not a surprise, but Wake and Shake lives on! 

At the end of August, after my official “experiment” time had ended, I stopped doing my daily dance parties. 

And wouldn’t you know, after about a week of not dancing in the mornings, I felt a noticeable difference in my demeanor. My mood, my focus, and my energy level were significantly less expansive! 

I realize that I’ve uncovered a powerful tool for my mindset and performance, and now that my boob cyst incision site has healed, and I have been cleared for movement, I am Waking and Shaking again!

And I invite you to join me! I broadcast on Instagram @bexburtoncoaching, and the replay is always available in my feed for you dance at your own convenience! 

Ok, so now I want to hear from YOU. Leave your comments below.

Are you in a daily commitment with yourself? 

What supports your commitment? 

What are your morning practices? 

What are you creating in / for your life that these practices support?? 

With so much LOVE, 

xo bex 

PS: I used to struggle handling my day-to-day. I had commitments out the wazoo, time crunches every single day, conflict in my marriage, struggles in my business, weight gain and zero energy. I had let everything in my life become more important than ME: my relationship with myself, my emotions, needs and desires. 
Ever feel that way?

Dancing everyday has helped me, and it's literally one piece of the puzzle that supports my success in life, in love, and in business. If you'd like tools or support for YOUR success, let's have a conversation.  I wouldn't be able to dance everyday or do the work I do without my team of support, including therapists, coaches, healers and friends, and I know you have important work to do too. 

Click Here to apply for a call with me today.

Loving you!