Ok this might be a slightly strange one but please bear with me… I’m not actually sure how I feel about this myself but I’ve recently discovered my love for colouring books! And no, not for my children but for myself!
Am I turning into a toddler?
So how did I get into this you might ask? Is it because I’m now a stay-at-home-mum and start to slowly but surely go crazy as I’m dealing with play-dough, noisy toys and colouring books all day?
I have to admit that I always play with playdough a lot longer than my kids who usually lose interest after 5 minutes… It happened to me more than once that I’m still making cakes and snails while the kids are already on to other things! Is that weird?
So it could certainly be the case that I’m turning into a toddler but it could also be that this is actually a real thing that can make us feel good!
What are Mandalas?
I came across Mandala colouring for the first time during my Children’s Yoga Teacher Training with Rainbow Kids Yoga. There was lots of talk about creating Mandalas and I had absolutely no clue what the teacher was talking about so I decided to look into this a little bit more.
Mandalas are Indian spiritual symbols that represent the universe. They are used in Hinduism and Buddhism and the word Mandala means “wheel” or “circle” in sanskrit. The form is usually a circle which is divided into four sections but there are many many many different forms and variations so it’s a difficult one to define.
Creating mandalas is supposed to help to focus and reorder your thoughts. It’s used in meditation and simply colouring in Mandalas is a form of meditation in itself. We are using the right side of the brain, our creative and expressive side, in a relaxed way which can help to relieve stress and anxiety!
Carl Jung, a swiss psychoanalist who is thought to have intorudced the concepts of mandalas to the West wrote in his autobiography:
“I sketched every morning in a notebook a small circular drawing, … which seemed to correspond to my inner situation at the time. … Only gradually did I discover what the mandala really is: … the Self, the wholeness of the personality, which if all goes well is harmonious.”
ââCarl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, pp. 195 â 196.
Mandala Colouring Book
So when I found out that this is actually a real thing and Mandalas are used as a relaxation technique I had to try it out for myself!
During a shopping trip to Tesco I then found a fabulous Mandala colouring book and I was actually surprised by all the choice there was! To be fair I never look in the Arts & Crafts section when I look for a magazine for myself so this was a complete revelation to me!
I know that I enjoyed colouring a lot as a child but in my adult life before I had my kids I would have never dreamed of buying a colouring book…but here it is!
There are lots of different shapes and the spaces are really small (if you’re used to the usual Peppa Pig colouring books). They are very symmetrical which I like (maybe thats because I’m German) and it actually takes ages to finish one page!
It’s strange because it’s as if it’s something that I have forgotten or maybe chosen not to do for so long which then became very liberating when I started it again!
Probably similar to writing which I always enjoyed but just didn’t do for so many years! I’m not very artistic, I’m not good at drawing anything other than flowers and stickmen but I just find colouring very relaxing!
I don’t know if it’s the actual Mandalas or any colouring the it’s true that the shape makes it interesting and somehow helps to focus and to re-organise my thoughts.
You don’t have to spend money on finding mandalas by the way (my book cost £3.99) but if you just google the term Mandala you will find lots of free downloads!
I have to say that I found it very enjoyable and got quite into it… So much that I felt like throwing a tantrum when my two year old decided to take over and colour over my beautiful Mandalas!!!
I guess that’s the price of embracing your inner child!
I love yoga so much!! I do yoga almost every day, I originally tried it for its health benefits but now I do it because it makes me look great. Its so much better than any other exercise I’ve tried for this kind of stuff. When I was first starting out my yoga teacher recommended this to me to help me achieve my goal of a good looking body. I loved it so much and I still use it today to keep my body looking great!!! its the best thing that has ever happened to me and I just want to recommend it to everyone!
I did not know that Carl Jung was big on the mandala! You learn something everyday. Colouring and doodling is one of my favourite ways of practicing mindfulness x
I love adult colouring books and find them so relaxing. I often wonder how I could display my pices though – seems a shame to just keep them hidden in a book once complete!
Ha! I know we put up stuff that our kids made all the time! Why not our artwork too!
I love these, they are very addictive!