Welcome to Week 4 of our 6 Week Mindfulness Challenge! This week we will be focusing on the art of self-reflection through journaling. 

Journaling is the perfect way to settle in, get re-centered, express what's truly going on inside, and have your own moment of wellness. The practice leads to creating a safe space to collect your thoughts, fully unfiltered, and get them out of your head and onto paper. It's a beautiful form of self care. 

Journaling to me is about figuring out how I process things, and a starting point for important conversations. Some ideas may be so complicated or sensitive that they can be difficult to bring up in conversation. But since conversation is the best way for me to process, I use journaling as a conversation with myself. I ask questions, give answers. Often I have found that journaling alone won't resolve or clarify the issues entirely for me, but it allows me to get comfortable with talking about it. To figure out what I'm feeling well enough that I can know how to bring it up in conversation, and fully process it the way that I need to. I have found that journaling helps me to put my thoughts in order especially when something is particularly complicated.

Before you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboards, you have to  get comfortable with one thing...your journal has to be a judgement free zone! Mindful journaling is about making the connection with the here and the now and acknowledging the feelings, no matter what they are. It is a sitting space where reflection, gratitude, clarity and joy can settle in. 

Throughout the first 3 weeks of this challenge journaling has been apart of each and every practice we have learned. This week our goal will be to give the practice more time throughout our day. You don't have to write every single day, but the more often you write, the more effective it will be. You want to turn it into a habit! This week we will dive into the different ways to journal!

I want to share with you about a few of the different way I use  journaling as a mindfulness practice. Journaling, in my opinion can take many different forms.

(1) I have journaled for mental health, times when my stress and anxiety have been high, sitting down and quieting my mind allows me to break the issue/problem down into more manageable pieces. It gives me the opportunity to examine my feelings and fears, identify obstacles and brain storm solutions. This helps take away the overwhelming feelings, puts the issue into perspective, and puts the power back in my court.

(2) Gratitude journal. The week of Thanksgiving I wrote a Blog on my main website page about how to create a gratitude practice. This is a wonderful journaling practice that helps bring awareness, and light into our everyday joys. 

(3) I have journaled for my fitness goals. I see my daily workout logs as a form of journaling! I write a quote on to top of each page, some are thought provoking, some inspiring, some just move me! Through writing, I take note of how I'm feeling that day, my energy level, where I am in my treatment regimen for my Lupus, where my pain level is at that moment. I write down what body part I'm focusing on for the day, and I track what exercises I perform along with the number of reps and sets completed. I journal goals, and track my outcomes and progress. 

(4) I have journaled for my nutrition goals. When I was first diagnosed with Lupus I was referred to a dietitian. I was encouraged to keep a food log. Similar to what we did in Week 1 of this challenge, keeping a food log can often give us new insight into what we are putting into our bodies. Helps to identify emotional eating habits, bring to light food reactions/allergies, and can help us meet our nutrition goals. 

(5) Art journaling. Art has always been apart of my person. I enjoy painting, sketching, and creating. It is a powerful outlet for me. This is a great way to add personal creativity to your journaling practice. I cut pictures, and words out for magazines and paste them right into my journals. You can use markers, colored pencils and sketch along side your thoughts. Add color, shapes and designs. Anything goes! 

(6) Activity journal. Whenever I have embarked on a backpacking hike, a new journal is always included in my pack. I carry that book and pen with me on my back for weeks at a time. Being able to write down my thoughts and feelings along my hike makes for a richer more meaningful experience. When training for a big race each year, I keep a running journal that is similar to my workout journal. Including names of trails, miles ran, altitude, elevation changes, speeds, what my focus was for that particular run. Was it a long run, hills, tempo run? How was I feeling? What was the weather like? How was the nutrition I had for the day? Were the running gels helpful or harmful to my stomach. Theses journals turn moments into memories. They help guide my trainings, both current and for future races. 

One of the gifts of journaling is the ability to go back and reflect on your past. Rereading what I've written in the past can be one of the most helpful parts of journaling. What better way is there to learn to understand yourself better? To see your patterns and triggers? Or what truly makes you happy in life? On each of my journaling pages I leave a little space at the bottom labeled "Reflection" if at some point I go back and read my entry, I use this spot to add a note on may insights I've gained from rereading the what I wrote. 

Journaling is a personal experience. There are no rules to follow! It is a practice that is just for you! I hope that you join me this week as we complete different journaling experiences. So for today, gather your art supplies, pick out a journal if you don't already have one ( no worries if you don't a simple pen and paper will work). 

I'll see you tomorrow for our first journal prompt! 

Much love,

Katie