Yoga & Journaling for Inner Strength

There's a term to describe the kind of world we live in now....it's called VUCA, which stands for volitile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. So, it's really no surprise that many people are feeling more stress, anxiety and depression.

For the last couple of years, I've been managing the many complex emotions I've been experiencing with journaling. I NEVER used to journal, it was never really on my radar. Honestly, I probably wouldn't believe it if someone told me it could have been helpful a few years ago.

But, as you may know "necessity is the mother of all invention", or in my case, the mother of the realization that I needed something to help me navigate the ever increasingly complicated world I was living in.

The seeds were planted a few years ago when I was listening to a podcast called "The Daily Stoic", by Ryan Holiday. Many philosophers in the past highly regarded journaling as a way to not only process their thoughts and feelings, but also to learn. It's one thing to read or listen to the those who shared knowledge from different wisdom traditions, it's another to really take time to reflect, contemplate and apply them to your own life in real and practical ways.

Journaling is a great way to look at the complicated emotions with more objectivity, to see them more clearly and honestly. The key is to be sure you don't self-edit. Your journal is a place where you can honestly express what and how you are feeling, without judgment. You can keep your journal private or heck....even shred it when your done.

Your brain is really great at processing thoughts and emotions, but it isn't very good as an organizing them. This can make you feel like you just have a million thoughts swirling around in your head which can be overwhelming.

In today's modern world, we have access to an abundance of information, which can be great. However, having constant input has conditioned us to avoid stillness, pushing us toward quick distractions like scrolling on our phones.

There are many different journaling techniques and here, I'll speak to the power of Free Form journaling, or sometimes called a "brain dump". This is when you literally take a few moments to just write whatever comes to mind, no judgment.

Free Form Journaling can solve 2 problems:

1 - Solves the problem of boredom. In fact, the physical act of taking pen to paper and be very relaxing, very pleasant.

2 - It allows you the opportunity to just write whatever comes to mind so you can sort out your thoughts and ideas. Putting it on paper helps your brain relax a little because it doesn't feel the constant pressure of "forgetting something important, or for things that aren't critical your brain might realize it can let it go.

I've created a FREE downloadable journal for you. Simply Click Here to download. You might want to print it, but be aware, there are 37 pages, so if you like, select just the first 10 to start.

It also includes 2 practice PDFs, 1 for Gentle Hatha and one for Chair Yoga.

If you try it, let me know if you found it helpful! I would love your honest feedback.

Wishing you peace, love and good health.

Namaste,

Deb 🙏