5-minute exercise for journaling beginners: Let your subconscious speak
Writing helps. In almost all situations in life: in stressful times, to gain more peace. In times of grief, to process your feelings. And, for example, directly before a yoga class, to gain clear impulses for your own yoga class. In an interview, writer and course leader Johanna Kramer reveals why journaling is so effective and how even those who don't like writing and beginners can benefit from it.
Dear Johanna, how did you get into journaling and what does your routine look like?
As a child and teenager, I always wrote a lot of diaries. Unfortunately, as an adult and when I started working, I completely lost track of my journaling. Then my mother died when I was 28. I was in a crisis and began to ask myself what I really wanted to do with my life. At the time, I was working in sales for a large corporation and I knew that this couldn’t be all there was to it. I quit my job. Without knowing where my journey would take me. A friend gave me a diary as a farewell gift, and so I started writing again in the first few days of my time off. It was my anchor, my lifeline. Journaling not only helped me deal with grief, it led me on my current path as an author. I was able to get to know myself better and find out what I really want, who I really am.
To this day, I write almost every day. Usually in the morning, right after I get up. Sometimes I write several times a day, depending on what is going on in my life. I use different techniques and methods for this, such as the morning pages or exercises that I present in my "Journal to the Self" workshop.
Journaling helps us to organize unhealthy thought spirals and learn from experiences, right?
Exactly. When we write, we release what is weighing us down from our body, from our entire energy system. This helps us to make room for new possibilities. We gain clarity and become calmer and more relaxed. We also actually reshape our brain. There are now numerous studies that show that our brains form new nerve cells when we write regularly. When we can overcome difficult situations through writing, find new courage to live, get new ideas and a positive outlook on life, then it's not just a good feeling: our body literally orients itself towards new and positive things. Writing anchors this in a way that would not be possible with thinking alone.
So our diary is a collection of various topics that concern us. Can we use these as inspiration or a theme for our yoga classes?
I'm sure of that. I think it's helpful, especially in turbulent times, to write your mind out before a yoga class. We don't need much time for that - unless we consciously want to take it. Even five minutes can be enough to feel a sense of relief or to find out what's really going on, what I might want to take with me to the yoga mat that day, work on it or look at in more depth.
It can be challenging to express yourself in a selective and concrete way during class. Can journaling help us develop a better sense of our own language?
Absolutely. Writing helps us to express our feelings and thoughts on paper. We can suddenly say things that we might never have said to anyone else. We find words for what moves us and can first "practice" in the diary and check how it sounds, what is going on inside us. This can have a positive effect on our everyday life and improves our ability to communicate. We also often get new inspiration. Because once the initial burden of circling thoughts has been put on paper, very clear impulses and ideas often emerge from deep within that we would have had difficulty accessing before. Writing can also help to develop new ideas or concepts for yoga classes.
Is there a little exercise that we can use to deepen this?
I recommend a 5-minute sprint. We set a timer for five minutes and answer one of the following questions, for example. These exercises can be done at any time with a variety of writing prompts. The important thing here is that we don't put the pen down, but start writing without thinking too much and without stopping until the time is up. In this way we overcome our inner censor and critic and let our subconscious have its say.
Possible writing prompts would be: How am I feeling right now? What is bothering me the most at the moment? What do I want to take with me to the yoga mat today and look at more closely? If I could pass something on to my yoga students today, it would be...
What is your top tip for someone who would like to start journaling now but hasn’t managed to find their routine yet?
To start with, I recommend the morning pages. There are clear guidelines that you can follow at the beginning. The effect is also most noticeable in the morning, which motivates you to keep going. Of course, you can also fill the three pages in the afternoon or evening if you don't have any time in the morning. But it's worth trying it out and, if you're very short on time, start with at least one page a day. We can take these five minutes.
The best thing to do is to put a pen and paper on your bedside table and write in bed as soon as you wake up. This also ensures that you are not immediately distracted by everyday life.
Dr. Joe Dispenza says, "Knowledge precedes experience." That's why it was so important to me to write about the psychology of writing in the book "My Morning Pages." Background knowledge can strengthen our "why" for the things we want to do. So if we better understand the big impact journaling has on our lives and why that is, it can motivate us to keep at it regularly.
Thank you very much for your time and the nice interview.
Johanna Kramer
Johanna Kramer worked for several years in sales for a large corporation, traveled a lot around the world for work and finally quit her job to search for her passion. Since 2016 she has been pursuing her dream, is a writer and certified course leader for journaling workshops.
"Books have saved my life many times. They don't come to us by chance, but meet us at exactly the right moment. I want to touch people with my words. If I succeed in doing that, I'm happy."