Mindfulness and meditation are obvious tools to deal with mind-chatter and purging what’s not immediately helpful, but oftentimes we need an intermediate step, one that is focused on action – not just receptivity and awareness. Journaling is the medium I use daily to inspire, organize, and improve my life for the better.

Journaling can help you too! Here’s how…

5 Ways You Can Benefit From Journaling

1) Clearing mind for sleep

Do you have a hard time falling asleep? Are you recapping the day’s events in your mind or busy planning for tomorrow? It’s best to write this all down before you get in bed so your mind can rest. This is a practice you may want to model for and teach to an older child who may have a hard time adjusting to bedtime as well.

Sometimes you may fall asleep easily from exhaustion but then wake up thinking about something you forgot to do or need to do the next day. If you keep your journal near your bed, it’s easy to sit up, turn on the light, write it down, and go back to sleep. Your mind will be at peace knowing that you took care of the reminder in your notes.

2) Organizing your mind for work

Sometimes a simple to-do list is not enough when needing to tackle important projects. Journaling can help you flesh out the importance and details of teach task. Mind Mapping is a more sophisticated way of creating content and ideas and organizing them into a logical order.

3) Discovering your life’s purpose

Journaling can help you figure out what you’re passionate about. Write down your heart’s desire, your perfect day, how it would feel to contribute to the world as you wish, and how you’d like to be remembered.

If you need more guidance on this, check out:

• Speed Dial the Universe Journal by business coach Jeanna Gabellini. There’s a digital version that you can download for a fee.

• Practice You journal by yoga teacher Elena Brower. It’s filled with her beautiful watercolor paintings and this message: “Elevating humanity to spark, share and sustain well-being, this journal invites you to know yourself and what nourishes you best. Intended for you to work on with your friends, family, students, and teachers, this is a chance to create a stunning, real map to your highest self.”

4) Recording your evolution

If you are working on something you’re passionate about, keeping a journal is a lovely way to not only organize your tasks, but to watch how you grow and evolve. I’ve been keeping a journal since my Yoga teacher training instructor recommended doing so back in 2001. It’s so interesting to look back on those beginning entries. I have matured in a myriad of ways since that time, but it wouldn’t be so apparent without this baseline to view from.

I continued writing in this journal when I quit teaching yoga to have my son. It became my pregnancy diary, my mothering support guide, my shamanic journey records, my small business planner, my list of business prospects, and what I use to maintain positive mindset as a network marketing professional. This journal has captured important milestones and the work I did to achieve them.

5) Processing emotions

Journaling is a way to vent emotions from the heart and the beliefs that are attached to them. Writing them down is way more powerful than just complaining out loud to someone. When you write down your feelings, there is more space to experience the emotion and what it looks like from the outside. There’s a chance to see the situation that elicited the emotion from a different perspective. We can then write down how we’d like to react differently, how we’d like it to change. It is first-person therapy and super effective.

Ready to Journal?

Simply grab some paper and a pen and write away! Or you can buy a special journal that is beautiful or has some helpful images and text like the ones mentioned above.

Do you keep a journal? How has it benefited your life? We’d love to hear your experience in the comments!

I love learning from books because you can read up on techniques, philosophy, and learn sequencing in your own timing.

My favorite books:

Yoga: A Gem For Women by Geeta S. Iyengar

This is my favorite yoga book! It’s very therapeutic for women and is appropriate for students of all levels. Like her father B.K.S. Iyengar, Geeta Iyengar is very thorough in her explanation of yoga asanas (postures), pranayama (breath work), and meditation. I recommend this book to ALL women yoga practitioners.

The Women’s Book of Yoga & Health by Linda Sparrowe and Patricia Walden

Sparrowe and Walden offer modern health advice in addition to simple yoga asana sequences (particularly Restorative yoga). This book is wonderful for women of all ages and abilities.

The Heart of Yoga T.K.V. Desikachar

For an in-depth understanding of Yoga, this is the book to turn to. It’s heavy in philosophy (there’s even a translation of the Yoga Sutra in the back!), but Desikachar explains it in a way that is easy to comprehend, modern, and practical. The asana sequences are very basic and therapeutic. The style is ViniYoga, which is gentle movement linked with conscious breathing.

Ashtanga Yoga by David Swenson

Ashtanga Yoga is known for being the most challenging style of Hatha yoga. Though athletic types are attracted to the strong asanas, it’s actually a very deep, ritualistic practice, which is why I’m so drawn to it. David Swenson has a great sense of humor and is very down-to-earth. Even though he presents the whole Primary & Secondary series in his book, he also offers shorter sequences for practitioners to follow. He encourages students to listen to their bodies and to back off whenever necessary.

Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers

Sarah Powers is the teacher who has influenced me the most. I learned how to teach Yin Yoga from her and Paul Grilley, I attended many transformational silent retreats with her, and it was actually she who inspired me to get my Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. She moved to the East Coast a few years ago, but luckily I can use her book Insight Yoga.  This book introduces one to Yin Yoga, Meridian Theory, Yang Yoga, and offers several practice sessions to choose from.

2. Online Yoga Classes & Magazines

Yoga Glo

For $18/month (less than the price of one studio class!) YogaGlo gives you unlimited access to classes from some of the best teachers. You can choose your level, body area focus, length of class, style of class, and the teacher you vibe with the best.

My favorite YogaGlo teachers:

• my friend Giselle Mari
• Stephanie Snyder
• Richard Freeman
• Rod Stryker
• Elena Brower
• Chelsey Korus

Yoga International

For more online classes, check out Yoga International. Their membership fee is $14.99 and you can start with a free 30 day trial. There’s less selection of classes and teachers than YogaGlo, but all of their teachers are highly recognized experts in the yoga community.

Yoga International is also a magazine. With membership, you’ll receive access to articles not only about proper asana alignment and sequencing, but also more information about the philosophy of yoga.

Yoga Journal

Yoga Journal is the oldest and still the most popular magazine available. You can even find issues at your local library if you want to check a few out without purchasing from a store.

Unlike Yoga International, there is not membership fee required to view Yoga Journal articles online. They have videos too, as well as yoga playlists and other modern features.

For those new to the practice, check out the Yoga 101 section for foundational alignment advice, information on different yoga styles, popular Sanskrit (the language of yoga) terms, and more.

3. Important yoga props

Yoga props can help students practice yoga more safely.  If you’re not practicing yoga mindfully, it is easy to push yourself too far and hurt yourself. This is not a problem for beginner students only – yoga injuries are very common and on the rise. Students of all levels can use props to deepen into postures appropriately.

There are many brands of yoga props out there. For good health & longevity, look for props made of safe, sustainable, high quality materials.

Types of Yoga props:

• Mats – Sticky mats help to keep you from sliding in postures where hands and feet are spread out. I actually prefer to use a practice rug instead which requires me to recruit deeper muscles for stability. The Jade Harmony yoga mat is one of my favorites.

• Blocks – Blocks can be used many different ways and are essential for any practitioner. They can be something to elevate the body on (in seated postures), to act as something to rest on (like a restorative bridge pose with a block under the sacrum), to make certain postures more accessible (like placing your hand down to a block in side angle pose if tight hips are preventing your hand from reaching all the way to the floor), or to create stability (like having one in between your hands with forearm balance). I recommend these blocks by Jade because of their durability and Jade’s commitment to sustainability.

• Blankets – Blankets are used to cushion sensitive areas like knees against hard surfaces, but also serve as boosters. For example, in shoulderstand a blanket under the upper back elevates your torso so that the neck is not compressed. In seated postures, having your sit bones on the edge of a blanket allows your legs to relax down easier and opens your hips passively with gravity. These Mexican blankets work great!

• Straps – Straps offer stability and also make certain postures more accessible. Staps like this one with metal rings are easy to use.

• Bolsters – Bolsters provide a soft surface to rest against, elevated from the floor. They are commonly used in restorative yoga practices. Try this organic cotton one from Lotuscrafts.

4. Tools to enhance your yoga practice

These tools are nice to have as your home practice deepens. You’ll be spending more time investigating your habits, emotions, and intentions, and these items can help you process them.

I frequently use these in my daily home yoga practice:

• Essential oils
• A Yoga & Meditation Journal
• Mala/prayer beads
• Positive affirmations

I hope these resources help you feel more secure and interested in starting your own home yoga practice!  You can read this article about the importance of a home yoga practice if you need even more motivation before beginning.