Using a Coaching Intensive to Release Old Patterns Before 2026

1:1 Embodied Grief SupportInner Work
Written By Dawn Geoppinger

A trauma-informed, body-based path for breaking old patterns and beginning the new year with more ease.

As the year winds down, many people arrive at a familiar crossroads. You may notice old habits resurfacing, emotional cycles repeating, or patterns you thought you’d outgrown quietly returning. There’s often a sense of fatigue here—not just physical, but emotional. A knowing that something needs to shift, paired with uncertainty about how to make that change last.

If you’re navigating grief, loss, or a major life transition—especially during grief during the holidays or a first holiday without a loved one—this weight can feel even heavier. Wanting change doesn’t always mean knowing how to create it, particularly without structured, compassionate support.

This is where focused, embodied healing can make all the difference.

Woman journaling quietly in soft winter light, reflecting on old emotional patterns during end-of-year healing.

The end of the year has a way of bringing old patterns into focus—especially the ones we’re ready to release.

Why the End of the Year Brings Old Patterns Into Focus

The end of the year naturally invites reflection. Routines change. Expectations increase. The nervous system is often stretched thin by holidays, memories, and the pressure to “wrap things up.”

For many people, this combination brings old emotional or behavioral patterns into sharper relief:

  • The inner critic gets louder

  • Grief resurfaces unexpectedly

  • Caregiving roles feel heavier

  • Avoidance, over-functioning, or emotional shutdown reappear

These responses aren’t signs of regression—they’re signs that your system is responding to stress, memory, and transition. End-of-year healing often begins by noticing what’s asking for attention rather than pushing it away.

How Old Patterns Can Hold You Back From the Life You’re Ready For

Old patterns tend to show up quietly but persistently. They may look like:

  • Repeating relational dynamics that leave you depleted

  • Difficulty resting, receiving support, or asking for help

  • Staying emotionally guarded even when you long for connection

  • Feeling “stuck” despite insight, therapy, or personal growth work

These patterns are not personal failures. They are survival strategies—adaptive responses shaped by grief, trauma, responsibility, or loss. Over time, however, they can affect mental health, self-esteem, relationships, and daily functioning.

Without intentional support, the same patterns often follow us into the new year. This is why so many people crave an emotional reset—not surface-level change, but something deeper and more sustainable.

Why a Coaching Intensive Helps You Break Old Patterns Faster

A coaching intensive offers something traditional weekly sessions often can’t: focused time, continuity, and embodied integration.

Rather than spacing healing out over months, intensives create a dedicated container for:

  • Identifying long-standing emotional and nervous system patterns

  • Working directly with the body through somatic grief healing and body-based grief healing

  • Gently processing grief and trauma in a way that feels safe and supported

  • Practicing new ways of relating, responding, and regulating

This kind of trauma-informed grief support allows patterns to soften at the root—not just intellectually, but somatically. Many people experience intensives as a turning point, especially when paired with grief coaching online, Zoom grief support groups, or an online workshop that reinforces integration.

For those who have “always been the strong one,” this work offers something rare: the experience of being held while change unfolds.

Creating Emotional Freedom Before the New Year Begins

Releasing old patterns before 2026 isn’t about becoming a different person. It’s about creating emotional spaciousness—so grief doesn’t dominate every threshold, and old habits don’t automatically lead the way.

Whether you’re navigating end-of-year grief, considering a grief healing retreat, or simply longing to feel more grounded as the calendar turns, this work can help you step forward with greater clarity and choice.

When old patterns loosen their grip, people often report:

  • More emotional ease and resilience

  • Greater capacity for rest and connection

  • A renewed sense of agency and self-trust

  • Feeling present rather than braced for what’s next

This is what end-of-year healing can offer when it’s done with intention and care.

A Gentle Invitation Into 2026

Imagine beginning 2026 without the emotional patterns that have been quietly holding you back. Imagine entering the new year feeling more regulated, supported, and connected to yourself.

If you’re feeling called to deeper work, I invite you to explore whether a coaching intensive could be part of your preparation for the year ahead.

✨ Schedule a free discovery call to learn more about my trauma-informed, embodied grief support offerings—including coaching intensives, grief coaching online, and seasonal support options.

You don’t have to carry old patterns into a new year alone. Healing can be focused, compassionate, and deeply supportive—especially when you’re ready to begin again.

Portrait of Dawn Geoppinger, grief educator and somatic practitioner, offering gentle grief support and embodied healing.

Dawn M. Geoppinger, Trauma-Informed Grief & Embodiment Coach

Dawn M. Geoppinger is a Trauma-Informed Grief & Embodiment Coach based in Portland, Oregon, with a strong foundation of over two decades of professional experience in public administration, education, and the nonprofit sector. She specializes in grief education, somatic movement, breathwork, and mindfulness, integrating evidence-based approaches such as somatic practices, post-traumatic growth and woman-centered principles to help clients reconnect with themselves, regulate their nervous systems, and honor the full spectrum of loss and healing. Through her practice, The Embodied Grief Journey™, Dawn provides compassionate, expert support both in person and online—creating safe, nurturing spaces for individuals to explore grief, resilience, and embodied healing.

Releasing Before You Begin Again

The end of the year can be a powerful threshold—a time to notice what you’re ready to leave behind and what you want to carry forward with less weight.

If you’re ready to break longstanding patterns connected to grief, loss, or burnout, a coaching intensive offers focused, trauma-informed support designed for meaningful end-of-year healing.

✨ Schedule a free discovery call to learn more about coaching intensives, grief coaching online, and seasonal support options.

You deserve to enter 2026 feeling freer, steadier, and more connected to yourself.

Book a free call
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Dawn Geoppinger
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