Welcome to this month’s writing yoga. Instead of stretching our writing, we are going to use our writing to stretch our beliefs and actions.

For many of us, writing is a form of thinking. That’s what we’re going to do in this simple exercise.

The basic exercise

The exercise this month comes from Julia Cameron, the author of several wonderful books on writing and creativity including The Artist’s Way and Finding Water. This one comes from the book Seeking Wisdom.

In a journal or on a piece of paper just to yourself, write 5 sentences that all begin with, “If I had no fear, I would…” 

1. If I had no fear, I would …
2. If I had no fear, I would …
3. If I had no fear, I would …
4. If I had no fear, I would …
5. If I had no fear, I would …

You can do this with any part of your life, but it’s particularly instructive to do it with your writing.

“If I had no fear, I would … what?” Maybe I’d submit a poem to that journal, or perhaps I’d try to write something achingly beautiful.

So go ahead and 5 times write through that. “If I had no fear, I would…” 

Try this variation

I hear so often from writers that they just don’t have time to write. So, here’s a variation that addresses that issue:

Write 5 sentences that begin with, “If I had time to write, I would…” and see where that takes you.

1. If I had time to write, I would …
2. If I had time to write, I would …
3. If I had time to write, I would …
4. If I had time to write, I would …
5. If I had time to write, I would …

What happens next?

Look at the possibilities that you’ve outlined.

• Are you surprised by the possibilities you came up with?
• Do those barriers seem as real?

Doing this exercise can breath new life into you writing life.

You might decide it doesn’t take that much courage to submit something to that journal. Perhaps you can ask for support.

If lack of time is your barrier, maybe these shiny possibilities could help you find half an hour a day or every other day to write.

What would happen then?

Writing like this can help us see the barriers getting in our way—and perhaps poke holes into them.

Does this inspire you to break through a barrier?

If you’d like, share your results with me and the rest of us. Happy writing and happy stretching.

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Find previous Writing Yoga posts here, or visit my YouTube channel.