A Mindfulness Practice for December Stress: The Year-End Exhale

The holidays can feel heavy. Learn the Year-End Exhale, a calming December practice to ease stress, create space, and reconnect with yourself before the new year.
SOMA | The ARC-G Well

Welcome back to ARC-G Well, a space to pause, reflect, and reconnect with yourself each week. As we step into the first days of December, I want to offer you something that honors the reality of this season while creating more room for ease inside it.

The first week of December always carries a particular kind of weight. The holidays are approaching. The year is winding down. And without even trying, we start taking inventory; of what happened, what didn't, what surprised us, and what stretched us.

For many of us, this stretch feels tight. The to-do lists grow. The expectations multiply. The emotions get louder. The pace picks up. And suddenly we find ourselves reacting more than responding, running on autopilot instead of intention.

This is where Viktor Frankl's core idea becomes a North Star:

Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our power to choose. And in choosing, we grow.

I think December is one of the most important months to remember this.

Because this time of year does bring stimulus: family dynamics, financial pressure, travel stress, grief, joy, nostalgia, comparison, decision-fatigue, packed calendars. But within all of that, there is still a small, steady space you can return to. A space you access through the exhale, where you soften, where you create just enough room to choose differently, where you gently shift from reactivity to intention.

And when you practice returning to this space, this Year-End Exhale, something inside you loosens, settles, and grows.

The Year-End Exhale

Instead of pushing yourself to keep up, perfect, or power through, I want to invite you into something quieter and far more human:

The Year-End Exhale.

This is not a reset. It's not a plan. It's not a resolution. It's a release.

A moment where you let your shoulders drop. Where you acknowledge the fullness of the year. Where you give yourself permission to slow down and create space before the next season begins.

Here's how to practice it:

1. Pause Stop for just a moment; mid-email, mid-stress, mid-scroll. Feel your feet beneath you.

2. Exhale A slow, deliberate breath out. Let it be a softening, not a forcing.

3. Notice Name what's inside you right now: "I'm overwhelmed." "I'm stretched." "I'm tired." "I'm hopeful."

4. Allow No fixing. No judging. Just letting what's here… be here.

This is the Year-End Exhale: a gentle clearing, a soft surrender, an intentional moment of presence before the new begins.

It's small, but it creates space, space for clarity, space for self-compassion, space for a different choice.

A December Reflection for You

If you want to deepen this practice:

What am I ready to exhale as this year comes to a close?

Let your answer guide how you approach the rest of the month.

Looking Ahead: A January Invitation

As you soften into the close of this year, know that January will bring an opportunity to step forward with confidence.

Next month, I'll be hosting a Women's Circle on Cultivating Confidence, a space to reconnect with yourself, understand what truly strengthens confidence from the inside out, and begin the year grounded in intention rather than pressure.

If you want details when registration opens, simply reply "CONFIDENCE" email me directly at nichole@somawellnessatl.com or watch for upcoming emails. I would love to have you there.