Your Year of Yoga – Guided Journaling Practice

As we enter this new year, I want to invite you into a pause.

Not a rush to plan or fix or improve anything – but a pause to reflect on your year of yoga.

What you’ve practiced.

What you’ve learned.

What challenged you.

And what quietly changed along the way.

This is a guided journaling practice, so you might like to download the journaling worksheet here, or just grab a notebook or open a new document.

There’s no rush with this process.  You might like to pour yourself a cuppa, get cozy, and give yourself some time and space to process the year that has passed and make space for your new year to begin.

Before we start, I want to share where this practice comes from.

My Grandma had a ritual at the end of each year. She would sit down and write out the events that shaped her year. It’s a practice that I’ve enjoyed and benefited from for a long time – reviewing professional highlights, challenges, moments of joy, things I’ve learned, things I’ve let go of. For me, this journaling isn’t overly studied or critical. It’s simply a way of noticing how my year flowed.

I tend to focus this journaling process on my yoga practice and teaching, but you might like to zoom out to review your whole year of personal, family, professional, and yoga experiences.

I’ve always loved this practice of recapitulating the year, re-experiencing it with a bit of perspective, and then gently turning toward intention. Not as a performance review, but more as an act of care.

I want to be really clear: this is not about grading yourself as a yogi or a teacher.

It’s a space for honesty, compassion, and next steps – whatever that looks like for you.

Part One: Looking Back — Highlights & Learning

Take some time to journal or contemplate:

• What were the standout moments in your yoga practice or studies this year?
• What have you learned about yourself as a practitioner?
• What have you learned about yourself as a teacher or future teacher?
• Which concepts, skills, or teachings felt most transformative?
  (e.g., philosophy, anatomy, sequencing, ethics, adjusting, community-building)
• Which experiences brought you joy, clarity, or a sense of growth?

• What part of yoga surprised you the most this year?
• How has your relationship with yoga changed since the beginning of the year?

On a personal note, I think that the big change I’m feeling is that I don’t always have to be making progress.  That my practice can be a place of ease – to be with myself, without having to have goals or aims or intentions – just a place to be.

And, as someone who has spent a lot of time in years past focused on pose development and practice development and teaching development, this has been a bit of a relief – to just get on the mat and move and breath without an aim or obligation, without a sense of “performing” yoga and more of a sense of being in yoga. Is this something you’ve experienced too?

Part Two: Obstacles & Supports

Exploring Obstacles

Reflect on:

• What obstacles did you face in practice, study, or teaching?
  (e.g., time, confidence, consistency, injuries, overwhelm, imposter syndrome)
• What did you learn from these challenges?
• Where do you still feel stuck or unsure?

Support and Resources

• What kind of support or resources helped you this year?
• What support do you think you’ll need moving forward
  (mentorship, scheduling tools, additional workshops, community, accountability)?

Part Three: Imagine the Future

As we begin to look toward 2026, I want to offer two different approaches. You can choose one, blend them, or just let them spark ideas.

Option One: Practical Goals

If you’re someone who likes structure, consider setting one or two SMART goals.

Smart goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound.

Ask yourself:

• What exactly do I want to practice or learn?
• How will I know I’m making progress?
• Is this realistic for my current life?
• Why does this matter to me as a teacher or practitioner?
• When will I check in?

This might sound like:

• “I’ll teach ten community classes by June.”
• “I’ll meditate for ten minutes a day for three months, then reassess.”
• “I’ll complete my remaining training modules by September.”

Pause here and write down any goals that feel SMART and supportive – not overwhelming.

Option Two: Sankalpa

This is beneficial if you’re drawn to something more heart-centered, consider a Sankalpa to be a simple, present-tense intention connected to how you want to be.

Examples might include:

• “I am grounded in my confidence as a teacher.”
• “I cultivate steadiness and joy in my practice.”
• “I honour my boundaries so teaching feels sustainable.”

Pause and see what words arise for you. Remember, a simple, present-tense intention about how you want to be.

You might also reflect on:

• How do I want my practice to evolve in 2026?
• How do I want my studies to deepen?
• What direction do I want my teaching to move?
• What new experiences or skills feel ready to emerge?

Your 2026 Yoga Vision

Now I invite you into a brief visualization.

Imagine it’s the end of 2026.

Take a breath and picture yourself then.

• What does your yoga practice look like?
• How do you feel when you step onto your mat or when you teach?
• How are you connected to your yoga community?
• What have you learned, completed, or integrated?
• And how has yoga supported your life beyond the mat?

Pause here and write whatever images, feelings, or words come to you.

Finally, see if you can distill this into:

• Three words for your practice
• Three words for your teaching
• One phrase that captures your intention for 2026

Your Year of Yoga: Carrying Your Year Forward

As we close, I invite you to complete this sentence – either in your journal or out loud:

“In 2026, I am moving toward…”

Remember, your year of yoga isn’t confined to a calendar. It’s a cycle you can revisit whenever you need clarity, grounding, or direction.

Thank you for joining me in this year in review. I hope you have found it beneficial to take the time to reflect, to honour where you’ve been, and to gently shape where you’re going next.

For more on yoga philosophy, teaching, and practice, visit the BLOG or check out our YouTube channel for lots of podcasts and practices.