Last Updated on May 22, 2020 by melissanreynolds
There has been a lot of interest in adult coloring and meditation for the general population as well as for those of us with chronic illness. Coloring as meditation and for relaxation is a really accessible, practical way to incorporate mindfulness into your day.
What are some good reasons to use coloring as meditation?
- It is a practical way to incorporate mindfulness into your day and mindfulness has many benefits. If you are curious about those benefits see my free mindfulness workshop.
- You can use it to connect with your children – you can color side by side. Modelling mindfulness is the key way to help children reap the benefits of mindfulness. It is also a fantastic way to play with your children if you have limited energy.
- As a low energy hobby – following on from the above point, whether you have children or not, it can be difficult to incorporate hobbies when you have chronic pain and fatigue. Coloring is a great way to be able to continue to have hobbies without costing all of your spoons.
- Relaxation – when we are in higher levels of pain it can be difficult to relax, it is a gentle way to distract ourselves without resorting to “the box” (though TV has its place).
- Ease anxiety – this article shares a piece of research from 2005 where coloring mandalas helped to ease anxiety
If you love the idea of adding mindfulness to your life, head on over to see my free Mindfulness for the Chronic Life workshop which takes you through the benefits and some of the ways to incorporate it into your life.
If you want to read more about managing chronic illness see:
What Works for Me Now: Fighting Fibromyalgia
Inexpensive Items I use to Fight Fibromyalgia
Natural Remedies for Fibromyalgia
What if you don’t feel creative? Paint by Numbers option
If you like the idea of simultaneously reaping the above benefits, taking an easier option and creating something you can display in your home – then Paint by Numbers might be for you. Affiliate notice: Some of these links are affiliate links, if you make a purchase using them, I will make a commission at no extra cost to you.
Winnie’s Picks is a premium paint by numbers for adults website that has a heap of different options to choose from. The kits include the linen canvas with the image you choose, the acrylic paint set with matching numbers for the image, a set of four brushes and the complete instructions. You can be a beginner and still get it right.
You can head on over to purchase your own Paint by Numbers kit. It would make a really cool gift. Below is my pack – it was so exciting to receive everything I needed to get started! This is going on my Christmas gift list.
Does it look a little scary to you? It isn’t! We are so used to one step at a time in our journey fighting fibromyalgia and this is what we do with our paint by numbers canvas – do a little at a time. It is a great idea to have a place you can leave it out so that it is easy for you to come back to.
