Iirrespe espe ctiveive of their artistic sensibilities, most children indulge in the activity of colouring. The process of scribbling shades of colours on a white sheet of paper till an image comes to life, is one that can keep them busy as well as entertained for hours. In fact, the joy derived from this pastime is known to be unparalleled. However, as young adults, it is common to relegate the idea of colouring to a form of recreation meant only for children. Studies indicate that colouring has several creative, spiritual, and meditative benefits making it a well-suited pastime for adults. In fact, over the past few years, a number of grown-ups have sought refuge in the process of colouring.
A meditative activity
When the pandemic swept the world in early 2020, Dimple Shiv (21) decided to buy a colouring book. Little did she know that in the days to come, the majority of her time would be occupied colouring at home. “I did not intend to indulge in colouring on a regular basis, but once the pandemic happened, I was locked in my room the entire day, away from family [she was in a hostel back then]. I just randomly started colouring and it worked for me,” explains Shiv, who moved from Delhi to her hometown in Chhattisgarh last year. Colouring, hence played the role of a stress-buster for Shiv amid the turmoil and tension caused by the pandemic.
As a mindful activity, it helps bring one’s focus to the present. Thus, in a way, colouring is considered meditative. Affirming this claim, Dr Vidhya Nair (@drgoodvibes on Instagram), MBBS, MA Psychology says, “One of the most commonly seen benefits of colouring is it helps in reducing stress in an individual. It helps bring your mind, which is used to thinking about various worries in the world, back to the present moment. Another wonderful benefit is that it helps us get in touch with our inner child; the playful, imaginative part of us which we tend to forget very often in the rat race of life.”
Apart from it being a therapeutic activity, it also provides an individual the time to pause, contemplate, and take a break from the daily hustle. Nandini Vempala (21), a resident of Gurugram, felt overwhelmed with the pressure of online classes. She started looking for activities that could help her spend ‘me time’ and turned to colouring sometime in August last year. “With college, I was feeling very busy and I was not spending much time with myself. i usually walk but i was not able to do that, so I thought let’s start colouring.” Since then she has coloured seven to eight mandalas—intricate geometric shapes that carry symmetrical patterns. Explaining the impact colouring has had on her mental health, Vempala says that the activity helps her achieve “a flow state”. “I feel this is the only task in a day that I can fully focus and concentrate on. colouring gave me the form of satisfaction that I wasn’t getting in any other task. I was drawn towards colouring more and more mandalas anything else’,” she concludes.
Embrace the flow
Mandala designs coloured by dimple shiv and nandini vempala