How to Let Go of the Past and Start Fresh in 2026

Inner WorkNavigating Milestones & Anniversaries
Written By Dawn Geoppinger

An embodied path through grief, change, and life transitions—so you can release what’s been heavy and begin again

As the year draws to a close, many people find themselves carrying more than they expected. Memories surface. Old patterns feel louder. Grief—especially grief that has never been fully held—can rise quietly or all at once.

For those navigating loss, change, or life transitions, the end of the year can feel less like a celebration and more like a reckoning. Perhaps this is your first Christmas without a loved one, or another holiday season marked by absence. Maybe you’re noticing the weight of caregiving burnout, identity shifts, retirement, or a relationship that no longer exists in the way it once did.

If you’re feeling ready to let go of the past and begin starting fresh in the new year, you’re not alone—and you don’t have to do it forcefully or alone. Healing does not require pushing yourself forward. It asks for presence, safety, and support.

This is an invitation to begin 2026 differently: gently, embodied, and held.

Woman sitting quietly by a window in soft winter light, reflecting at the end of the year while navigating grief and emotional healing.

The end of the year often invites reflection—sometimes gently, sometimes all at once. If you’re feeling weighed down by memories or grief, you’re not alone.

Why Letting Go of the Past Is So Hard (And Why There’s Nothing Wrong With You)

Letting go of the past is emotionally challenging not because we’re resistant to change, but because our nervous systems are wired for protection.

When we experience grief, trauma, or prolonged stress, the body and brain do exactly what they’re meant to do: they adapt. Memories, beliefs, and emotional patterns become survival strategies—ways to stay safe, connected, or functional during overwhelming times.

Neurologically, unresolved grief and trauma can keep the nervous system in a state of vigilance. Even when the original event has passed, the body may still respond as if it’s happening now. This is why grief during the holidays can feel especially intense, and why simply “thinking differently” rarely brings relief.

Letting go of the past isn’t about erasing memory or bypassing pain. It’s about gently teaching the body that it no longer has to carry everything alone.

How Unresolved Experiences Can Hold You Back—Even When You’re Trying to Move Forward

Unprocessed grief and unresolved emotional experiences often show up in subtle, persistent ways:

  • Feeling stuck or emotionally heavy despite wanting change

  • Repeating relationship or caregiving patterns that lead to burnout

  • Difficulty resting, receiving support, or feeling joy without guilt

  • A sense that you’re “behind” or doing grief wrong

  • Feeling disconnected from your body, intuition, or sense of purpose

These patterns are not failures. They are signs of resilience.

At one time, these responses helped you survive loss, responsibility, or heartbreak. But as you stand on the threshold of a new year, they may no longer fit who you are becoming.

This is where emotional healing, grief and trauma healing, and body-based grief healing become essential—not as fixes, but as invitations to integration.

How Coaching Helps You Release What’s No Longer Serving You

True healing requires more than insight. It requires space, support, and focused time—especially when grief does not follow a conventional timeline.

A coaching intensive or focused grief support container offers something many people have never had: the chance to be held without having to explain or minimize their experience.

Through trauma-informed grief support, somatic grief healing, and compassionate coaching, we work with the body—not against it—to gently release what you’ve been carrying. This may include:

  • Body-based practices that help the nervous system settle

  • Space to honor grief that hasn’t been fully witnessed

  • Support in processing life transitions and identity shifts

  • Tools for emotional regulation, grounding, and safety

  • Integration practices that help grief move rather than stay stuck

Whether through grief coaching online, Zoom grief support groups, or 1:1 embodied sessions, this work allows healing to unfold at your pace.

For many, participating in a grief healing retreat, online workshop, or structured coaching container creates the emotional spaciousness needed to begin again—not by forgetting the past, but by carrying it differently.

Stepping Into 2026 With Less Weight and More Choice

Imagine entering the new year without the constant pull of old patterns or unspoken grief. Imagine feeling more grounded in your body, clearer in your choices, and supported rather than alone.

If you’ve been navigating grief during the holidays, my Grieving Through the Holidays course offers gentle, embodied support that helps you tend to grief while also preparing the ground for renewal. Many people find this work especially powerful as a bridge—honoring what has been while opening toward starting fresh in the new year.

If you’re longing for deeper, more personalized support, my 1:1 Embodied Grief Support and coaching intensives provide a private, compassionate space for grief and trauma healing, emotional integration, and meaningful change.

You don’t need to carry this into 2026 on your own.

A Gentle Invitation Forward

If you’re ready to let go of the past—not by forcing release, but by creating safety, support, and space—I invite you to take the next step.

✨ Schedule a free discovery call to explore whether embodied grief support, a coaching intensive, or one of my grief offerings is right for you.

Together, we can create room for emotional healing, clarity, and a fresh beginning—one that honors your story and supports who you are becoming in 2026.

You deserve to be held as you 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.

A Gentle Step Into 2026

If you’re feeling ready to loosen your grip on what’s been heavy—and to step into 2026 with more ease, clarity, and support—I invite you to begin gently.

✨ Schedule a free discovery call to explore how embodied grief support or a coaching intensive can help you release what no longer serves you and create space for what’s next.

You don’t have to rush your healing. Together, we can honor your past while supporting the fresh beginning that’s quietly calling you forward.

Book a free Call
When the world moves on, grief often stays. Not loudly.
Not urgently. It lingers in the body —
in the shoulders that won’t soften,
in the breath that never quite deepens,
in the fatigue that sleep doesn’t touch. Renewal in grief
Many people begin the year hoping for change—
and quietly fearing they’ll fall back into the same patterns once life gets busy again. If motivation alone hasn’t created lasting change for you, that doesn’t mean you’re d
You don’t have to explain your grief here, Friend. You don’t have to summarize it.
Justify it.
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January can feel quieter than expected.
Heavier, even. After the holidays, many people experience a drop in energy, motivation, or emotional steadiness—especially when grief, loss, or life transitions are part of the picture. This isn’t
January isn’t a reset. It’s a listening season. The world may be pushing for goals and momentum, but grief asks for something different. It asks: What feels tender? What feels tired? What needs care — not correction? This isn&rsq
You’re allowed to move slowly this year, Friend. Slowness isn’t avoidance. It’s attunement. Especially in grief, your body sets the pace — not the calendar. You don’t need to catch up. You don’t need to prove re
A few days after the holidays ended, the quiet got louder. Not dramatic. Not overwhelming. Just… heavier. That’s often how grief moves. It doesn’t disappear when the season changes — it shifts. If you’re noticing so
Dawn Geoppinger
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