Moving With Intention: The Bridge Between Journaling and Embodiment

There are moments in life when emotions feel tangled and clarity seems just out of reach. In these times, journalling can become a powerful ally. It offers a quiet space for reflection, allowing us to meet ourselves exactly where we are. But journalling is more than just writing down our thoughts. It is a practice of deep listening, of uncovering patterns, and of setting clear intentions for how we want to move forward.

When we journal with specific intentions, especially during challenging periods, we begin a meaningful dialogue with ourselves. We might ask: What am I really feeling? What does this moment need from me? Where am I holding resistance, and where might there be space for growth? These kinds of questions open the door to greater self-awareness and can help us understand the inner workings of our own mind and heart. But awareness on its own is not enough.

To truly process and move through what we uncover in our journalling, we must bring those insights into the body. The mind may understand something, but the body is where we hold it. Emotions are stored within our tissues, breathing and nervous system, and this is where movement becomes a form of medicine. Through yoga, breathwork, intuitive movement or even a gentle walk in nature, we can begin to shift what journalling helps us to see. We translate intention into sensation. We allow the body to speak, to release, to integrate.

As a yoga teacher and massage therapist, I witness this often. People come in carrying emotional weight that they may not have found words for, yet through movement or touch, it begins to soften. The body remembers, but it also knows how to let go. This is one of the reasons I bring journalling into the New Moon events I hold. The new moon invites us inward. It’s a time to reflect, reset and plant seeds for the cycle ahead. At these gatherings, we begin by journalling to explore what we are ready to release, what we wish to call in, and what our inner truth is gently whispering. We then move those intentions through the body. We use grounding yoga, mindful breathing, and moments of stillness to allow everything we have uncovered to shift or settle. Often, the transformation is felt more than seen. What once felt heavy becomes a little lighter. What was unclear begins to take form.

Journalling provides the map. Movement takes us on the journey.