Hi friend,
Some new years are for growing and building. And some are for resting and letting go.
If you find yourself in a season of change or transition, this may not be the year of pushing forward with force. It may be a year of listening more closely to what is asking to be simplified, softened, or released.
This kind of season carries different goals.
Simplifying. Gently noticing the areas of your life that have become overfull or overly complex. Pausing to ask what commitments want to be renegotiated. Sensing into what parts of your home or work life are ready to be streamlined so there is more space to breathe.
Making more time to just be. Letting yourself linger in nature. Creating room for quiet mornings, books that nourish you, fireside conversations, creative play, and deep, unproductive rest.
Creating for the sake of creating. Allowing your hands to move because it feels good, not because there is an outcome to measure. Following pockets of flow simply because they restore something essential inside you.
Focusing on your closest relationships. Calling back the parts of yourself that may have gone missing in the busyness. Letting the heart take the lead again.
The natural rhythm of life reminds us that true beginnings align with the Earth’s cycles. The new year is not fully here yet. It is waiting in the wings of the Spring Equinox. The land is still resting, gathering energy for what will bloom.
And yet we live inside the Gregorian calendar, and there is nothing wrong with meeting it gently. Instead of rushing into a new year with urgency, what if January became a threshold. A season of reflection, rest, and quiet release.
Like trees shedding the last of their leaves, this is a time to let go of what no longer serves. Not to strive or push, but to pause and listen. To soften into stillness. To dream rather than do.
When the land rests and the waters stir, clarity begins to flow again. Winter has a way of whispering truths we cannot hear in the noise of effort. In the quiet, we remember who we are beneath the roles and responsibilities.
So here is your invitation. Let your goals this month be about letting go. Rest deeply. Clear the inner space. Trust that when spring arrives, the seeds you tend now will know exactly how to grow.
Inside this week’s newsletter, you’ll find:
🌕 Full Moon in Cancer Report
On January 3, 2026, the Full Moon in Cancer illuminates emotional truth, belonging, and the quiet exhaustion of carrying too much alone. This lunation invites a return to tenderness, nourishment, and the parts of you that are ready to be held.
💗 Somatic Practice: A Winter Listening Practice
A gentle, body centered exploration that supports slowing down, settling your nervous system, and sensing what is ready to soften, release, or be tended quietly in this season.
📲 New On Instagram: Recent posts and reflections from the feed.
🔥 What's New at Rising Woman:
Doors Closing Soon: The Soulful Offer Begins January 9
If you feel like this is the year you’re ready to step fully into your work, with clarity, confidence, and an offer you’re proud to sell… The Soulful Offer was created for you.
This is a 4-week live program where you’ll learn how to bring your gifts together into one clear, aligned offering that people instantly understand and feel drawn to. No more circling the idea stage. No more “maybe next year.”
We begin January 9, and enrollment is closing soon.
If your heart has been nudging you, this is your invitation to follow it.
Inside The Soulful Offer, you’ll learn how to:
✨ Weave your gifts into one cohesive offer
✨ Clearly articulate the value & transformation you provide so ideal clients feel excited to say YES
✨ Feel safe being seen and share your work with confidence
✨ Grow your income without abandoning your soul
Doors close soon. Start 2026 with clarity, momentum, and the support to bring your work fully to life.
🌙 Check out our recent astrology report:
🕊️ The Latest Rising Woman Posts:
🌿 This Weeks Reflection
Rest is part of the rhythm that prepares us for what comes next.
✨ Practice for the Week: A Winter Listening Practice
A gentle embodiment practice for rest, release, and clarity
Set aside five to ten minutes. Choose a place where your body can feel supported. Sitting or lying down both work.
Begin by letting your weight settle. Feel the surface beneath you holding your body. Notice where you are making contact with the ground, the chair, or the bed. Allow yourself to be held here.
Bring one hand to your belly and one hand to your chest. Let your breath move naturally, without trying to change it. Simply notice the rise and fall beneath your hands.
As you continue breathing, scan your body slowly. Notice areas that feel tired, tight, or overworked. There is no need to fix anything. Let your awareness rest there for a few breaths.
Now gently ask your body:
What feels heavy right now
What feels ready to soften or release
What feels supportive at this pace
You do not need clear answers. Sensations, images, or a simple sense of yes or no are enough.
If you notice something your body is ready to let go of, imagine placing it down. You might visualize setting a weight on the ground, exhaling it out through your breath, or loosening your grip around it.
Stay with this for a few breaths. Let your nervous system register that it is safe to rest here.
Before closing, bring your attention back to your hands. Notice the warmth, the contact, the steadiness. Let this be your anchor.
When you feel ready, gently open your eyes or bring movement back into your body.
You may wish to write down one word or phrase that reflects what your body is asking for this season.
This practice can be returned to anytime January feels loud or demanding.
Journaling Prompts
For letting go and simplification
• Where in my life does my energy feel stretched or overextended right now?
• What commitments feel heavier than they used to?
• What am I ready to simplify, even in a small way?
• What would it feel like to do less without losing what matters?
For rest and nervous system awareness
• What helps my body settle when I slow down?
• When during the day do I naturally feel more spacious or calm?
• What kind of rest feels most supportive for me right now?
• Where am I still holding tension or urgency that could soften?
For creativity and inner nourishment
• What do I enjoy creating when there is no outcome to measure?
• Where do I feel most absorbed or present when I work with my hands or imagination?
• What kind of creative time feels nourishing at this pace of life?
For relationships and the heart
• Which relationships feel most regulating and supportive right now?
• Where do I want to offer more presence rather than effort?
• What parts of myself feel more available when I slow down?
For gentle goal setting
• If my goal this month was to support my body and energy, what would that look like?
• What am I ready to release so there is more space for what matters?
• What feels worth tending quietly before spring arrives?
As you move through the days ahead, stay close to what supports your body and energy. Notice the moments when your breath deepens as you slow down. Notice what softens when you give yourself permission to move at a gentler pace.
You are allowed to be here without answers fully formed. This season supports presence, attunement, and listening. It supports tending to what is quietly shaping itself beneath the surface.
Let January be a month of noticing. Of subtle recalibration. Of remembering that rest is something you can receive now, not something reserved for later.
If something is releasing, allow it to complete its cycle. If something feels quiet or undefined, trust that it is still being nourished. Winter growth often happens out of sight.
Stay with what replenishes you. Stay close to the people, practices, and rhythms that bring you back into yourself. Clarity unfolds naturally when you honor the pace you are already moving at.
When the energy of spring arrives, you will meet it with more space inside you. For now, let this season hold you.
Love,
Shay
P.S. My team and I love hearing how these reflections land for you. Feel free to hit reply and share what touched your heart or stood out.