Mindfulness Painting and its immense benefits for young children
In our fast-paced world, every waking minute counts. Stress is our constant companion. Unfortunately, our children are also not spared from the growing demands of this modern lifestyle. They face more challenges than we ever did at their age.
So, relaxation is a must for their mental and physical well-being. And mindful art is one of the best ways to help them relax! Through mindfulness painting, young children obtain great respite from everyday stress and effectively unwind.
Read on to learn what mindfulness painting is and how it helps children.
What is mindfulness painting?
The simplest way to describe mindfulness is as paying full attention or concentrating wholly on something. It means you take your time to do a task and focus all your attention on it.
Being mindful about an activity allows you to relax and feel at ease. As you direct your attention towards a single task, your mind calms down. It is free from tension and other distractions. Hence, you can give it your best shot. Doing so allows you to enjoy the experience. Your sense of self-awareness also improves.
Mindful art works on this theory. Here, art becomes the calm and creative activity to focus on.
Mindfulness-based art therapy is recognized as an effective tool for self-improvement. It helps to deal with psychological concerns, relieves stress, and generally improves the standard of living.
There are various ways to practice mindfulness art and mindfulness painting is one of them. It is a form of mindfulness art where you express yourself through painting.
Now, mindfulness painting is different from typical painting. In regular painting classes, tutors use a pre-ordained set of techniques and tools to achieve specific results. The goal of this activity is to practice and develop formal painting skills.
However, in mindfulness painting, the focus is on expression and the process of creating. You have the freedom to explore different tools and methods and fully involve in the process. It is calming and as satisfying as meditation.
How can mindfulness painting benefit your child?
Children love to paint. Color excites them and they use it in the most creative ways. Give them free rein to express themselves through paint and colors, and they will go wild.
While structured painting classes impart skills and equip them to draw and paint, it is often with restraint. They must follow certain rules and produce results that meet certain expectations.
However, mindfulness painting frees your child from judgment and criticism. This technique promotes self-expression and empowers them to use their hands to make what they want. It gives wings to their imagination. It makes them the master of their creation.
During mindfulness painting sessions, we merely guide children by color and the motion of the brush. We gently nudge them to create paintings intuitively and encourage them to express themselves creatively. The exercise and experience help them pause and unwind. Hence, it is not surprising that the results always give them great satisfaction.
Through mindfulness painting, we enable your child to relax, find satisfaction and be proud of what they create. But most importantly, it is a rewarding experience that children will learn from and thoroughly enjoy.