no more waiting... mandalas to the rescue

have you ever coloured a mandala?  

did you know that coloring a mandala using pencil crayons, crayons, paint, pastels, or markers combines the benefits of meditation and art therapy.


according to cathy wong, in her article" coloring mandalas as a meditation technique" (10/5/2012)

"Mandalas are entering medicine as a healing tool. An increasing body of clinical trials suggests that meditation can boost the immune system, reduce stress, combat depression, reduce pain, lower blood pressure, and stimulate the release of melatonin, a hormone believed to slow cell aging and promote restful sleep.

Mandalas are not just something to look at or meditate on. There are now mandala coloring books. 

People who color mandalas often experience a deep sense of calm and well-being. It's a simple tool that doesn't require any expertise, but it can be remarkably soothing and nourishing. Mandalas not only focus your attention, but allow you to express your creative side, which many of us neglect in our daily lives."

i've always been fascinated with mandalas... for some reason,  i'm definitely drawn to these powerful circles.

i visited the local bookstore numerous times to browse through their collection of mandala colouring books but none of them really grabbed me.  they were either too expensive, or the mandalas were too simplistic and not exciting.

but when i searched the all powerful web, i found these fabulous animal mandalas  (if i recall correctly, i typed in "free printable mandalas")

with my handy dandy set of coloured markers, i was set... because they were so portable, i brought them everywhere  and all my waiting time vanished.

i coloured my heart out...   

in the car, waiting for swim practice to end...

 in the car, waiting for dance practice to end...

in the car, waiting for soccer practise to end.... ( my children were busy busy busy....)

at the dentist office, while my kids teeth got cleaned....

 at the ferry terminal, waiting (and hoping) to board...

on the ferry, waiting to get onto the mainland....

in our hotel rooms, when everyone else got first dibs on the television....

they were meditative... they were therapeutic,...but most of all they were fun!!!  

while colouring them,  i could still do alot of thinking, planning, reflecting... but never brooding...the mandalas they kept me in a positive space.  

choosing the colour combinations was my biggest challenge because there are so many colours to choose from (i have one of those big 50 set of markers).  i limited my choices for each mandala to a maximum of eight colours. (4 for the background and 4 for the animal design).  

in the end, they all turned out beautiful (at least in my opinion....)

you should try it....
erica