Are you looking for something to help you:
- unwind and relax after a long day?
- focus and calm your mind?
- reflect and tap into your intuition and inner wisdom?
- find an easy way to express your creativity?
Life can get so busy. We often don’t take the time to relax and unwind; let alone to reflect on how we’re feeling or travelling in life.
There’s a small voice inside of us that knows what’s good for us. But over time this voice gets drowned out by the noise and busyness of our lives. We sometimes even stop listening. Or we might not be able to hear it amongst all of the other voices that we have got used to listening to instead, like those of our parents, teachers or other leaders.
Give yourself some time away from it all to just stop and unwind. Take the time to tap into your inner wisdom and be creative by working with mandalas.
Scroll for more details about the next Mindfulness Through Mandalas Workshop.
What are mandalas?
Mandalas are an ancient art form of developing patterns and shapes within a circle. In Sanskrit, mandala generally means ”circle”, and has sometimes been translated as a “container of essence”. Mandalas and circular forms have been used for centuries as part of many different cultural and religious traditions.
However, it is not just the circular form of the mandala that gives it meaning. It’s also the intent behind its creation. Over time mandalas have come to symbolise wholeness, completeness and unity. They have the ability to bring together different elements, and pull out the essence from chaos. Even Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist, recognised their power as a tool for self-expression.
Mandalas provide a calming effect to ground and centre us. They can be used to practice mindfulness and meditation.
Drawing or looking at a mandala can help to settle your mind. You can also use mandalas to provide a focus point for your eyes to rest on during meditation. Whenever your mind gets distracted, bring back your focus to the mandala.
I use my mandala practice to find meaning or express an intention or message.
In the early days, after I finished drawing a mandala I would do some stream of consciousness writing to reveal the mandala’s title and message for me. Over time as I started sharing my mandalas and their messages, I became more intentional in how I created them. For instance, in creating my chakra mandala series (including the Third Eye Chakra mandala shown above), I used research to learn more about each chakra’s elements and meanings to use that as inspiration for what I draw. They can also be used for affirmations. Below you can see the “I am Kind” mandala created as part of my ‘I am’ Affirmations mandala series.
The focus is not about being an expert on a particular topic, but about creating meaning and expressing our own inner wisdom and personal perspective.
Mindfulness through Mandalas Workshops
Want to experience my intuitive approach to drawing mandalas? Well, now you can at my Mindfulness through Mandala workshops. It’s not really a learn to draw class (although we will be drawing 🙂 ). It’s more about relaxing while you draw and colour, and giving yourself a dedicated time to withdraw from the demands of the world, be present and reconnect to that deeper part of yourself.
Give yourself a little ‘me’ time and reconnect to your creative, inner wise self in this 2 hour Mindfulness Through Workshop.
Workshop Details
Date: Sunday 2 April
Time: Arrive from 1.50pm (for 2 pm start) – 4pm
Location: Private studio in Upwey – address to be provided closer to workshop date
Investment: $97
Investment includes: Mandala workshop session, all materials, worksheet, themed crystal set and refreshments. Optional Mandala Inspiration Libra Inspired Notebook available for purchase with booking. Scroll to see more terms and conditions.
In this workshop, Natalia will lead you through a mindful mandala making process where you’ll set and activate your intention for the month ahead. There’s also the opportunity to explore the themes of balance, harmony and wellness in preparation for the full moon in Libra on 4 April.
There’ll be time during the workshop to note any insights and ideas that arise as you draw. You will receive a worksheet with additional reflection questions based around the themes of the full moon, plus some specifically themed crystals.
When booking, you have the option to purchase a limited edition Mandala Inspiration Notebook with a printed cover featuring a Libra inspired mandala image hand drawn by Natalia Walker (139 x 216 mm, 80 lined pages, spiral bound) for $20 (valued at $24.95). You can see the mock up below. I’m looking forward to putting the final notebook into the hands of my workshop participants.
Get away from the noise of life and gift yourself some quiet, introspective time to be creative while making your one of a kind mandala.
But I don’t know how to draw?
Don’t worry. You don’t need any previous art experience to get the most out of mandalas. If you can draw a line, colour in and be open and willing to have a go, then you’re more than qualified. I give you clear step by step instructions to walk you through the process.
As you can see on this page, there is no one right way to create a mandala. Mandalas come in all shapes and sizes. They don’t need to be totally symmetrical or detailed to be of benefit. And they don’t always need to be drawn or painted (see my Mandala Play Adventure below for examples of different media and found objects that I’ve used to create mandalas).
In the meantime, if you’re a little curious about mandalas, a nice way to introduce yourself to mandalas is to colour one in. Join the Inner Creative mandala mailing list to receive a monthly Mandala Inspiration and message, updates on future mandala classes, creativity tips, as well a FREE Mandala Colouring Page (picture below) to print out and colour in however you like. There are so many different ways to tap into the relaxing and creative benefits of mandalas.
I created this mandala template based on a compass exercise I did in high school (although I didn’t know what mandalas were back then). To stretch my creativity a few years ago, I ‘coloured’ in this same mandala template over 30 days in my Mandala Play Adventure. Learn more about my 30 day mandala Play Adventure here.
What could you create with the same base template?
Join the Inner Creative mandala mailing list to receive your mandala colouring pages, updates about the upcoming Mindfulness through Mandala class plus more.
* Terms and conditions for the Mindfulness Through Mandalas Workshop: No refunds available from midnight Thursday 30 March 2023 (although you are welcome to gift your ticket). Photos will be taken at the workshop for marketing and social media purposes (please let the organiser know if you do not wish to be photographed).