How to create an art therapy mandala for adults?
This blog answers: How to create an art therapy mandala for adults? What is mandala art therapy for adults? What are the benefits of mandala art therapy for adults? What are the ways to use mandalas for healing by adults ? What are some examples of mandalas? What are the materials required for adults to carry out mandala art therapy? What is a mandala?
How to create an art therapy mandala for adults?
Some steps that need to be followed to create mandalas that are therapeutic for adults are:
- Individuals must first start with meditation and relaxation to focus on the current movement. Following which people must focus on the patterns, symbols, and images that appear in their minds to form visual imagery of their final mandala.
- Once a person has visual imagery of their mandala they can take their art therapy mandala circle and doodle them using crayons, paints, markers, and other resources that they feel comfortable with until they finish the entire circle.
- Once individuals have finished their mandala it gives individuals a reflection of what they have been feeling within through a whole or a part of a whole picture.
What is mandala art therapy for adults?
Mandala art therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which trained professionals help individuals through an artistic process using various geometric patterns to release their stress and gain a sense of mental balance.
Mandala art therapy can be used to treat individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, anger, grief, depression, and other mental health conditions.
What are the benefits of mandala art therapy for adults?
Some benefits of mandala art therapy for adults are:
It minimizes anxiety and enhances mood
Mandala art therapy can help to reduce anxiety and stress while enhancing a person’s mood which is disrupted due to day-to-day routine.
Making mandalas or coloring them can act as great stress busters due to their attention-seeking nature and the soothing effects of interacting with colors and patterns.
It has a therapeutic effect
Mandala art therapy is set to hold a healing power where coloring the mandalas help to regulate one’s negative thoughts and emotions and substituting them with more neutral or positive ones.
The concentric circles that are involved in the mandala art have been recorded to display healing powers that helped individuals recover from their problems quickly.
It is a brain stimulator
Mandala art therapy is found to refresh one’s brain by reducing stress and anxiousness. As drawing and coloring require the involvement of both the hemispheres of the brain to maintain focus it helps the areas of the brain to work in a proportionate manner
Complex designs of the mandala help to stimulate one’s brain when they focus on patterns and colors. It helps to activate a person’s creative and analytical side in turn increasing their cognitive skills such as problem-solving and decision making.
Generate a creative spark
Mandala art therapy can help individuals to declutter their minds and find their inner creative spark that can further be projected onto their lives.
Acts as an immunity booster
It is believed that the concentric circles of the mandala display the cosmos metaphysically. Modern-day medicine believes that these mandalas act as crucial tools in inducing tranquility of the mind and also help to boost one’s immune system, reduce pain promote good sleep, and improve concentration.
Relief for several illnesses
Researchers believe that mandala art therapy can also act as an adding tool to deal with many illnesses such as high blood pressure, cancer, and epilepsy.
What are the ways to use mandalas for healing by adults ?
Some ways to use mandalas for healing by adults are:
Mandala meditation
To start with individuals must select a mandala that appeals to them. Once a person has selected their mandala of choice they must begin to concentrate on the center of the circle. The person must consciously absorb the various colors of the mandala without getting distracted.
Once a person can do this they can continue to breathe and relax and experience a sense of peace and joy. While doing this individuals can also play soothing music or divine messages in the background to foster concentration and calmness.
Creating a mandala
Creating mandalas from scratch can also be a very healing process for the one doing the activity. This process is even more effective when individuals draw mandala based on their emotions and intuitions.
Once an individual is mentally prepared with what they want to make they can start with the process, this can also be done following a small meditation to bring their focus and attention to time.
Mandalas are not necessarily to be made on paper as they can be made with the help of sand, flowers, leaves, crayons, pencils, paint, and gems. Using various resources to complete one mandala can be a way of releasing stress experienced by a person.
Coloring a mandala
Another way to use mandalas for healing is to just color the mandalas that are already prepared. They can fill their mandalas using various resources such as crayons, paints, and watercolors. coloring mandalas can also help to declutter one’s mind by focusing on the design and its intricacies.
What are some examples of mandalas?
Mandala usually takes the form of patterns that have a circle within a circle. Some examples of the mandala are;
- Flowers
- Fruits
- Tree rings
- Human cells
- Planet earth
- Solar system
- Milky Way Galaxy
What are the materials required for adults to carry out mandala art therapy?
Some resources that adults will require to carry out mandala art therapy at home are:
- A plain journal
- Paper
- A circle object for tracing such as a circle bowl
- Pencils
- Paint
- Color pencils
- Markers
- Sand
- Gem
- Flowers
- Stones
- Sticks
What is a mandala?
The word mandala means circle. Mandalas are symbolic of various things found in nature and the universe signifying culture and religion.
Mandalas are seen as a representation of religious beliefs and the impermanence of life. Mandalas can be simple or complex and often start in the center
Below are a few samples of mandalas:
Circles forming simple Mandala
Mandala with petals on several levels, and circles at the ends.
Mandala with beautiful flowers.
Mandala with various symbols: Om, Yin, and Yang
Mandala with a giraffe head in its center
Conclusion
Mandala art therapy can be used by adults for various purposes from distracting themselves from the chaos of daily routine to helping themselves with a presenting mental health issue.
Frequently asked questions: How to create an art therapy mandala for adults?
Is mandala art therapeutic for aduts?
Mandala art is therapeutic for adults as it displays an individual’s current emotions and feelings and helps bring about a soothing effect.
Why are mandalas relaxing?
Mandalas are relaxing because it involves patterns and colors which help to enhance an individual’s mood and release stress by bringing their focus and attention onto the art. It also helps individuals express their creative side which might be suppressed.
Are mandalas good for mental health?
Mandalas are found to be beneficial for people suffering from anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder both in children as well as adults.
Citation
https://www.creativecounseling101.com/how-to-do-mandala-art-therapy.html
https://www.justcolor.net/relaxation/coloring-mandalas/