3 Empowering Shadow Work Exercises for Beginners – From Dark to Light

Are you ready to meet the real you? If your answer is yes, welcome to this blog post about shadow work exercises for beginners – a complete guide on how to start shadow work.

Shadow work has helped me a lot along my healing and personal growth journey and in today’s blog post, I will walk you through three shadow work exercises for beginners, which I have used in the past and am still using today, whenever I engage with my shadow.

Shadow work has the potential to go very deep. If you are open to these shadow work exercises for beginners and ready to embrace your shadow self, shadow work can help you to unlock your full potential and empower you to step into the most authentic version of yourself.

But before we start, please note: I am not a psychologist. What I am sharing here in this blog post is my personal experience with these shadow work exercises for beginners. Be mindful that shadow work can bring up some uncomfortable emotions. Should you ever feel like you need to talk to a therapist about some things that come up, I highly recommend seeking help and support.

When you start looking into shadow work, exercises for shadow work, and shadow work books in general, Carl Jung is a name you will come across many times.

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and he was the person who popularised the idea of the ‘shadow self’.

We won’t talk too much about the person Carl Jung as such, but if you feel drawn to his name like I did when I heard about him the first time, I really encourage you to follow your intuition and do a bit of research about him.

What I will do though, throughout this blog post, I will drop a few quotes by Carl Jung. These are all quotes that inspired my thinking about shadow work in general and who knows, maybe they will do the same for you.

What is your shadow self?

How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow? I must have a dark side if I am to be whole.

Carl Jung

Do you have people in your life who seem to get everything they want ALL the time? The promotion, the happy family, the new shiny sports car, luxury weekend trips, a big social circle, you name it…They really have it all, it simply comes to them.

It is what it is…But you cannot deny that it somehow still bugs you, that they get these things so easily whereas you have to work so hard for them and still don’t have what they have.

Welcome to your shadow self. Your shadow self refers to those parts of yourself that are often suppressed, denied, or hidden. It also refers to unresolved emotions, such as fears, desires, and behavior traits that are seen as unacceptable by the people around you.

But every now and then, the shadow self comes up and reveals your true colors to you.

In this case – jealousy.

How the shadow self forms

One of the first things that we learn when we enter this 3D experience, is the importance of fitting in.

Society teaches us what is socially acceptable and what isn’t. Behaviors such as sadness, anger, shame, guilt, fear, sexual desires, etc. count as unacceptable in our society. In order to fit in, you learn that it’s best to hide these parts that are not accepted by society.

But it’s not just society that forms the shadow self. The shadow self is highly complex and we also have to keep in mind our upbringing, cultural influences, as well as any trauma that we might have experienced throughout life.

We develop a mask and over time this mask becomes our reality.

What is shadow work?

One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.

Carl Jung

Carl Jung believed that we all have a shadow self that consists of these hidden, suppressed, and denied parts and emotions of ourselves.

Shadow work is the process of shining light into these hidden aspects of ourselves. Doing shadow work is a process of self-exploration, self-reflection, forgiveness, and finally self-acceptance.

As a result, you drop the mask and you integrate these hidden parts of yourself into your persona which allows you to develop a sense of wholeness and enables you to step into the most authentic version of yourself.

Benefits of shadow work

Shadow work is also a spiritual practice. It can be challenging, but there are many mental health benefits resulting from shadow work.

Cultivate self-awareness

Shadow work encourages self-reflection which will lead you to more self-awareness. You will get to know all aspects of yourself. Self-awareness is key for personal growth and development.

Deep emotional healing

By engaging with your shadow, you have the opportunity to heal deep emotional wounds. Healing these deep emotional wounds can improve your overall mental well-being as you get a chance to free yourself from emotional baggage.

Personal growth and transformation

By engaging with your shadow you have the opportunity to release limiting beliefs and behavior patterns. Which allows you to unlock your full potential and step into a greater version of yourself.

Reach a sense of wholeness

By getting to know and accepting all parts of yourself you can achieve a greater sense of wholeness. And this greater sense of wholeness can bring more self-acceptance, and self-love which will in turn enable you to live a more balanced and happier life overall.

How to do shadow work – shadow work exercises for beginners

Before we dive into each of the shadow work exercises for beginners below, please keep in mind that shadow work might bring up some uncomfortable emotions.

And when you do these shadow work exercises for beginners, be patient with yourself and have compassion for yourself.

Shadow work takes time, effort, and consistency. Don’t push yourself and take a break whenever you need it.

And last, but not least, to get the most out of these shadow work exercises for beginners, be honest with yourself. Authenticity comes with truth.

Shadow work exercises for beginners # 1: Emotional inquiry through awareness

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

Carl Jung

Emotional inquiry is a shadow work exercise for beginners that you can do pretty much every day by simply bringing more awareness into your daily life.

Whenever you come into a situation where another person annoys you or puts you off, don’t get caught up in being annoyed.

Instead, be aware of your reaction and the emotions that come up with your reaction.

Take a step back and ask yourself:

• What is it that you find so annoying about this person/situation right now?
• What emotions came up for you?
• Did you feel any physical tension in your body?
• What does this experience tell you about yourself?
• Do you secretly wish you could be like this person?
• Do you maybe have similar behavior traits within you but you have been denying these?
• …

Start digging, self-reflect, and allow everything that comes up for you to come up. These are all great insights that will help guide you to a more authentic version of yourself. Don’t look away.

Whatever it is that bothers you in other people/situations, is likely to be a disowned part of yourself.

Over time, you will notice that the more you start to integrate this disowned part of yourself, the less it will bother you in other people/situations moving forward.

Shadow work exercises for beginners # 2: Shadow work journal prompts

Another great shadow work exercise for beginners is journaling with the help of shadow work prompts.

If you are new to journaling, no worries, I will walk you through it, but if you would like to get further information about journaling in general, check out my blog post on How to Start Journaling – The Ultimate Guide for Beginners.

As a first step, get yourself a piece of paper and a pen. If you have a journal, get your journal.

Before we dive into the shadow work journal prompts below, let’s take a moment to set the scene for your shadow work journaling exercise.

To set the scene for your journaling exercise and to set yourself up for success, follow the steps below:

• Step 1: Make yourself comfortable – find a quiet corner in your home and eliminate any distractions
• Step 2: Ground yourself – take a few deep inhales and exhales in and out through the nose
• Step 3: Acceptance – allow yourself to write down whatever comes up for you

Tip: I really recommend doing this shadow work exercise for beginners in the comfort of your home rather than in a public space. You will get so much more out of it when you do this in a space you feel comfortable and safe.

Next, have a look at the shadow work journal prompts below. Pick 1 or 2 journal prompts you feel drawn to and start journaling.

Shadow work journal prompts:

• Is it easy for you to ask for help? If not, why not? What holds you back?
• What quality do you most dislike in yourself and why?
• What behaviors in other people upset you most and why?
• What makes you feel appreciated and valued?
• Do you self-sabotage? When/what/why do you self-sabotage?
• How do you define success/failure? What does that tell you about yourself?
• What are your personal core values? Do you live in alignment with your personal core values?
• What events/people in your life hurt you the most and why did it/they hurt you?
• How do you tell your story to people around you? Are there any parts that you are leaving out? Why are you leaving them out? What are you afraid of?
• When was the last time you felt truly happy? What do you need to feel happy?
• What personality trait in others do you wish you had?
• Which emotions do you avoid and why?
• When was the last time you opened up to someone and got rejected? How did that make you feel?

Once you finished your journaling exercise, have a look at your notes.

Contemplate any emotions that might come up and sit with them for a bit.

Allow yourself the time and the space to digest any feelings and emotions that might have come up for you at that moment.

Remember, shadow work is a process of cultivating self-love within. Be mindful of your needs and desires during this process. Have compassion and understanding for yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for help. 

Shadow work exercises for beginners # 3: Shadow work meditation

If you have an established meditation practice, shadow work meditation is definitely a great addition to your shadow work exercises for beginners.

Shadow meditation engages the body, mind, and emotions.

When looking at the outline for the shadow mediation below, please note that this is the personal method that I developed over the years. And what works for me might not necessarily work for you.

Feel free to adapt what feels in alignment with you and change/leave out/replace what does not feel in alignment with you.

Shadow work meditation setup:

• Step 1: Make yourself comfortable – find a quiet corner in your home and eliminate any distractions
• Step 2: Ground yourself – sit comfortably, take a few deep cycles of breath through the nose
• Step 3: Acceptance – allow yourself to be honest with yourself
• Step 4: Observe – shift your awareness inward and a) imagine a shadow trait that you know about yourself and would like to explore or b) visualize a past event you would like to get more clarity about your shadow self
• Step 5: Meet your shadow – allow your shadow to engage with you, feel into it and listen to what your shadow has to tell you
• Step 6: Practice gratitude – express gratitude towards this emotion and appreciate its being
• Step 7: Integration – accept this emotion as a part of yourself

Be aware that the exploration of emotions might differ from session to session. Some emotions might need to be revisited a few times before they can be fully integrated.

Be patient with yourself and allow yourself the time that it needs to integrate these emotions, your shadow.

Shadow work exercises for beginners – summary

Which of the shadow work exercises for beginners is the best to start with?

When I started my shadow work journey, I started with # 1 of the shadow work exercises for beginners listed above, emotional inquiry. Then I switched to journaling and finally tried shadow work meditation. Today, all three shadow work exercises for beginners go hand in hand for me as they complement each other really well.

Shadow work is super complex and in order to fully explore your shadow, it is good to have different tools/shadow work exercises for beginners available.

But back to the question: which of the shadow work exercises for beginners is best to start with?

I would recommend you start with the shadow work exercise you feel most drawn to. And if you over time feel like switching to another one of the shadow work exercises for beginners listed above, feel free to switch it up. Change is good and it might also bring a new perspective to your shadow work overall.

And although these exercises are called shadow work exercises for beginners, this does not mean that they are for beginners only.

Over time you will see your shadow work journey evolve which means that you might still end up doing the same shadow work exercises, but you might tailor them more and more to your personal needs and requirements.

What happens if you ignore your shadow?

Your shadow wants to be known. It’s like a small child screaming for attention, longing to be heard. And the more you ignore your shadow, the louder it becomes.

E-motions are energy in motion. If they are not expressed, the energy is repressed. As energy it has to go somewhere. (…) To deny emotion is to deny the ground and vital energy of our life.” 

John Bradshaw

Your shadow consists of suppressed emotions. And if we suppress emotions, like sadness, anger, fear, etc. the energy becomes stagnant and manifests in other ways such as e.g. depression and anxiety.

But it can also be the cause of chronic diseases, addiction, or low self-esteem.

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Yes, shadow work can be challenging, but in a way, everything that is related to personal growth and personal development can feel challenging as you are pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.

I love my shadow and I am grateful for every single emotion it brought to me. And yes, just in case you are wondering, the name of my blog letyourshadowshine was definitely inspired by the concept of shadow work.

Which of the shadow work exercises for beginners did you feel most drawn to? I would love to hear from you.

Should you have any questions about the shadow work exercises for beginners we spoke about today, feel free to leave a comment below or drop me an email.

If you liked this blog post about shadow work exercises for beginners, make sure to check out:

• Find Your Happiness – How to Define Your Personal Core Values
• How to Cultivate Self-Love – Practical Tips for a Happier and Healthier You
• How to Start a Gratitude Journal

Stay wild and keep on shining warrior,

Nicolle

Featured image: Photo by Volkan Olmez on Unsplash