How art helps you achieve mindfulness?

With our lives becoming busier and chaotic day by day, it has become imperative to take care of our health, both physical & mental.

While most of us are conscious about our physical well-being, we rarely focus on our mental health even though our brain works continuously throughout the day.

Sure we have heard about meditation, some of us have even tried it but find it difficult to practice. We have excuses like “I can’t meditate because my mind keeps wandering,” or “I can’t focus on one thing for longer,” or “I feel sleepy so meditation is not for me.” If you ride the same boat, practising mindfulness with art might interest you.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is simply ‘being present in the present!’

When you are in a state of mind when you are not thinking about what your colleague said to you last week, and when you are not worried about your kid’s exam next week, but when you are just focusing on what is happening at the present moment, you are being mindful.

In other words, when you are fully present mentally, you are being mindful.

Mind you, it is not about absence of thoughts or about having a blank mind, it is just about thinking only about the present moment and getting absorbed in the details.

What are the benefits of practising mindfulness?

When you don’t have a train of thoughts running in your head, its natural to feel calmer and more relaxed. Scientifically, mindfulness helps with

1. lowering stress levels

2. reducing harmful overthinking

3. disengagement from mental clutter

4. improving our overall health, and

5. protecting against depression and anxiety

If you feel over-whelmed with the forever-running thoughts in your mind, practising mindfulness with art can be helpful.

How art helps in achieving mindfulness

I am sure you remember times when you were doodling on a piece of paper, gradually drifting into a zone and getting lost into your random drawings when you suddenly realised you were in the middle of a lecture?

Achieving mindfulness through art comes naturally. When you are immersed into creating something, all your focus and energy is concentrated in the present. The colours, smell, and textures pull you into the moment without extra efforts.

From my personal experience, I always found practising meditation difficult but when I am doing something creative, I get immersed into it very easily.

Even when you do a light colouring activity, suddenly your entire universe gets focused around colouring within the lines, imagining what colours would look good together, etc. Without realising you enter into a calmer zone. 

Painting mandalas using dot technique is a great way to increase mindfulness. the step by step gradual process brings your attention & thoughts to the present moment.

What if you have you not done anything arty before

Also, for all the people who think they are bad at art. You don’t need to be an artist to practice mindfulness with art. All you need is to just try it once and enjoy without worrying about anything else.

To be honest, I feel it would be easier to get into the zone if you have not been doing much art related activities. That is because when you are not used to doing a task, you make conscious efforts to focus on it and do it with complete attention, thus getting engrossed in the present moment.

If you’ve no meditation experience or find it difficult to calm your mind or sit still and meditate, then creative activities are a wonderful way to enhance your capacity to focus & concentrate. Try doing something creative to calm your mind, you will be surprised to see the benefits.

Achieving mindfulness by painting mandalas

Lately, I have started practising mindfulness by painting mandalas using dot painting technique. The systematic and gradual process brings sanity to my chaotic mind, the bright colour combinations energise me and make me feel happy. If you want to try painting a mandala, here are some mandala projects for your inspiration.

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