6 Mindfulness Arts and Crafts Activities for Reducing Inner Chatter
Practicing mindfulness, or becoming more conscious of your daily thoughts and emotions, can help ease anxiety, depression, and so much more. Explore these mindfulness arts and crafts practices that you can do solo or with others, and begin your journey to leading a more mindful and fulfilling lifestyle.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is an intentional act (usually meditation), where you work to reduce inner chatter and obsessive thoughts by bringing your attention to the present moment. If you focus on your feelings and actions without judgment, practicing mindfulness can bring you closer to a calm and relaxing state.
Each day, our thoughts are focused on stressful things like work projects, corralling the children from point a to point b, and things that we often have no control over. That’s why it’s essential to find ways to destress when you feel overwhelmed. And mindfulness art activities are a great place to start.
What are the Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness
According to the American Psychological Association, practicing mindfulness can help to relieve certain ailments, alleviate depression, and more. By committing to and nurturing yourself, you may experience amazing benefits like:
Increased memory capacity and concentration
Lower levels of anxiety and stress
Better emotion regulation
Stronger capacity for suppressing distracting thoughts or information
Increased immune system efficiency
Better overall well-being
And these are just a few of the advantages! Aim to practice mindfulness every day for about six months. Over time, you might find that mindfulness becomes easier.
Mindfulness Activities to Try
Play with Clay
Hone in on the nostalgia of playing with moldable dough, and grab yourself some clay with this mindfulness craft activity. Put on relaxing music, and create something that brings you joy — whether it’s your pet, small birds, or even a large tree.
Be sure to treat this process with a gentle nature, and refrain from getting too caught up in the details. It doesn’t have to be perfect! The best part — this particular craft can be used as mindfulness activities for kids and groups, so you can enjoy peace of mind with the entire family! And if you’d like to take it one step further, grab some paint, and make it a mindfulness painting activity, too!
Grab an Adult Coloring Book
Break out the adult coloring books and colored pencils you never seem to get to, and give yourself permission to color outside the lines. Enjoy the activity as your hands graze upon the page, and focus your intention on making this image your very own.
Draw the Sound
Choose music that fluctuates in emotion and draw to the sound! The best genres for this activity are classical and jazz, as they typically portray various emotions in a single track. Use your pencil to convey what you feel on a large sheet of paper. During the process, you may just pinpoint emotions you’ve never had time to acknowledge before.
Write or Draw in Nature
Engaging your senses in nature is incredibly beneficial. Visit your local park or pull out a lawn chair in your backyard, and observe the world around you with a pencil in hand. Draw inspiration from trees, children playing, flowers, fountains, or anything else that you feel drawn to. Then, write or draw to the sound of your own beat. Doing this activity can help you become more strongly fixed in the present.
Create Your Perfect Day
Whether you opt for the collage-style option or decide to write in a journal, have fun with this craft for mindfulness. Take a moment to close your eyes, focus on your breathing, and visualize your perfect day. While doing so, ensure that you’re not limiting yourself to what feels possible or unlikely. Let your imagination run wild!
If you choose to do this on a collage, pull photos from magazines or draw images that correlate with your ideal day. If you decide to write this out, make sure to use plenty of adjectives to truly describe every sense and emotion.
Join a Zen Painting Event at Painting with a Twist
Mindful painting can provide many benefits — from stress reduction and increased positive thinking to mood elevation and more. And with Painting with a Twist’s Zen Collection events, you’ll create your own tranquil painting while you relax with soothing music and experience some guided meditation and breathing exercises to help calm your spirit and mind. Find a zen event at your local studio, and get one step closer to reducing that inner chatter.
