Lagniappe: The Soul Journey Guiding Word for 2026
- Soul Journey
- Dec 30, 2025
- 3 min read
Every year, Steve and I choose a word — not as a resolution, but as a frequency. A lens for listening to what Life wants to move through us.
Our word for 2026 is lagniappe — pronounced lan-yap — meaning “a little something extra, given as a gift.”
It comes from Quechua yapa (“extra”), through Spanish la ñapa, into the Creole and French-speaking culture of Louisiana. Interestingly, discovering that yapa comes from the Peruvian lineage we’ve been studying was a lagniappe in and of itself — a little gift from the Andes showing up just when we needed it.
Lagniappe is the unasked-for sweetness: the extra cookie in the bag, the bonus orange placed on top, the kindness that arrives simply because it can. It’s what happens when life says, “And here… just because.”
For us, lagniappe is not about doing more. It’s about being the more that naturally overflows when we’re in alignment.
In 2026 we choose to live as lagniappe.
As people: living from fullness, offering from overflow, becoming the warmth in the room, the moment of being seen, the breath of relief.
In our relationship: choosing each other in the small ways — the laugh, the softening, the remembering that love is gifted fresh each day.
Through Soul Journey: not fixing or striving, but offering presence that restores remembrance. The moment someone exhales. The moment the body says, “Oh… I’m home.” That shift is lagniappe.
✨ And we invite you into this with us. ✨
We bless you to choose a word for your own 2026 — a word that feels like a tuning fork in your body, a compass in your chest, a remembering of who you already are. Let your word be your frequency. Let it be your listening. Let it be the way Life speaks to you this year.
If you want support refining it, embodying it, or aligning your life with it — we’re here. Not to tell you your word, but to help you hear it.
A small embodied practice (1–2 minutes):
Pause.
Let your shoulders soften.
Feel your breath arrive all the way into your belly.
Place one hand on your heart, one on your lower belly.
Ask quietly inside: “What word wants to walk with me in 2026?”
Don’t search. Don’t think. Let the word arrive like a gift.
When it comes, speak it softly out loud. Let your body feel how it lands. Let it settle into you.
That’s enough.
✨ If you feel called to deepen your alignment with your word this year, we are here to guide you.
Through a brief session, a check-in, or a transmission of presence, we’ll help you embody your word and step fully into its frequency.
May your 2026 be filled with gentle extras. With beauty you didn’t plan for. With support you didn’t know you were allowed to receive. With moments that make you whisper, “This is enough.”
And then — “Oh… and this too.”
With love,
Pepper & SteveSoul Journey ✨
We are located at:
1600 Sarno Rd, suite 217
Melbourne Fl 32935
321-430-0911
MM45205
About the Authors
Steve Wooten, M.Ed, LMT, and Pepper Wooten, CLC, ordained minister, and Full Mesa shamanic apprentice, are the co‑founders of Soul Journey Relaxation Retreats in Melbourne, FL, where they support individuals in cultivating presence, clarity, and a deeper connection to life’s abundance. With Steve’s expertise in therapeutic bodywork, somatic nervous-system practices, and decades of study in linguistics and language, and Pepper’s experience in life coaching, spiritual ministry, and shamanic insight, they help people translate intention into everyday experience. Through their work in massage, breathwork, somatic coaching, energy healing, and spiritually grounded guidance, they empower individuals to notice life’s small gifts, deepen mindfulness, and live with generosity, joy, and conscious presence.
