All About Journaling- With Prompts
To describe the differences between journaling and yoga, is also to describe the similarities. Journaling is a practice of writing as a way to express your mind. Whereas yoga is a practice of moving as a way to express your body. The two practices go hand-in-hand, as they are different tools with the same goal- to dive deeper into getting to know yourself and to see the bigger picture more clearly.
These habits develop the skill to help clear the clutter in your mind to see what is important. When you have a clearer picture of what is important, you can use additional resources to address those things, and then let go of the rest.
Journaling is unique in the way that it is personally meaningful and customizable, and no previous knowledge or wisdom is required. No matter how you decide to journal to express yourself, the benefits are still the same.
Benefits of Journaling
Reduce Stress
As you process all the thoughts going on in your head, they can tend to feel stuck and cluttered, and journaling provides a place they can live that is not inside your mind. Once you write them down, you’re able to see your thoughts tangibly as something to either address further, remember for later, or to let them go all-together. All options give you the freedom of choice and lifts a weight being carried as you come to make sense of what you need.
Another way that stress is reduced comes when you write down the good things in life. As you repeatedly write down things that went well or what you are grateful for, your brain molds itself to strengthen the area associated with memory and emotional control (hippocampus), and detracts from the part of the brain associated with anxiety, fear, and the flight-or-fight response (amygdala). What this means is that as you continue the practice of focusing on the good and purposely slowing down in the present moment, your body spends less time with a tightness in the body as your mind finds ease in letting things go. There is so much science around the neuroplasticity of the brain, but the saying holds true, “When you focus on the good, the good gets better”
Better Documentation
When you write down what you want to remember, not only do you always have those notes to refer back to, but the practice of writing leads to an improvement of your memory as a whole. As you write more and more, you’ll come to find that you’re able to remember things more naturally, written down or not.
At the same time, one of my personal favorite parts of journaling comes from years after writing the entry. After you have long forgotten what you did with your friends on August 16th, 2018. Those small details get lost with time, so the ability to revisit the good, the bad, and the ugly is a gift you can give your future self.
Creative Boost
When you give your thoughts a place to land, it makes way for more thoughts to come flooding in. Have you ever gone to write something and suddenly your pencil keeps going, way past what you had even first thought about? All of those are creative thoughts that writing is able to express. This can be done about any topic, and soon over time, you might come to find yourself itching to write about it even before you have your journal in front of you.
Yoga and Journaling
Yoga and journaling go hand-in-hand. Perhaps even as you were reading those, you could find the same benefits in your asana practice. This is because both tools are centered around mindfulness- the process of slowing down and paying attention to the present moment. They simply have different modes of centering.
As yoga focuses on the body, and journaling focuses on the mind, both practices are highly recommended either on their own or in unison.
How Journaling Enhances a Yoga Practice
Mind-body awareness
Through your yoga practice, it is expected that emotions naturally come up. When you journal about anything that comes up, you can process it with a clear mind by writing it out physically. Both practices enhance each other because the have the same goal- caring for your mind and body while not judging any part of it.
Emotional release
Yoga can help release tension that is stored in the body, just as journaling can help process and articulate the emotions that come up. Your body needs different things on different days, so staying mindful of yourself in both regards can guide if you need to think, move, or rest more on a given day.
Daily Habit
Combining these practices form a consistent “check-in” time with yourself. The time set aside for reflection, stretching, and taking care of yourself is always needed and truly never a waste. As you form these positive habits for your well-being, your brain and body will start to find ease and light in moving through life.
So, How Do You Start?
Journaling is a very personal experience, and one that takes some experimenting to understand what suits your needs. Grab a pen and a piece of paper and try from the list of methods below. Use different ideas at the same time, a different method on different days, or go with the flow of whatever feels right in the moment. The beautiful thing is that there is no one way to journal.
Types of Journaling
Gratitude journal
Write a list of 3-5 things everyday that you’re grateful for. With the lens of mindfulness and all their benefits, this method is the key to guide your awareness to the present moment.
To-Do List
Don’t know where to start with journaling? This is the easiest place to begin! Writing down things you need to do for the day, week, or month helps keep yourself on track and moving in the right direction. This is also a great tool if your memory isn’t always perfect- just write it down before it leaves so you can go back to it.
“Diary”
Keeping a “diary” is often what people say when they think of keeping a journal. This is recalling the day, and documenting your activities and feelings. This method is a delight to look back on in the future and see your day-to-day activities.
Although beneficial, my biggest piece of advice is to make it a point to write down at least one good thing that happened in each entry. If you’re going through something really tough, when you write about those negative thoughts only, day by day, you are staying in the cycle of negativity. Write what you need to, and although it may be a challenge, also try to write down one positive thing about the day. This will help your brain remember the good.
Journal Prompts
Journal prompts are questions that are given that you can answer. This method always gives your thoughts some refreshing perspectives. It can be tough to think about what to write about sometimes, or feel like you’re writing about the same things every day.
By Googling “journal prompts”, you are going to find thousands of prompts to write about. There’s also some more at the end of this article!
Physical Tokens
Especially if you are a visual artist or storyteller, one unconventional method is to keep a physical item of small tokens.
Personally, I have a journal that I keep every note people have written me and fun parts of the days I’ve had. I’ve taped some confetti that was at my friend’s birthday party, a leaf from a walk, stickers that have sentimental meaning, as well as a swatch of an old high school auditorium curtain from my high school theatre.
To guide the start of your journaling adventure, I have created a 7-day mindfulness journal available now! Each day has a daily themed gratitude list, journal prompt, and guide to set an intention. Even if you have a journal in mind, this is a great resource full of new journal prompts and fresh ideas to try. Go to cpichotta.com/join to sign up and download.
Additional Journal Prompts
What’s a story you don’t get to tell often enough?
What are you most proud of?
What’s your best find? And why?
What would you never want to change about your life?
Which aspects of your personality are you thankful for?
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from your parents?
What’s a compliment you’ve received that made you feel special?
What one story about your childhood best explains the person you are today?
What’s been keeping you sane lately?
If you walk into a room with everyone you’ve ever met, who would you first look for, and why?