MINDFUL ART ACTIVITES

CREATIVE SELF-CARE ACTIVITIES TO DE-STRESS

Below are some of my favorite Mindful Art Activities.
For free Mindful Art Activities, check out our YOUTUBE VIDEOS HERE.
For Additional Guided Support, check out my ONLINE CLASSES HERE. :)

BodyScan Meditation & BodyScan Drawing

This is one of my favorite mindful meditations! For me, this bodyscan meditation and drawing exercise helps to feel, acknowledge, and express held tensions and emotions in the body. Similar to SoulCollage® (details below), a bodyscan drawing practice offers a creative way to visually express things that may be challenging to express in words. This exploration can be as short as a 5 minutes or 1 hour. I enjoy lying down for the bodyscan (although it can be done while sitting as well). Please ensure you're comfortable and have paper and art materials near you (such as colored pencils, markers, crayons, etc). The Grounding Exercise below can be done before starting the bodyscan. 

I begin with eyes closed or a soft gaze. Drawing my awareness to all of the places where my body makes contact with the ground, I notice the quality of my breath. Aware of the weight of my feet or heels resting on the floor, I remind myself I am supported and held. At my own pace, I begin drawing my awareness up through my body - heels, calves, thighs, buttocks, belly, low back, chest, upper back, arms, wrists, hands, base of the head, forehead, the space between the eyebrows, jaw, etc. Noticing any sensations I feel along the way; such as tingling, warmth, coolness, tightness, pain, holding, etc. Allowing any colors, textures, words, or descriptions about these sensations to come into my awareness. I follow the sensations and notice how they change - allowing my experience to move and shift. Drawing my awareness back to my breath, I take three deep inhalations and exhalations and return my awareness back to the room, the ground, and my surroundings. When I feel ready, I gently allow marks, colors, and words to fill my bodyscan drawing page. If you enjoy journaling, writing about your experience afterwards can also be a lovely self-care practice. Sign-up to receive a free, guided audio bodyscan meditation here in my next monthly newsletter.

Constructive Rest

Constructive Rest is part of my daily self-care practice! It is a very calming for the nervous system, aids in digestion and rest, is great for deep breathing, and helps release the low back and psoas muscle (which can become habitually tight from sitting). The psoas is generally our body's first muscle to respond when stressed or triggered by our sympathetic nervous system ("fight or flight") and can become chronically tight. No props required. 

To begin, sitting on the floor with knees bent and feet resting on the ground, I place a block between my knees and tighten a yoga strap around my mid thighs. The strap should be tight enough to hold the block in place when I release the tension with my thighs, but not so tight that the strap is uncomfortable or digging into my legs. Lying back on a pillow or blanket to support my neck, I will either rest my hands on my belly or out to my sides palms facing up. I begin to notice my breathing and where my body is resting on the floor; feeling fully supported. Constructive Rest is a modified Restorative Yoga pose with strong roots in the Feldenkrais Method. I generally rest in this pose for approximately 10 minutes (either at the beginning or end of my yoga asana practice, before bed, or anytime throughout the day when I am feeling stressed and want to reset). *Always consult your physician or a medical professional before beginning any new form of physical activity or body-based exercises for the best support!*

Wheel of Life Worksheet & Journaling Prompts

SoulCollage® and the Art of Self-Care

One of my favorite practices for creative self-care is SoulCollage®; an intuitive collage process created by Seena Frost (if you're new to the practice, learn more here). 

What is SoulCollage®? In this video, I share SoulCollage® Card examples, information about this fun and intuitive collage making exercise, and the benefits of making SoulCollage® cards. SoulCollage® is also an inexpensive and simple creative self-care practice you can do at home.

Intention ideas for SoulCollage® and Self-Care:

Begin by setting an intention for your Self-Care card-making session (see below). I like to collaborate with chance by choosing images I feel drawn to without questioning why (or having a set idea or finished collage in mind). I enjoy trusting the process and then speaking or writing from the cards once they're complete. 

My Self-Care vision or my self-care intentions for the New Year (or for X amount of time), etc

Self-Care Cards and SoulCollage® Journaling Prompts: 
"I am one who..." and/or "The message I have for you is..." 
Shadow questions may also include: "Why am I not practicing self-care?" or "What's holding me back from putting my self-care needs first?"

You can also pull three cards from your deck and do a reading with one of these questions for deeper insights (a big thank you to my colleague Anne Marie for this suggestion!). 

Self-Care Inventory

In my experience, most of us know what lights us up, what fills our energy well, what nurtures us, what makes us feel alive, and what self-care means for us as an individual (the harder tends to be giving ourselves permission to live a daily creative self-care practice!). Below is a quick and easy exercise to identify your top self-care routines, and to draw awareness to the ones that you're actively including in your daily life! 

• Create a list of 10 to 20 self-care activities that feel nurturing and restoring for YOU!

• Place a star next to your favorites (2 or 3)

• Underline any self-care practices you've completed in the last 30 days

• Circle any you've completed in the last week (or for an extra challenge today!)

Are you surprised by how little or how many self-care practices you do daily, weekly, monthly?
What about your favorites self-care activities? Did you struggle to write what self-care feels like for you? I notice this list (like our breath) is constantly ebbing and flowing, and that's okay! If you have a lot of amazing self-care activities on your list, but it's been a while since you've explored them, sign up for my newsletter here. I'll be sharing more activities to identify what's holding you back from your self-care soon! 

Grounding Exercise

Grounding exercises are a simple and quick way to calm your body, mind, and breath while reconnecting to the present moment. I especially love to do this practice before I begin my day, when I'm feeling anxious or stressed, or when I need a "re-set." I can practice this anywhere, anytime, and in any position (lying, sitting, walking, sitting on public transit, etc and people around me wouldn't know I'm doing this very nurturing and self-soothing practice!). 

I begin by closing my eyes or having a soft gaze a few feet in front of me, so my awareness can turn inward. I begin noticing the ground beneath me - noticing all of the places where my body makes contact with the floor (or chair, etc). I notice the weight of my body making contact with this support, and acknowledge that I am being held. I draw my awareness to my breath - simply noticing the rise and fall of my breath. There's no need to try and change the breath here; allowing the natural ebb and flow to unfold as my body wants. I may name the quality of my breath - such as smooth and full, or labored and quick, and remind myself that my breath will continue to change and that is okay. I sometimes like to rest my right-hand on my heart and left-hand on my belly and notice how my hands move as I breathe. Taking three deep inhalations and exhalations, I return back to my environment and surroundings feeling more connected and calm.

For Additional Guided Support, check out my ONLINE CLASSES HERE. :)