Do you practice mindfulness? Are you on the adult colouring bandwagon? Mindfulness colouring books and magazines are everywhere…. but is there evidence to support the benefits of “mindful colouring”? Personally, I like the idea of kicking back with a cup of tea and a colouring book, but the question I ask is.. is “mindful” colouring any different from regular colouring? Could I potentially colour in the Sydney Morning Herald and gain the same benefit? Could I pick up a $2 children’s colouring book instead of one of the $20 “mindful” colouring books?
My second question is….does “mindful” colouring help you to achieve a state of mindfulness? Or does it perhaps just help you to relax and unwind, because you’re taking some time out to do something creative and engaging in an activity that’s nostalgic. Or….could it help you to achieve a different psychological state, such as flow? When you’re experiencing flow, you’re so involved in a task, it feels like time stops, and you may also be experiencing feelings of joy….this is different to mindfulness, where you’re simply noticing things, rather than judging or appraising an activity as fun, joyful, good, bad etc.
There isn’t a lot of empirical evidence supporting mindful colouring that I could find. A study by Carsley, Heath & Fajnerova (2015) looked at the effects of “mindful colouring” (using mandalas, similar to the patterns pictured below), vs regular unstructured colouring, on reducing test anxiety for children. Results showed that both the unstructured colouring, and the mandala colouring (the “mindful” colouring) reduced anxiety….but for boys, the unstructured colouring had greater effects in anxiety reduction! So based on this study….colouring in (regardless of what you colour), may help with anxiety reduction….but….keep in mind that this particular study was done on children.
All in all, I think that engaging in an activity that you find enjoyable or relaxing is a positive thing, and if adult colouring works for you, then go for it!! Adult colouring can definitely be a great way to practice mindfulness with a few simple instructions.
These books sure look delightful….but at $20 a pop, are they worth it?
Next time you pick up your colouring book (the $20 mindfulness colouring book, or the $2 Winnie the Pooh colouring book), try having a read through the below instructions, and try and apply them to your colouring session, to make your colouring time a mindfulness activity.
- Bring your awareness to the page in front of you – start to notice the images and patterns on the page.
- Pick up your first pencil or crayon. Notice the feeling of the pencil/crayon in your hand – is it rough, or smooth? Notice the feeling of the paper beneath your other hand.
- Start your colouring – keep your awareness on the feeling of the pencil in your hand, Notice the feel of the pencil as you begin to colour – notice how it feels when you lightly colour the images in front of you. If thoughts come into your mind, gently unhook from them, bringing your awareness back to the task at hand.
- Start to notice the colour appearing on the page. Notice the subtle differences in colour when you apply different amounts of pressure to the pencil.
- You may find your mind wandering – you may be thinking about the other things you have to do today. If you notice your mind has wandering, gently bring your awareness back to the colouring task. How is your page looking? Can you notice the different colours, or the subtle changes in direction of your pencil strokes?
- Notice the sounds the pencil makes as it touches the paper.
- Choose an area to focus your awareness on – it may be focusing on the images on the page and noticing the colours appearing as you work. It may be focusing on the feel of the pencil as you colour, or the sound of the pencil and paper. Try and keep your awareness on one of these areas.
- Time and time again, your mind will wander. This is perfectly normal. Each time you notice your mind wandering, simple notice you’ve been distracted, and come back to the colouring.
- Use the task as an anchor, helping you to keep from drifting off with your thoughts….noticing each time you’re distracted and coming back to the task at hand.
Would you give this a whirl as a strategy to practice mindfulness? Or do you prefer to be mindful in other ways? My overall stance is, if you enjoy it, go for it, but use it in conjunction with other wellbeing strategies!! You might find that going for a walk is more relaxing and present focused than adult colouring!
If anyone has any empirical studies about the efficacy of “mindful colouring” that I haven’t mentioned, please share them with me!