The Benefits of Mandalas
The word mandala comes from Sanskrit and means ‘sacred circle’. These circle-shaped representations are used in different cultures. For example, Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian. They’re also used by some indigenous tribes as artistic elements or, as a means for an individual to find themselves.
According to the beliefs of certain cultures, mandalas are linked to the energies of life. For example, in Eastern cultures, it’s believed that each color is associated with a chakra. These energy centers are connected with our being and the environment. Moreover, they favor our well-being. The mandalas that contain them have the same function. They’re a wonderful legendary technique with multiple benefits.
The benefits of drawing mandalas
“A mandala is the psychological expression of the totality of the self.”
-Carl Jung-
1. Mandalas bring relaxation
Designing and coloring mandalas help to focus your attention. Therefore they’re an excellent exercise to calm any feelings of stress and clear your mind. These are some of the benefits of mandalas:
- Facilitate balance.
- Bring peace and serenity.
- Promote a sense of tranquility when you study them.
- Help your concentration.
- Encourage you to give them your full attention.
- Allow you to put your thoughts aside and your creativity to flow.
- Convey a sense of equilibrium as you color them.
Mandalas allow you to free yourself from your worries because they favor your concentration in the present. For this reason, they’re a powerful relaxation tool.
2. Deep connection
Mandalas make it easier for you to connect with your inner self, thus promoting self-knowledge. They’re a wonderful exercise in reflection on your place in the world and the relationships you have with others.
These artistic representations encourage us to connect with the deepest forces of ourselves and the universe, through the energies that flow with each shape and color.
In addition, mandalas are a form of meditation that helps you focus your attention. They promote harmony. That’s because energies flow through their shapes and colors, transforming negative aspects into positive ones, and bringing balance to your life.
It’s worth remembering that mandalas are arranged from the center outwards. This allows you to connect, rebuild, relate, and free yourself. It occurs via projection due to your selection of colors and figures.
3. Creativity and mandalas
Mandalas are an artistic representation of free design. You can draw them however you want. That said, if you don’t feel like designing them yourself, you can also buy books and notebooks containing them to color in. There are many different kinds available.
Mandalas are related to creativity because they allow you to use colors and shapes freely. They facilitate your creative process and are a source for generating new ideas. Moreover, each figure and color represent unconscious aspects of the individual. Here are some of their meanings:
- Red. Passion, sensuality, strength, power, and aggressiveness. First chakra.
- Orange. Pleasure, glory, vanity, progress, and energy. Second chakra.
- Yellow. Joy, will, and novelty. Third chakra.
- Green. Hope, ease, and nature. Fourth chakra.
- Blue. Tranquility, seriousness, respect, and communication. Fifth chakra.
- Violet. Meditation, creativity, and oscillation. Sixth chakra.
- White. Peace, harmony, kindness, delicacy, and shyness. Seventh chakra.
- Black. Depth, mystery, authority, dignity, security, sadness, and mourning.
- Circle. Dynamism and connection with the cosmos.
- Cross. The unconscious and conscious, the union of heaven and earth.
- Triangle. Transformation and vitality.
- Square. Stability and balance.
- Labyrinth. Search for the center itself.
“Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.”
-Zhuangzi-
4. Mandalas for decoration
Mandalas can also be used to decorate your home or workplace. Here are some decorative ideas:
- Paint mandalas on stones and use them as ornamental objects.
- Knit a mandala and use it as a blanket.
- Put a mandala tapestry on the wall.
- Make decorative pictures.
5. The therapeutic benefits of mandalas
Psychology has recognized mandalas as therapeutic elements. The Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, proposed that they’re representations of our minds that facilitate concentration, transformation, and the assimilation of unconscious aspects. He suggested that we can project what we feel and think onto the mandalas.
In addition, different branches of psychology have mentioned their benefits. For example, transpersonal psychology views mandalas as an exercise in fostering deep connection. While cognitive and behavioral psychology views them as tools to improve higher functions such as memory, attention, perception, and visuomotor coordination.
Mandalas are also used in other fields like occupational therapy, for instance. Through cognitive stimulation, they favor performance in daily activities. In addition, they’re used in educational environments to facilitate concentration, attention, and discipline.
6. An opportunity to express yourself
Life is full of ups and downs and you often need a space where you can vent and express your difficult experiences. To do this, you might choose to talk to someone you trust or write down how you feel. However, if you don’t feel like doing that, you can also express yourself through mandalas.
Indeed, mandalas are excellent tools for accepting, expressing, and transforming your emotional states that are difficult to process. In fact, they’re really useful means to manage your emotions that are on a more unconscious level.
Open the door and let mandalas into your life
As you can see, there are many benefits that you can obtain from mandalas. These artistic representations are a source of relaxation and liberation and have a deep creative power. Why not give them a try?
“Each mandala is unique and unrepeatable… It is the vibrational expression of this instant, of this now.”
-Celina Emborg-
