Painting mandalas helps emotional balance and self-knowledge. Discover the benefits of painting these figures and start taking advantage of their advantages.
paint mandalas It is a method of relaxation and concentration that comes from the East. And besides, it’s fashionable. You see mandalas on building facades, on book covers, and people even tattoo them on their bodies. However, many people are unaware that creating mandalas and/or coloring mandalas is highly beneficial for our emotional balance, it helps us maintain a state of concentration that awakens our senses and illuminates our creativity. So much so that even looking at images of mandalas or photos of mandalas can induce us into a state of relaxation.
When we refer to a mandala We are pointing to a complex circular drawing with geometric shapes that help the practice of meditation in the Buddhist and Hindu world. The word comes from Sanskrit and its meaning is: “magic circle”. Its origin dates back to India and from that country it was adopted in other eastern countries until it reached us. There is evidence of images of a mandala from times very distant to our era, since in ancient times they already made use of many of its particularities.
Where does the popularity of mandalas come from?
The psychiatrist and founder of the school of analytical psychology Carl Gustav Jung in the mid-20th century called mandalas probable expressions of the collective unconscious. For Jung, the center of the mandala symbolizes the “self,” which the subject attempts to perfect in the process of individualization. It is now in the present when both the mandala in images How to draw has become popular due to all the benefits that we can obtain thanks to this art.
Jung came to use the traditional lotus flower mandala to provide psychotherapy to his patients. Furthermore, even those who he suspected were suffering from a psychological illness, he had them create their own easy and simple mandalas to be able to visualize if there was a correlation between them and their emotional disorders.
In these sessions he reached interesting conclusions about the mandalas So much so that even though none of the patients had ever visualized a circular mandala or any of the photos of flower mandalas or the lotus flower, most of them drew symbols very similar to the ones we are used to seeing today. in day. That is why Jung stated that mandalas were clearly a representation of what he called the collective unconscious.
Following the presentations of this well-known psychologist, according to his interpretations, the mandala images They have a design that is closely related to antiquity and our culture. According to this, it was and is today a way to restore the harmony of our interior.
“It became increasingly clear to me that the mandala is the center. It is the exponent of all paths. It is the path to the center, to individuation. “
Carl Gustav Jung
Why is it beneficial to paint mandalas?
Coloring mandalas It’s not just a matter of children’s games. Mandala therapy for children and adults has multiple benefits and is a form of art therapy. No matter how old we are, taking a notebook full of silhouettes and filling them with colors, or even creating our own mandala designs to paint immerses us in a state that gives us multiple advantages. Let’s look at some of them.
Helps you relax: This type of organic or geometric figures has a spiritual component: the simple act of observing it produces a certain hypnotic sensation that relaxes and produces calm. In fact, it is a relaxation technique in itself, since by paint mandalas Breathing becomes more rhythmic and heart rate drops.
Improves our ability to concentrate: By coloring mandalas, we activate concentration. As these are geometric figures with a certain symmetry, it is necessary to be concentrated so as not to make a mistake on which line you paint in a certain color, so the attention is focused on the task of achieving balance and harmony in the drawing.
It is part of the meditation: Now mindfulness, or what is the same, full attention, is fashionable. To the paint mandalas We are practicing mindfulness since we focus completely on the task and, therefore, we do not think about day-to-day worries or pending tasks. So much so that any type of coloring mandala is effective to achieve these effects: both animal mandalas and other coloring pages for adults. In most cases, the concentration required to color mandalas or paint mandalas ends up having the same effects as practicing meditation. So painting and coloring mandalas will help you disconnect from your worries and encourage positive discourse within yourself.
Reduces stress and anxiety levels: By relaxing our body on a physiological level and putting worries aside, it reduces the levels of anxiety and stress produced by everyday situations or current problems. Several studies have shown that paint mandalas It reduces anxiety much more than painting any other drawing or on any other surface. In addition, coloring mandalas helps you leave behind the negative thoughts that are recurrently in your mind. So much so that any of the ways to color mandala drawings will be effective in reducing this internal discourse that keeps repeating itself. Also, when you see the mandala drawings to color, it can remind you of the positive feelings you have experienced during the process.
We let our rational part rest: It is clear that in our usual routine we function more with the rational part of the brain (left hemisphere), we speak, write, think… Let’s say that the rational part is hyperactivated while the creative, spatial and emotional part (right hemisphere) is lethargic To the paint mandalas We activate the right hemisphere of our brain and allow the left one to stop functioning at full capacity at least for a while.
Helps express and identify emotions: The colors we choose are not coincidental. Depending on our mood, we use some colors or others and we also choose a specific design. Coloring mandalas It serves to give free rein to emotional expression as well as to assess or qualify the emotional state one had while painting.
Promotes personal acceptance and self-knowledge: By identifying the emotion or emotions we had at the time of painting the mandala, we become more aware of our internal world. We can reflect on how we feel and what leads us to be that way, and that will be the key to being able to make changes and address problems or indulge in positive emotions. Thus, it can be said that paint mandalas It has a therapeutic component because it facilitates acceptance of the situation as well as the defects and virtues that one has and promote therapeutic change.
Encourage creativity: Whether painting or even creating and subsequently painting the mandala, thinking about the colors to use, how to distribute them in the space and how to combine them, develops a creative side that sometimes we may even doubt we have. Observing the creation once it is made and enjoying it helps improve the feeling of well-being, satisfaction and a job well done, which also helps to raise levels of self-esteem. So much so that when you draw mandalas or start one of these paintings to color your brain uses both areas of the brain in a balanced way. Therefore, in an artistic process of painting difficult or easy mandalas we are improving both our creativity and our problem-solving skills. That’s why colorful mandalas are the best way to train your brain.
You dedicate some time to yourself: Sometimes people don’t know how to choose what leisure activity to do or they don’t feel skilled at certain tasks. The fact of paint mandalas, being a simple act that can be done anywhere and at any time, helps to carry out a leisure activity that does not require excessive time and that allows you to have your moment in which you are not doing any obligation. You take time for yourself and your emotions, and that’s always okay.
Stimulates the immune system: If you thought that coloring mandalas It only brought you psychological benefits, this information will surprise you. Painting mandalas is not only good for our mental well-being, but there are also various scientific studies that have shown that these coloring paints stimulate the immune system since they improve our concentration, reduce pain and end up promoting sleep.
Reconnect with your inner child: Whatever mandala markers you use, you can benefit from a style of psychological therapy if you practice one of these coloring paintings. Thanks to color a mandala You will be able to reconnect with your inner child, even being able to overcome some traumas or difficulties that we have tried to leave behind. So much so that at the moment of enjoying mandalas to draw or paint, adults reconnect directly with their inner child, allowing them to know themselves better and accept themselves much more.
Many times paint mandalas It can reveal that we have an internal evil that we may not have detected. For this reason, if you practice this art therapy you can see problems that you didn’t know were there. In these cases, complementing this activity with psychological therapy can bring you many emotional benefits.
How to paint mandalas?
To get started, you can find mandalas For all tastes, from large drawings to smaller ones that require more detail. There are also pages on the internet where they offer us some photos to draw mandalas or where we can even color mandalas for free. And you will find them in the form of drawing notebooks with blank templates and you can even download mandalas to paint from any website on this topic. Before starting you should keep some things in mind:
Can coloring mandalas with colored pencils, markers, watercolors or any other material you can think of.
The mandala drawings The larger ones are perfect for getting started and the smaller ones are perfect for enhancing concentration and improving stress.
Don’t think about the colors you choose or where you apply them, just let yourself be carried away by what you feel like doing at that moment.
However you do it, it will be well done, because it is simply a reflection of yourself at that moment. In any case, there are books or websites about paint mandalas that propose possible interpretations of your creations based on the colors and shapes you have used. I consider that oneself is the one who can best interpret what he does. For someone, the color grass green can be a symbol of nature and purity and for another it can be a color associated with unpleasant moments in their personal life. So better interpret what you have done based on your criteria and not a table.
Only when you have finished your creation is it okay to analyze it. Evaluate what you see and interpret your own emotions. Think about why you have chosen to color a more circular mandala or with different shapes, with great complexity or simple, if you use many colors or few, if the colors are well distributed or chaotic, etc. Now you know, take advantage of the benefits of painting mandalas since if it is an ancient technique it is not by chance, it is because it works.
