celebrate, plan, manifest 2025
my invitation to slow down and check in with yourself this winter
Hello love,
It’s getting chilly here in northern Portugal, and although the sun is brightly shining I’m snuggling in a warm blanket, sipping on my favourite tea (camomila, tilía e lavanda) and writing what is most likely going to be my last blog post of the year.
This isn’t a year in review. I don’t think it’s possible for me to have an honest year in review before having taken the time to actually let it all sink in. So that will have to wait a few weeks.
Instead, this is an invitation.
A call to join me as I slow down this winter and check in with myself after an intense, challenging and completely transformational year.
Let your body speak
I tend to be in my head a lot. Before working with my first coach, Elodie Leclerq, I believed that inner work was all cognitive. She’s taught me otherwise.
Our minds process information, create thoughts, hold beliefs, make sense of our experiences etc, but it is our bodies that experience everything.
Emotions? In the body. Trauma? In the body. Stress? In the body. Joy and pleasure? Also in the body.
Therefore, before heading towards your journal this December, I invite you to tune in with your body.
Put some soft music on and let your body move intuitively, trusting that it knows how to process and release emotions. Here’s a youtube playlist I enjoy.
If that’s too weird for you, try doing some somatic release exercises, deep yin yoga stretches, or even just some yoga nidra practice to help your body release accumulated emotions & stress. Relax.
Remember to nurture your body too : drink more water or hot tea (but limit sugar intake), eat lots of fruits and veggies, savour your food by slowing down when you eat and really bring attention to the colours of what you’re eating, the flavours, the textures and the smells.
Savour your showers. Instead of quickly washing your body and hair, take the time to notice the sensations of the water on your body, its temperature and how your body reacts, the smell of the soap,…
Splurge in a massage to release deeper tensions. If you can book a massage in a spa, that’s amazing (I did that yesterday, it was so necessary!), but you can also ask your partner, your best friend, or even massage some areas of your body yourself. Sometimes, the simple fact of applying a nice-smelling oil on your skin with some pressure, that’s enough to reconnect to your body and thank her for having supported you so far.
Early nights
Going to bed earlier than you normally would is beneficial both for your body and mind.
I know how these last few weeks have been stressful for many of us, and when the to-do lists seem to get longer and longer, our nights tend to become shorter and shorter.
When you know that just 1 hour of sleep debt per day is enough to trigger anxiety after only a week, it’s clear that we can’t keep burning the midnight oil indefinitely.
I know I naturally need 9 hours of sleep to feel good, so in order to “repay” by sleep debt, I should sleep 10 hours a night to feel fully rested in a few weeks. This means going to bed much earlier than usual, and if I don’t set clear boundaries with myself and my loved ones, it’s not going to happen.
So I’m setting the intention here to be in bed by 9pm every evening, except for Christmas and NY’s eve.
What about you? What has to happen for you to sleep longer nights?
Reading for pleasure
There’s so many things we can read to improve our knowledge, get more skills, learn new insights… but what happened to reading for pleasure?
When I was in burnout 2 years ago, I realised that I was reading a lot, but only books about marketing, business, money, etc. Truth is, these books can be quite stressful and triggering for highly-sensitive souls or people with ADHD because it’s going to press on the fear that we haven’t been doing enough, or that what we’ve been doing so far wasn’t adequate, or that we must take action on what we’re learning right away.
Hard to relax in these conditions.
When I realised that, I switched my marketing books for novels, and I started with The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert. Such a wonderful novel, it instantly reconnected me with the pleasure of reading good literature and the power of story-telling.
I know we only have 24 hours in a day and it’s much easier to turn on Netflix at night. It’s a big temptation for me too, and sometimes I don’t resist which is completely fine.
But when I do choose to read in bed before going to sleep, I just feel happier, calmer and more inspired.
What’s a novel you’ve wanted to read for a while? Maybe this is your cue :)
Guided meditation
Did I tell you I’m a certified meditation teacher? This is something I studied back in the days where I lived in Vietnam, but I’m not proud to say that sometimes my practice just goes in my drawer for weeks or months on end.
Meditation has been a big part of my life, of my inner growth and spiritual journey. When my father was about to pass last summer and during the first weeks of my grieving process, I meditated around 2 to 3 hours per day. It was the only thing that was bringing me some sort of relief. I felt supported by the spiritual world, connected to my spirit team, to his spirit too, and I somehow managed to go through each day by mindfully breathing, moment by moment.
After that, I jumped back into work, I got more and more opportunities which I’m tremendously grateful for, but at the same time I haven’t been able to find a balance yet, and meditation hasn’t been happening as often as I need it.
Because that’s the thing with practices like meditation, or journaling, or movement : when you stop, you don’t feel the negative effect of stopping right away. It slowly builds up until you start noticing that you’re more stressed, more reactive, more impulsive.
This winter break, my intention is to get back into my daily meditation practice, even if it’s just 5 minutes a day.
If you want to join me, here’s a meditation I created for my Soulful Biz Club community this year : Meditation Body Scan.
Art-ing
Before starting my business journey in 2017, I was creating a lot of different things. I was painting, baking, sewing, knitting… Then I became an entrepreneur and I poured all my creativity into my business. And I know many of you have done the same thing, just because our time and energy is limited!
But then what happens to playing for the sake of playing? To creating for fun, without stakes or strings attached?
It’s such an important part of our human experience to be able to do something with our hands, without the pressure that it has to be good, look good or get sold.
This Black Friday, I splurged in a year of Skillshare, and I can’t wait to take some watercoloring and drawing lessons during this winter break, listening to some soft music to calm my nervous system.
If you want to enjoy a month of Skillshare for free, this is my affiliate link : Get 1 month of Skillshare for free.
I also have been singing more, and learning how to sing better. I’m finding it such an interesting way to explore my own power and self-expression that it’s opening new doors and perspectives as I know so many of us struggle with voice and communication. I don’t know yet, but I’ll probably speak more about that in the new year.
Journaling with prompts
I’ve been journaling since I was 13 years old, so of course this is something I have to speak about and teach. I love this practice so much, and I find it so powerful for self-exploration, self-understanding, self-compassion.
Most days, I journal intuitively, bringing onto the page whatever is present for me, but during this period I love following prompts to help me bring attention to specific areas of my life.
I want to reflect on what I’ve been through, how this past year has helped me grow, what I’ve learned, what I could have done better, what lessons to bring in the next cycle so that I can ultimately create a more aligned and intentional life.
That’s why I created the Celebrate Plan Manifest 2025 Journal. This edition is even deeper, perfect for highly sensitive women in business who want to create more sustainable lives and careers.
It’s my winter gift for you. I hope you enjoy it.
Bonus free gathering
Once you download your free Celebrate Plan Manifest 2025 journal, you’ll get an invitation to join me for a free gathering event on the 27th of December.
Together, we’ll meditate, journal and share some insights around a cup of tea. Very low-key, very relaxed. A moment of connexion, just you and me. I can’t wait.
That’s all from me today.
What is your favourite way to slow down this winter? Share with us in the comment so we can inspire one another!
Power and light,
Jessica