The Best Way to Relieve Stress Artistically

My high school religion teacher first introduced me to mandalas in my senior year and I still use them today to relieve stress. Sitting down at my desk with some music and just totally focusing on completing one artistic task is a really fun way to clear your mind. Unfortunately, most people don’t know what a mandala is or how to make one, so I thought I would give you a little information about them and a guide about how to make one for yourself. Mandalas are a sacred form of Buddhist art that involves creating a circular pattern by focusing intently on adding one shape at a time around a center point. The most important part is to not decide what you want the end product to look like, but instead to allow it to just kind of determine its own look. If you focus intently on each shape you add, your worrying mind should fall quiet very quickly. Have fun destressing! 

 Steps to Make a Mandala:

1.  Start with a square piece of white paper. I usually use plain white computer paper and trim the ends to make a perfect square. (Pro-tip: you can snag some free paper from the printers in the library if you don’t have any)

2.   Draw a dot right in the center of the paper. If you don’t get it right the first time you can fold the paper into fourths to find the center. I usually use pencil because it eliminates the added variable of color and really allows you to focus solely on the shapes you are drawing.

3.  Then draw an equilateral cross right through the dot.

4.  The rest of the process is about your creativity. Start with one small shape on each of the four lines coming out of the center dot. The shapes should be symmetrical around the center. 

5.   Keep working out from the center choosing one shape at a time and replicating it symmetrically around the Mandala. The key to Mandalas is thinking about each small shape you add on rather than the end goal of a beautiful Mandala.

6.  When you have finished you should have an almost perfectly circular and somewhat intricate pattern. I always find the intricacy surprising because during the process I focus so much on each small shape that I add. 

7.   If you want, you can color your Mandala or leave it black it white!

8.  Taa-daa! You have a completed mandala and you probably forgot about whatever was worrying you!

• anti-stress
• art
• Stress-relief