Creating a yoga journal to support your daily practice

This month, I decided to start a yoga journal to record my sessions and reflect on the progress I’m making and how it is helping to develop me mentally and physically. It’s something I’ve thought about doing for a while as I’ve been doing yoga almost every day for over a year now. Today, I’m sharing the benefits of the journal and what I include in mine. I’m also going to show my actual journal and some of the contents, as I’m really loving using it and thought you might like to see how much I write.

Why keep a yoga journal?

I’ve only been keeping my journal for a week but so far I’m finding it really helpful. Here’s some of the main benefits I’ve found so far:

• it’s a wonderful creative outlet – I really enjoy writing and I love any opportunity to get my thoughts and feelings down on paper, if you feel the same, why not have a go!
• it’s helping me become more in tune with my emotions by reflecting on how I feel before and after my practice – sometimes I discover I’m frustrated because I feel like I haven’t achieved enough in my day, but then after my session, my concerns have melted away
• it’s great for accountability
• I’m becoming more aware of my progress – it’s helped me realise that there are poses I can now do more easily than when I started a year ago were much more challenging
• I’m connecting more deeply with my practice by reflecting on it regularly

What equipment do I need to get started?

All you’ll need is a notebook (or some space in your BuJo if you prefer to plan and journal all in one place), a nice pen (I’m using a Muji gel pen in 0.38 as I prefer a smaller nib) and some scheduled time in your day to get writing (for my post of creating and sticking to new habits click here). I’m also using some small sheets of sticker paper to put in images of poses I’ve been practising so I have a visual reminder of the correct form and any modifications or variations for less advanced students – this is completely optional though and just my preference.

My journal is quite small at 4 x 6 inches and the lined pages are relatively thin. I already had this notebook in my stash and, as it’s so pretty, I enjoy looking at the covers each day. The paper isn’t the best quality but it’s just fine for notemaking and adding images of asanas that are new to me or that I need to modify with various equipment. Also, I’m a fan of hoarding pretty little notebooks rather than actually using them so this was the perfect opportunity to use one of my supplies!

What should I include in my yoga journal?

Here’s my ideas of what to include if you fancy starting your own journal for your yoga. It might also spark prompts for other form of exercise or mindfulness practises that you engage in on a regular basis.

• date and time
• length of session
• class / home practise?
• video / book / ebook or just practising from memory of different asanas?
• how did I feel before?
• which asanas did I do?
• what equipment did I use and how did it help me?
• which of the asanas did I find difficult?
• what do I want to work on next time?
• how do I feel after?

I’ve added these suggestions to the front of my journal so I can turn to the page for ideas. I don’t necessarily answer all of the questions each time but it reminds me of things that I can include if I want to.

Here’s a few example pages from this week:

I hope you have enjoyed reading my ideas for creating a yoga journal and that my post has encouraged you to start your own to record your fitness journey. Let me know in the comments if you already track your progress in some way or if you are thinking about setting up your own yoga journal.