Category: coloring

Why You need Mindful Coloring

Watching the pandemic news, working from home, kids home from school, schedules a mess….who can relate? As a mom, like me, you probably feel the burden of keeping the peace in the house, meal preparation, etc. Keeping the kids balanced as well as your spouse. I’m not sure why we take this on, but it seems instinctual.

In the wake of this corona virus craziness we all need a very simple way to relax and reduce stress. A daily practice of coloring can calm the mind and stay positive. Keep you mentally healthy to prioritize what matters.

Coloring has the ability to relax the fear center of your brain, the amygdala. It induces the same state as meditating by reducing the thoughts of a restless mind.

beaumont.org – health benefits of coloring for adults

You don’t have to look far to realize mindful coloring has several benefits. The following are just to name a few benefits according to Alfred James – author of Pocket Mindfulness …

  • relieving stress
  • replacing patterns of negative thinking
  • encouraging yourself to be present
  • escaping the rat race
  • building mental strength
  • relaxing and having some fun

And a study noted by Psychology Today’s blog indicates after a week of daily practice it displayed significantly lower levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms.

What you need is 5 to 15 minutes (or more if you can) to just relax the mind, to concentrate on the positive. Coloring is so simple. You will find it really does help bring you into the present and give your mind that break and calm it needs.

An added benefit is the end result can be shared to spread some happiness and positive feelings in others.

If you interested in getting a mindful coloring book, here is a link to get one on Amazon.

Coronavirus – Mindfulness Derailed

3 simple things we can do to move forward in times when mindfulness is difficult.

If you’re anything like me: full time employee, mom of children in school, daughter of mother with alzheimer’s, spouse to now anxious husband…your mindful journey may be disrupted too. How do we get back on track. How do we keep our friends and family on track around us?

For some, their kids are out of school, others may have been home teleworking, and some have been sick. I’m praying, that anyone that gets this virus we recover quickly. And praying the financial stability of our world will return quickly.

Praying, (if you do this) is a way of releasing control…giving it to someone or something else. This is a great way to allow yourself to let go of things that may be too big to conquer alone. Ask yourself what it would feel like to give it to someone else to worry about while you plan for what’s to come.

Letting go, to me, is simply accepting what is…to be prepared for what’s next.

I’m not suggesting we stick our head in the sand. We can definitely take a moment to think of what we do have control over. For me, I have control over how I react to the craziness around me. I have control over not spreading panic or negativity. I even have some control over my health and wellbeing. I have some limited influence over reminding family and friends to be mindful in times like these. In turn, it is also a reminder to my own journey.

Bring it on.

So, what are some simple things we can do to proceed in times of mindfulness is difficult. It entails some planning for the days ahead to prevent heightened anxieties…I’m going to do the following for my family.

  1. Plan for items that promotes good sleep. Such as journaling, reading, or relaxing music before bed. Journaling can consist of just writing down things/feelings on your mind or even a simple todo list. Remind family and friends of these techniques.
  2. Plan for 15 minutes a day for something mindful with someone. Such as coloring, walking meditation, or observing nature (like photography). I’ve been finding these to be helpful and alternating between them..even before the stress of a virus.
  3. Let go of what is not in my control. This is where praying comes in to play for me. It could be other things for you. Such as, having gratitude for the universe and people we hold dear.

There are several more things we can do to promote mindfulness. But these are the ones I have in my toolbox at this time. They seem reasonable to me and I am a woman of moderation at heart.

We will persevere through these times.

Improve Focus

What to get out of this post: 3 mindful activities that can help increase the ability to focus. They have equal benefit for men, women, and children.

  1. Coloring
  2. Walking
  3. Connecting with Nature

Coloring

I find the coloring is pretty easy and good way to practice a laser focus on the ‘here and now’. You want to be intentional about the activity. Meaning, set a time and a find a place you are undisturbed…keep your attention to the coloring and when your mind drifts off (which it will) redirect it back to the physical act of coloring, choosing colors, the texture of the paper, the pens or pencils, the sounds, etc.

Walking

I used to walk and just let my thoughts wander and go from thought to thought, I would work out problems to solve or plan things I needed to do that day. Which is valuable, but the practice of mindfulness walking that trains the mind for focus is a bit different. It is an activity of intention and discipline to stay focused. Each step having intention and observance of the action, and feeling every motion and interaction with the feet to the ground.

The following information is a good to start: A guided ten minute walking meditation by MrsMindfulness. She also posted a soundcloud guided meditation.

I really like the following quote from the guided walking meditation.

“…Aiming to put aside any mental commentary, labeling or judging about what you see, and instead just being present with what is here to be seen…”

https://mrsmindfulness.com/guided-walking-meditation/

Connecting with Nature

Connecting with nature can be done in multiple ways and I’m only scratching the surface here. One way is to observe nature and really focus on the details of what you see. When other thoughts interrupt, use the study to refocus on the nature you are observing. Think about the texture, the smells, the movement, colors, etc.

I started adding pictures and videos of nature on the lifeinspiredreflections instagram account. It’s been really fun to work with my daughter to capture these and post them. We will continue to post more. Here is one of a flower.

Another way to use nature for practicing mindfulness is picturing in your mind of something in nature you’ve seen before. Sit without distraction and close your eyes and visualize every detail…try to rebuild the image in you mind. Even better describe it to someone else with you. It’s harder than you think and does take some practice.

There are several more out there related to nature. The main thing I’m getting out of these is the practice of keeping the mind focused. I find distraction in almost every corner these days and I used to be very intentional with my focus. I am working to get that back and attempt to make it a subconscious skill again.

Thank you for reading…stay tuned for more ways to practice in simplistic ways. Please comment or email easy ways you’ve practiced mindfulness.

Coloring with Intention

I’ve never really been much of an artist myself, but I’ve always been an admirer and supporter of art and artists. I find observing art and thinking about what it took to create it very meaningful to me. I can really dive into related memories and observations that the art provokes. I am so blessed I have friends and daughters that have the gift of art and appreciation for it. I have even been thinking of experimenting with simple art myself.

Recently, as I got a starbucks and perused target while looking through the book isle, I ran across some coloring books for positive thinking. Considering my desire to do some simple art, I wondered if coloring would help me be more mindful. Post I’ve read recently even claim coloring can create a meditative state. They claim you don’t even really need to think about it, the calmness will come naturally with the activity.

I brought my book home and sat it on the coffee table. Thinking this will be relaxing and enable me to share my experience as well. After walking past it a couple days, I ordered some cheap markers and anxiously awaited their arrival from amazon. They arrived the next day.

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

– Thich nhat hanh

I collected up markers and my book and tore out the first page. I highly advise if you try this to get the perforated paged books. It’s much easier to color them independent of the book itself. I found a comfortable spot on the couch and started in on my adventure.

I immediately noticed, as I opened the markers, that I was very much in the present moment trying to decide what colors to use. I started with a lite pink marker. As I picked it up I realized I had not used a felt marker in a long time and it was very lite in my hand as I started to fill in the first shape.

I started to notice how quiet it was in the room and my breathing was relaxed as I chose each shape to be pink. I didn’t pre choose a color pallet, but that may have made it even easier on me during the activity. Each time I chose a new color, I just spread that color out across the pattern. I was listening to the marker sweep across each stroke to fill in the shapes. I was coloring very contently for about 15 minutes.

At the 15 minute mark I did find that my mind was trying to pull me away from the present. I was determined to stay with my intention of coloring a single page. I stayed focused to finish the outside pattern for about 5 more minutes for a total of 20 minutes. But my page was only half completed before I needed to start some food preparation and dog needed let out.

Lucky for me, my daughter came walking into the room right as I was wrapping up. I showed her what I was doing and asked her if she wanted to try it. She finished the middle section for me in a beautiful pattern of colors which is now my profile picture of an owl with flowers around it.

So, I do think this is worth the practice. I noticed that it does help you to be more aware of the present even after the activity. I will see if my patience improves with practice. I have a whole book to color now. I have posted some of the resources I used to find information and more examples of this activity.

Resources

These resources have information about how to do this activity and also lots of free resources for coloring pages to print as well as some Amazon links.