The last few days of December always feel like a space between breaths for me. It’s that point where you have just completed your exhale but have not quite turned toward your next inhale. Perhaps you can relate?
This reflection comes up every year for me between December 26 and 31. My tanks are always empty after navigating two Thanksgiving meals in one day, celebrating the gift of our mothers’ birthdays within days of Thanksgiving, showing up for Hanukah at my in-laws’ house, and orchestrating the various Christmas traditions that have imprinted the fabric of our lives over the past 30+ years.
This year, however, sparked a change of course after an epiphany I had when crying myself to sleep Thanksgiving night. And while I might be blamed for a manipulative introduction here, I will save that story for later when I am not in this tender space between breaths.
Today, the story that is asking to be shared is about how I listened to my body’s whispers for attention with the help of a Christmas present.
Taking My Exhale To The Next Level
One of the most thoughtful gifts I received this year was a massage gift card from my 27-year-old son. While I often set gift cards aside for use “someday,” a little voice from a source deep at my soul level cried, “Yes please! I need this NOW!”
My post-holiday decision fatigue led me to go with a salon that my son said had good reviews. I was able to book an appointment through the website for Sunday morning.
The place was simple but clean, and the lovely Thai massage therapist welcomed me with a smile. I practically fell onto the table face down, surrendering completely to her hands.
As she kneaded knots out of my shoulder muscles that I hadn’t known were there, I realized I was grimacing. A long slow exhale allowed me to shift into gratitude. I visualized the tension and tightness dissolving under her strong fingers.
When the pressure intensified to the point of discomfort, I extended the length of my exhales to activate my body’s relaxation response. Dropping the label ‘pain’, it was simply sensation.
I don’t get massages very often, so I wanted to squeeze everything I could out of this one. Along with releasing muscle tension, I leveraged the opportunity to invite my body to release whatever wasn’t serving me at this point on my life journey.
Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “the body keeps the score.” It’s the title of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s renowned book that explains how our bodies remember what our minds might forget, minimize, or try to move past–especially experiences of stress, trauma, and emotional overwhelm.
Even When Things Are “Good” On the Surface We Have Hard Stuff to Process
Most days I feel like the luckiest person on the planet. I have come through dark times in my childhood, cancer in my 40’s, and personal and professional identity transitions. My kids are successfully launched. My marriage is healthy.
My meditation and mental fitness practices are the foundation of my strong relationships, fulfilling work (paid and unpaid), and body/mind/spirit wellness. And while much of this came about from my own agency, the privileged conditions into which I was born made all of it easier to live into.
And still…it’s hard being human. Stress, trauma (whether it’s my own, my loved ones’, or the world’s trauma), and emotional overwhelm are part of the package, especially in 2025.
So when I heard a deeper whisper during that massage that my body was holding on to more than the soreness from the fitness class I had attended the day before, I paid attention.
Allowing My Body to Feel What It’s Feeling, Then to Release What I No Longer Need
When we are always moving, ruminating on the past, strategizing for the future, and otherwise stuffing the spaces between breaths with noisy thoughts, we are unable to hear and feel what our body is processing. More and more gets buried in our tissues over time if we don’t open channels to release pent up emotional energy that leads to burnout.
During that massage, and continuing in the long hot bath that I took when I got home (yes, I took THAT much time for self-care on Sunday), I rested my attention on my sensory experience, gently redirecting myself back to feeling when I wandered into thinking.
Just being with the tactile and deep tissue experience of the massage and the heat of the bath that extended all the way to my cells released my body’s grip on negative, unprocessed energy. I helped the process along by silently repeating “let go” with each exhale.
Let go of past experiences that are still holding power over me.
Let go of stories that no longer serve me.
Let go of stress that silently seeped into my tissues this year from external sources.
I need to let go to create space for new growth and aligned action in 2026. I need to let go if I am to have full clarity as I begin to set my intentions for the year ahead. I need to let go to live into my full potential, as the best version of myself in this chapter and onward, until my final frame of life.
This allowing and witnessing of my body’s experience on Sunday, followed by a good night’s sleep, was transformative. On Monday morning I awoke feeling like I had been plugged into a battery recharger overnight.
My End-of-Year Wish For You
As you find yourself in the space between breaths this week, this heartbeat of time between the old year and the new, my wish for you is that you take time for stillness and for deep sensory experience of some kind. Let your body know you are listening, send it gratitude for all it does for you, and allow those deep whispers to bubble to the surface from a place beyond language.
And above all, let go of what you’ve been holding onto that is no longer serving you. If you are interesting in developing the tools for this work, I’m here for you.
May you be safe, be happy, be healthy, and sufficiently resourced to meet 2026 with a renewed sense of inspiration and intention to live into the best version of yourself. The world needs your beautiful energy more than ever.
