Valuable addition: Why you should use journaling as a yoga teacher

Journaling is all the rage. The many variations of therapeutic writing are suitable for almost any situation in life. Numerous journals that you only have to fill out are now on the market to help you get started.

Journaling has also arrived in yoga classes. By means of specific reflection questions, the effect of the individual asanas can be additionally deepened, whereby the students profit even more from the practice.

As a teacher, you should definitely consider making journaling a regular part of your own routine, and not just offer it in your classes. Why? Here are my top 3 reasons why you should use journaling as a yoga teacher.

Personal growth as a teacher through journaling

Of course, in addition to teaching, you shouldn’t neglect your own practice. By documenting it-whether you’re practicing on your own or taking a class-and noting what felt good and what didn’t, you’ll get a better sense of what might be good for your group, which asanas are appropriate for which subject, and more. But you shouldn’t just write about your yoga practice, you should also engage with yourself through journaling.

With regular journaling you get to know yourself better: As a person and as a teacher. You learn who you are, what your values are, what you want to stand for, what you are comfortable with and what you are not. The better you are in touch with yourself, the more authentic you can be in the classroom.

Refined cuing

As you get into the habit of keeping track of your own practice, you will notice that your announcements become more accurate over time. Why? You are much more intensely aware of how individual exercises feel and what they can trigger on a mental level; what parts of the body are involved, where attention should be directed. If you incorporate this knowledge into your announcements, they will become much more understandable and vivid for your participants.

More creative lessons

Have you ever wondered where to get fresh ideas for new lessons? One way is to keep an “inspiration journal”. In it, you record everything that could be inspiring for your classes: creative sequences and transitions that you picked up as a participant; asanas that you didn’t know yet; announcements that were particularly on point; but not only things from yoga class, but also from everyday life. Quotes, experiences, and interesting conversations might give you topics for new lessons.

No matter what strikes your fancy or how banal it may seem to you – write it down! Feel free to add comments to the entry about why you think you could use this point in your teaching.

So, both personally and professionally, you can benefit greatly from journaling. Just grab a blank notebook and pen and get started right away! Or better yet, sign up for my online course “Journaling for Yoga Classes, Retreats & Workshops” and learn how to use journaling as a yoga teacher.

Have fun writing, teaching, and growing!

Not just pen and paper: Three beautiful journaling options for creatives

Painting, crafting, creating – are you one of those people who are bubbling over with creativity and love to create things with their hands? Maybe that’s why you find it rather boring to just buy a notebook and write away for your journaling routine?

If so, here are a few ideas for you on how to harness the healing power of journaling while living your creative streak to the fullest!

For crafting enthusiasts: Scrapbook or Bullet Journal

Create your journal just the way you like it! Get a blank notebook and get started – it’s a blank canvas just waiting to be filled with life.

For a bullet journal, you usually create your own “template,” a pattern that you can follow and fill in day by day. Here you decide which fields you want to implement. Date and day of the week should not be missing, but for everything else there are no limits to your imagination. You can always change this template. However, I recommend to use the same template for at least one week to develop some continuity. If you don’t like it anymore, you can simply create a new one.

With scrapbooks, you don’t just write and paint, you also collect, cut, and glue. Here you document the important things, insights and events of your life in the form of photos, tickets, ride tickets, grains of sand and anything else you can think of. Arm yourself with scissors, glue and some nice pens and get started!

For movie buffs: a video journal

Cineastes who are rather fond of pen and paper can use their camera as a journal. How? That’s entirely up to you! Maybe you just want to record yourself entrusting your camera with all the things you would otherwise entrust to a journal. Or maybe you’d like to take a more artistic approach and make little reports of your life, cut together from individual impressions of your everyday life.

For the talkative: an audio journal

Writing isn’t your thing, but you’re good at organizing yourself when you talk? Then an audio journal might be just the thing for you. Choose a way to record yourself talking about whatever’s on your mind, as if you were telling a loved one or recording a podcast.

Important with all three formats: Also pay attention to whether you’re more visual or auditory. In fact, with all journaling methods, it’s important to go back over the material you’ve written so far every once in a while so that you can recognize any patterns. So if you easily forget things that are auditory, then audio journaling may not be for you. But if you’re also an audiobook fan, for example, then it could be ideal for you.

To be able to recognize said patterns, continuity is also important. So choose a variation that you enjoy so much that you have no problem staying with it.

Which creative type are you? Share it in the comments!