Drawing mindfully, maybe focusing on your breath while drawing and sometimes finding flow in a pattern or motif can bring new life even if we’re feeling burnt out, stressed and feeling as we are without any quiet moments in our everyday lives.
This way of drawing is about using a pen, a pencil or another mark-making tool to give your brain a break – and the best of it all
– you don’t even have to be able to draw –
This is more about the activity, the craft, connecting with your body and putting your thoughts on hold for a little while.
How to draw your way into mindfulness
The idea of mindfulness is to pay attention to the present moment. When drawing mindfully, you use drawing as a vehicle to get into flow. By counting your breath while drawing each element and building up a motif, you guide your mind to stay present.
One of the simplest patterns for you to try out mindful drawing is shown below.
Materials: Pick a piece of paper and a pen of your choice. If you need a time box, set a timer for 5 or 8 minutes.
When you are ready to inhale, put your pen to the paper and begin drawing.
On top of your inhale, you can choose to add a count of ‘1’ while you move your pen to the next position on the paper.
When you have finished your exhale, you can choose to add a count of ‘1’ while you move your pen to the next position on the paper.
Continue the pattern of drawing and counting your breath, and hopefully, you will find a slow, relaxing flow.
Keep going for as long as you want. Maybe you feel inspired to add extra lines or circles for decoration?
Notice how you are feeling; Tense? Relaxed? Focused? Calm? More stressed? De-stressed? [insert your feelings here]
How did this activity suit you? Did you find a bit of calm?
If you want to know more about drawing mindful, patterns and get inspirational guides, please head over to https://drawmindfully.substack.com
Workshop on how to draw in a mindful way
I love to teach the concept of mindful drawing.
Nature as source of inspiration is often a part of the workshop – as too is breath work and the repetition in drawing which is crutial to be able to find flow in a craft activity.
Interested in a workshop – please drop me an email.