40 Mind-Body Journaling Prompts
Journaling can be a wonderful way to express yourself, process emotions, and reflect and with a little adjustment it is not just supportive for your mind but also for your body/ the rest of your nervous system. If you do not know where to start, these prompts can guide you in deepening your journaling practice or starting a new one.
🌿 Somatic Awareness & Self-Care
Draw an image of your body. It can be a stick figure, an outline, or a more detailed drawing. Take a moment and ask yourself “What sensations do I feel in my body right now? Where are they located?” and draw them out on that image. You can use words like writing relaxation near your shoulders in the drawing because your are sensing relaxation there or you can draw a symbol that represents tingling by your feet if you feel a tingle there. Take a second and look at your image when you are done and write a few sentences about what your body may be telling you through these sensations.
Your body holds so much wisdom, information, and insight. If my body could speak, what would it need today? What helps you to listen to the wisdom of your body and what disconnects you from that wisdom? What can you do today to connect with and listen to what your body is saying.
Reflect on a recent moment or time when your body felt more safe or grounded then usual. What was going on in the moment? What were you seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling? Where were you? As you connect with that moment, where in your body do I feel safe or grounded? Describe the sensation. What can you learn when you reflect on that moment.
Part of building trust with yourself and the ability to regulate is becoming an expert on your nervous system. What practices help you return to my body when I feel overwhelmed? Make a list of what your know supports you. If you are not sure, what are some things you would like to try?
We can often find we are doing things that we do because they should be restful or we hope they will bring us the sense of refreshment but it can be so hard to tell what is actually restful and restorative for you. What does rest feel like in my body? How do you know when you are well-rested and refreshed? What things are you currently doing because you feel like they are good ways of resting but don’t really work for you? What things are you avoiding or not doing consistently that are restful or refreshing because they are inconvenient or maybe you have labeled them “bad” or unworthy ways to rest?
Most of us are constantly making decisions that balance the head and the heart, what we desire and what is smart and logical, what our inner-child wants us to do and what our inner-manager is calling us towards. What decisions are you facing right now that involve how much you want to pay attention to your head and how much you want to pay attention to our heart? When you imagine yourself going with your head, what do you notice going on inside the body? When you imagine yourself going with your heart, what do you notice going on in the body? What might this be telling you?
Life is full of so many moments where we must prioritize. There can be an overwhelming number of number of tasks, goals, responsibilities, dreams, and needs, coming at you at any given moment that leave us feeling discouraged or inadequate. You cannot do it all at once. Prioritizing is essential and you may not be able to get to everything on the list. What are you juggling or trying to keep up with that needs prioritizing? Make a list. As you look at that list ask yourself what is really going to matter 5 years from now? Take a moment and engage in a soothing practice (breath work, grounding, sipping tea or water and looking out the window etc.). From this more regulated place, what needs prioritizing and what can you let go of?
It can be so healing for your nervous system to spontaneously and without too much planning or judgment just give your body a bit of what it is wanting or craving. What has your body been wanting or craving recently that you can engage in or with? Is there a stretch or movement that would feel really good? Could you use some time in the sunshine or at a park? Is there are tea you have been wanting to sip and savor? Does your body want some time for creative expression? Take a moment and listen, make a short list, and then choose one thing to engage in.
Remember a time when a food, smell, or sound brought a sense of comfort to your body. Describe it in detail. What was enjoyable, comforting, or pleasant about this moment? What do you notice going on inside the body as you document this moment in detail? What does that comfort feel like in the body?
When did you last feel deeply cared for? Who were you with? What were you doing? What about that moment felt caring and loving? What does it feel like in your body when you are receiving love and care? How could knowing this impact how you make choices in and about your relationships?
💗 Self-Compassion & Inner Nurturing
Place your hand over your heart or extend another loving gesture to yourself. Hold it for 30 seconds to 1 minute. As you notice that loving gesture what words do you want to say to yourself today? What words do you need to hear that align with that action or gesture? Write them down.
There are parts of ourselves that are easier to love and embrace. These parts of ourselves either help us to behave in the ways we want o behave, get us approval or affirmation, or align with the ways we want to see ourselves. There are other parts that are harder to embrace or even recognize. These parts show up in ways we don’t like or that have needs that we want to ignore or find it had to meet. Check in with yourself and ask “What part of me needs kindness today?” What could you do today to extend kindness to this part of you.
When did I last judge myself harshly? What would it be like to meet that moment with gentleness?
Write a compassionate letter to a part of you that feels unseen or unloved.
What does “holding myself with care” mean to me today?
Think about a time that you extended kindness, compassion, or support to a close friend. Describe it in your journal. What made it possible for you to access that kindness and compassion? How did you decide how to treat or respond to that friend? How can I offer yourself the same patience you would give a close friend?
In what moments do you find it hardest to be kind to yourself? What goes on in the body in those moments? If you are not sure, observe it. Look for a moment in the next day or week when you are having challenges being kind to yourself and notice what is going on in the body? What does your compassionate self really want to say or do in those moments?
Imagine your inner critic. What do they look like? How do you see them in your minds eye? Do they look like a person, a version of you, an object, another figure? Describe them. What is that part of you usually trying to protect you from? What really helps you or truly keeps you safer in that area?
Place your awareness on your breath. Observe it gently and without judgment for about a minute? What would it say if it could talk to you?
What message does your nervous system want you to hear today?
🌙 Reflection & Emotional Presence
Just like each of us has parts of ourselves that we have an easier time or harder time embracing, we have emotions that are easier or harder to embrace. What emotion have I been resisting recently? How do those emotions show up in your body when you do allow yourself to experience them? How do these emotions show up in your body when you resist or ignore them? What could help you to feel 5% more comfortable or capable of allowing these emotions?
Notice any parts of your body that are feeling relaxed or pleasant in this moment. Maybe a place where you are noticing relaxation, pleasant warmth, a pleasant tingle, or a relaxed stillness. Let your attention rest on that part of your body and ask yourself “What emotional truth am I holding in this part of my body right now? What does this part of my body know to be true?” It could be a statement like “In this moment I am safe” or “I can trust myself” or something else. Reflect on whatever truth comes up for you.
Describe a moment this week when you felt most alive or in tune with your body. Describe it in detail. What was going on in this moment? How can you incorporate more of this into your life?
There are many ways we try to bypass emotional pain or try to avoid it, get over it, get past it without acknowledging or processing it. We do things like intellectualize, try to think our way out, avoid or opt out of challenging or activating situations, numb with foods or substances, move from distraction to distraction and more. How do find you typically bypass pain? What helps you to choose to acknowledge and process instead?
Disconnecting from your body, your intuition, and your true self are usually things that you have done to survive or make it through intense challenges. They can all be very effective ways to survive and make it through and because they work it can be tempting to continue to do it to stay protected or ready for the next challenge to come. It is important to count this cost that doing this takes without judgment. What has disconnection from your body, your intuition, and your self cost you? Write about a time you didn’t listen to your body or intuiton? What did it want you to know?
🧩 Parts-Work & Inner Dialogue
What part of me feels most activated today? Describe it. If that part had a face or a posture, what would it look like? What emotions is this part holding? What might this part need from you? How would you like to treat or speak to this part of you in this moment?
There are many ways you can understand your inner child. Maybe you see them as a past version of you that still lives within you. Maybe you see them as a collection of memories and patterns that influence you to this day. Maybe for you your inner child is a combination of psychological and spiritual, someone that lives in your mind, your heart, and your soul. How do you think of your inner child? What does you inner child need from you today?
Each of us have parts of us that long to protect you and focus on keeping you safe? How do you tend to protect yourself with feeling threatened or in danger? Who is the protector inside of you? How do they tend to show up?
There are many reasons that we silence parts of ourselves. It may be due to social pressure, messages, or punishments that have told us that certain parts of us are unwelcome and unacceptable. It may be because these parts of us hold desires or needs that we would rather ignore. It could be because these parts are sensitive and we need to be hard and protective. Which part of you is longing to be expressed but often silenced? Who does the silencing? What might it take to begin to express this part of you a bit more?
What internal voices are the loudest today? In what ways are they helpful or protective? Are they contributing to pain, distress, or confusion in any ways? Are these voices you want to listen to more clearly or voices that need nurturing and for you to find more adaptive ways to meet the needs they are expressing? What might some of those adaptive ways be?
What does your “inner manager” sound and look like, the part of you that seeks control, structure, and order? What types of words, phrases, or thoughts do they typically use to express themselves? What do they fear? Is your inner manager present and easy to connect with or distant and silent? What needs does your inner manager express most often?
Imagine a roundtable of your inner parts. Who is speaking? Who is silent? Why do you think the case?
What does your wisest, calmest, most nurturing self want to say to the parts of you that are struggling today?
🌼 Integration, Gratitude & Wholeness
In the midst of anxiety, confusion, and distress sometimes our most powerful insights come from noticing the exceptions and paying close attention to when things are different. When do you feel most aligned—mind, body, and spirit?
Think of a commitment that you have been wanting to see through or something you have been wanting to do but you are having trouble either getting started or seeing it through. How will you know when this commitment or task is completed? What will it feel like to have it done? How will you feel towards yourself? What goodness will it bring into your life? When you think about all these things what do you notice going on inside of the body?
It is challenging to know if we are making any progress in our healing journey if we are not certain where we are going. If you have been in survival mode for a long time you can likely easily define what it feels like to be stressed, sad, worried, or broken. But what you want to experience can be harder to define. So let’s start with one piece. What does wholeness mean to me right now? When have you experienced wholeness or something you believe may be close to wholeness? How did you know what it was?
What small act of self-care can you commit to today? Something that you would not usually do but that you sense that you need. What makes this act of self-care appealing today? How would it positively impact your day to see this commitment through.
Write a thank-you note to your body. The note can focus on your body’s role as your home, what it does for you, how it serves you, how it looks, what it has seen you through, what it holds, whatever feels best to you.
Where can you soften today—physically, emotionally, energetically? What would that look like and feel like? If that question is hard to answer, what makes it difficult to soften? What spaces, places, and people in your life make it possible to soften? How can you create more space to soften?
Start your journaling with this sentence: “Right now, I offer myself the grace to feel…” and then go from there.
