A Journaling Practice for When Your Body Holds Stress

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A Journaling Practice for When Your Body Holds Stress

TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY

Do you ever feel it?

That tight, familiar knot in your shoulders. The heavy, exhausted ache behind your eyes. The shallow breathing in your chest when you’re overwhelmed.

We can be so busy trying to manage our minds. We forget to listen to our bodies.

We treat our bodies like a vehicle. We just drive them around. We ignore all the warning lights on the dashboard until smoke starts coming out of the engine.

The Body is a Temple, Not a Machine

But our bodies are not separate from our spirits.

The Bible calls our body a

“temple of the Holy Spirit”
(1 Corinthians 6:19).

It is a sacred space. It is a holy space. It doesn’t just carry our stress. It communicates with us.

It is often the first thing to tell us when we are overwhelmed. It speaks long before our mind is ready to admit it.

Tension as an Invitation

Consider a shift in perspective.

What if that shoulder tension is a quiet invitation to “cast your burdens”? What if that exhaustion is a holy call to “be still”?

Your journal can be the place where you finally get quiet enough to listen.

It is where you bridge the gap between your spinning mind and your weary body. It is where you ask a simple, loving question: “What do you need?”

yOUR pROMPTS

Prompts for a Body-Soul Conversation

Use these prompts to reconnect with your physical self.

  • The Quiet Scan: “I am closing my eyes. I am taking one deep breath. As I scan my body from head to toe, where do I feel tension? Where is the tightness? Where is the weariness? I will just name it without judgment.”
  • Giving it a Voice: “I’m focusing on that one spot (for example, ‘my tight jaw,’ ‘my heavy shoulders’). If this feeling had a voice, what would it be trying to tell me? What is it holding?”
  • A Thank You Note: “What is one thing my body has done for me today? What can I be grateful for? (for example, ‘Thank you, feet, for holding me.’ ‘Thank you, lungs, for breathing.’)”
  • A Prayer of Kindness: “God, how can I be a careful steward of this ‘temple’ today? What is one small, kind act my body is asking for? (A nap? A glass of water? A 5-minute stretch?)”

yOUR aCTION pOINT

Your Action Point: A 3-Minute “Body Scan”

Sometime today, you will feel that first wave of overwhelm. When you do, set a timer for three minutes.

  1. Stop what you’re doing.
  2. Close your eyes.
  3. Place one hand on your heart. Place the other on your stomach.
  4. Just breathe. Notice the tension. Notice your breath.
  5. Write. When the timer ends, open your journal. Write one sentence about what you noticed. Write one kind thing you will do about it.
  • “I noticed my shoulders are up by my ears. I will go for a 5-minute walk.”
  • “I noticed my jaw is clenched. I will drink a glass of water.”

With quiet grace, Debbera