Ignite Your Life Week One Journal Exercises

THE YOGI LIFE JOURNAL EXERCISES WEEK 1: YOUR CRAZY MIND

Exercise 1: You’ll need to review these instructions before you begin (because you will be closing your eyes). Sit in a comfortable seat, either on the floor with your hips elevated by a blanket or cushion, or sitting with feet flat and back supported in a chair. Close your eyes, sit up straight. Softly close your mouth. Breath in and out through your nose. Observe your thoughts. It’s going to be busy in there. Don’t worry. This is normal. Set a timer and do the exercise for 5 min. Have your journal nearby with a pen. When time is up, write down all the thoughts you had. All of them. Even the weird random stuff. Especially that crazy stuff. Now, repeat the exercise, and this time add in the practice of pulling your awareness up and back behind you about three feet. So as you are sitting and breathing, you are separating from your thinking, practicing being an observer, and simply watching your thinking, and you physical reactions.

Exercise 2:

During Week 1, at the end of the day and/or after your daily meditation, write down all the thoughts that you noticed were on repeat. Start noticing themes and consistent habits of thought that you go into throughout your day. Notice what you complain about, how you complain and certain words or phrases that you tend to use over, and over again. Did you know that, according to the Cleveland Clinic, you have an average of 60,000 thoughts a day, and 95 percent are the same thoughts repeated every day.! On average, 80 percent of those habitual thoughts are negative. Yah. And you wanted to know why you feel like crap?

Exercise 3:

Write down all the really mean sh*t you say to yourself inside your head. Note especially what you say when you: look in the mirror first thing in the morning, when you make a mistake, or when someone else judges you or criticizes you, or you forget something important, or lose your car keys, are late to work, you get the idea.

DAILY JOURNAL WORK

Week 1:

• Write down repetitive thought patterns you notice during your meditations

  and yoga practices

• Keep a Food Journal – Write down what you eat at each meal, include

  snacks and desserts

• Each Day in the Morning: Write down how you want to feel that day, and

  the actions you intend to take to create those feelings

• Each Day at Night Before Bed: Write down how you actually felt and what

  actions you did or didn’t take to create that. Write down any blocks, or fears. What stopped you from creating the day you wanted to have?