When movement became a challenge

In my late thirties, pain in my knees and feet became so severe that I lost the ability to walk normally. I was raising two young children, running a dance company, directing performance groups, and teaching dance from a stool with a microphone. The stress and physical challenges were overwhelming.

I signed up for a workshop with Lynn, visiting from New York at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks in Calgary. Her exploration of movement patterns introduced me to a name I had never heard before: Touch for Health. Then she shared words that stopped me: “I have the gifts of my injuries.”

How could the pain that had taken so much from me be a gift? Yet Lynn’s perspective opened a new possibility. Perhaps I could learn to understand my body differently instead of seeing only what I could no longer do.

Finding Touch for Health

This was before Google. It took nearly a year of searching to find a teacher. I first discovered training in Malibu, California, but I lived in Alberta. Eventually I found Greg Webb in Calgary, where I could attend classes and receive private sessions. As I explored Touch for Health® Levels 1–4, I began rebuilding my relationship with movement and discovering how actively I could participate in my own well-being.

When I thought my family might move, I decided to pursue instructor training while it was available. But I was terrified. I doubted that I knew enough or deserved to be there. So I called Lynn in New York, reminded her of her Calgary workshop, and told her about my fears.

Her reply was simple: “Dear, everything you need to know is already inside you.”

Those words gave me the confidence to attend eight intensive days of Touch for Health® instructor training. That experience transformed my understanding of possibility, intention, and the body’s capacity for change. I have never looked back.

A shared passion for movement at every age

I am delighted to see Lynn continuing to teach and share her work at 83, including movement opportunities for older adults through dance. My own path now includes seated and standing Tai Chi, where we explore balance, coordination, flexibility, confidence, and the joy of moving well. Different movement languages can share the same belief: our age or challenges need not define our possibilities.

Three years of Movement and Music

Over the past three years, I have created Movement and Music programs that bring together my lifelong passion for dance, music, and the arts through the power and artistry of Tai Chi movements. Each exploration invites participants to discover new relationships between movement, intention, rhythm, breath, and personal awareness.

Touch for Health® knowledge and techniques remain at the core of these movement explorations. The framework that Lynn helped me discover continues to guide how I invite people to observe their own movement, notice change, and explore possibilities without being limited by a single prescribed outcome.

These programs, including recordings and resources for exploring at your own pace, can be found in the Greenwell Center shop. They are a celebration of everything I love about dance, music, Tai Chi, and BioEnergetic Wellness.

From one dance workshop to a university program

Perhaps the most extraordinary ripple effect is the new BioEnergetic Wellness program being developed at Akamai University International, within the College of Integrative Health. As Department Chair of BioEnergetic Wellness, I am helping shape an educational pathway that recognizes whole-person development, movement literacy, reflective learning, and the potential within each student.

I can trace the courage to take on this new challenge back to Lynn’s encouragement. Her belief that the knowledge and potential we need can be discovered within ourselves gave me confidence first to become a Touch for Health® instructor, and now to help create opportunities for a new generation of learners and facilitators.

Congratulations, Lynn Simonson, on your 2026 Dance Teacher Award! Thank you for showing me the gifts within my injuries and helping me trust the possibilities within myself. Your influence continues to move through every class, program, and educational vision I create.

Read Lynn’s Dance Teacher award profile and explore the Movement and Music offerings in our shop.

The post The Gifts of Our Injuries: Celebrating Lynn Simonson and a Lifetime of Movement first appeared on Greenwell Center for Holistic Health.

In this circle, every question leads to another, every idea is met with hesitation, and every decision feels premature. We become trapped in a loop of “What if?” — what if I fail, what if I’m wrong, what if I’m not ready? The longer we linger there, the more that circle tightens, leaving us spinning in place rather than moving forward.

Understanding the Roots of Uncertainty

Uncertainty is a natural part of growth. Our brains are wired to seek safety, stability, and predictability. When something feels unfamiliar or beyond our control, our survival instincts activate — urging us to pause, question, and analyze before proceeding. In moderation, this mechanism protects us. But when it dominates our thinking, it becomes paralyzing.

This paralyzation is often linked to past experiences — times when our actions were criticized, our confidence was shaken, or the outcome didn’t meet our expectations. These moments imprint on our subconscious mind, forming an association between risk and pain. So, we circle back to familiar patterns of uncertainty, mistaking them for safety.

But there’s an irony here: the Circle of Uncertainty feels safe because it keeps us from failure, yet it also keeps us from success. It becomes a comfort zone disguised as caution — a place where we can justify inaction because “we’re still figuring it out.”

The Illusion of Control

Many people stay within the Circle of Uncertainty because they believe that by endlessly analyzing and preparing, they can eventually eliminate risk. But life doesn’t work that way. No amount of contemplation can provide absolute certainty. Every step forward — even the smallest one — carries a degree of unpredictability.

When we try to outthink uncertainty, we actually strengthen it. The mind loops between possibilities, playing out scenarios, seeking perfection or proof before acting. This overthinking creates the illusion of control, but in truth, it only feeds the chaos.

To step out of the circle, we must accept that uncertainty will always exist. The goal isn’t to eliminate it — it’s to move gracefully within and beyond it.

Taking the First Step Out

The beauty of breaking free from the Circle of Uncertainty is that it doesn’t require a massive leap. It begins with a single, conscious step — one small action rooted in trust rather than fear.

That step might be saying yes to a new idea, making a decision without overanalyzing, or trusting your intuition over external validation. Each step you take expands the circle until, eventually, it dissolves.

When you step outside the circle, the world looks different. The colors of opportunity and possibility reappear. You begin to see that the circle was never a barrier; it was simply a reflection of your own hesitation. The moment you shift from questioning to experiencing, uncertainty transforms into curiosity, and fear transforms into growth.

Finding Comfort in Movement

Movement — whether physical, emotional, or energetic — is the antidote to stagnation. When you move, you create flow. Flow is where creativity, intuition, and insight live.

This is one reason practices like Tai Chi, dance, or mindful movement are so powerful. They teach the body and mind how to move through resistance with grace. Each breath, each motion becomes a gentle reminder: life doesn’t happen when we stand still; it unfolds as we move.

Stepping out of the Circle of Uncertainty is an act of movement — an energetic decision to stop swirling in chaos and start dancing with possibility.

The Comfort of Chaos

It might seem strange, but for many people, the chaos of uncertainty becomes comfortable. It offers a strange kind of familiarity — a story we know well. We might even feel productive when we’re worrying or planning. Chaos can become a habit, and like any habit, it takes awareness and intention to change.

Ask yourself:

• What am I gaining by staying in this circle?
• What am I avoiding by not stepping out?
• What could be possible if I took one small step forward?

When you become aware of how you hold yourself in uncertainty, you begin to loosen its grip.

The Power of Trust

The antidote to uncertainty is trust — trust in yourself, in your process, in the unfolding of life. When you begin to trust your inner knowing, you no longer need every answer before taking action. You recognize that each step will reveal the next one.

Trust shifts your energy from fear to flow. Instead of resisting what you don’t know, you begin to engage with it — as a co-creator, not a victim.

Every breakthrough, innovation, or transformation begins with someone willing to step into the unknown. That willingness is the doorway out of the circle.

A Closing Thought — and an Invitation to Step Forward

The Circle of Uncertainty will always invite you back — whispering old doubts, questioning your worth, or tempting you to wait “just a little longer.” But you now know its pattern.

When you find yourself caught there again, pause. Take a breath. Then take one small, intentional step in a new direction.

That single step is your declaration: I choose growth over fear. I choose clarity over confusion. I choose to move forward.

The moment you do, the circle breaks — and a new path begins to unfold.

If you’re ready to step out of uncertainty and into motion, I invite you to explore the programs at the Greenwell Center for Holistic Health:

Movement and Music – where dance, Tai Chi, and intuitive creativity blend into embodied exploration. Spring and Fall sessions welcome participants of all levels to rediscover freedom and flow.

Tai Chi Cape Breton – gentle weekly classes that connect breath, balance, and community across the island. Learn to move with the rhythm of nature and cultivate inner peace.

Qi YINtegration – an advanced journey that blends Qi Gong, energy awareness, and sound to harmonize body and spirit.

And, in West Kelowna and Peachland, BC, Wine Country Tai Chi Society offers Tai Chi at their in-person classes throughout the week.

Storytelling Workshop (February) – an inspiring space to explore your personal story through movement, word, and reflection — helping you transform uncertainty into expression and empowerment.

Each of these offerings invites you to move beyond hesitation and embrace the beauty of possibility.

Join us — take one step beyond the circle, and let life unfold from a place of trust, creativity, and flow.

The post The Circle of Uncertainty: Breaking Free from the Loop of Self-Doubt first appeared on Greenwell Center for Holistic Health.