Reflective: an end of year reflection workbook

Reflective: a free, end of year reflection workbook with prompts for reflection and somatic invitations to support integration

December always feels different to the rest of winter. There’s an influx of light and togetherness, as we celebrate Christmas, Yule, and the solstice and this can come with intensity. Culturally, we’re pushed to finish the year at full speed and step into the next as a new version of ourselves. In the natural world, the earth is in deep rest. Trees are bare. The soil is quiet and dark. Everything essential is happening underneath the surface, gathering strength and resources for what comes next.

Winter is not a time for striving; it’s a time for gestation. As I've leaned into this more over the years, I save the majority of my intention setting for the end of Winter and the start of Spring. That said, I still see the turning of the year as a threshold, one that I choose to step over softly. A new calendar year offers an opportunity to step from old energy into new, in the same way the turning of each season does.

Winter is not a time for striving; it’s a time for gestation

For many years now, as we approach the end of a year, I've shut myself away from the world for a while, to light a candle and reflect on the year’s ending. I make this an intentionally gentle process, I take time to reflect, to be with my experiences over the past year, as a way of integrating them rather than rushing to make sense of them.

This is an embodied process; I breathe, soften and connect with my body. I notice what still feels heavy, what feels complete, and what I want to carry forward. Not in the form of unrealistic or unattainable goals, but in the form of a simple intention that can carry me over the threshold into, and through, the upcoming year.

I created Reflective, a workbook with reflective prompts and somatic invitations, to support you to do the same. This journey is about attention and intention, reflection, and somatic integration of your experience.

Setting an intention word for 2026

One of my favourite parts of the Reflective process is setting an intention word for the year. This can be a really lovely way to bring your hopes for the year into focus. An intention word becomes a guide. Not something that's set in stone, but a compass to follow, as you make your way through the year.

In the last couple of years my intention words have been 'balance' and 'joy'. I honour my intention word by holding it in my awareness and letting it guide me.

Sometimes that means bringing it to mind at various points in my day, asking myself "how do I bring more of this into my life today". Other times I let it inform my decisions; how I organise my work, how I rest, how I respond to challenges, or how I reconnect with myself when I feel pulled in too many directions.

More to explore within reflective

As well as the intention word setting process, you’ll find:

• Poems by some favourite writers, that celebrate and explore endings and beginnings

• Somatic invitations, exercises and prompts to support you to embody this process

• Reflective and body based questions to support attention, intention and integration
  

Trace the past year and notice moments of joy

The Reflective workbook will guide you through the process of exploring the past year, while noticing growth and moments of joy. This is your invitation to pause, rest and to integrate the year we’re leaving behind, so that you can turn your attention to the one we’re stepping into.

This workbook is available as a gift to members of my free and paid Patreon. I'd love to hear about your experience and what you connect with. To deepen your experience, you might want to check out my Fire of Changing Stories Sacred Somatic Journey, which will be launching later this month. You can incorporate the Reflective Process into this Journey. Sacred Somatic Journeys are audio-guided embodiment practices that invite you to inhabit your body, attune to the rhythms of the living world and explore the archetypal landscapes of your inner life. The full Journey will be available for paid Patreon members.

Drop me a message letting me know your intention word and how you'll be honouring it as we step into 2026.