Have you ever tried meditating before? We’re willing to bet that you’ve given it a go at least one time in your life… 36 million adults in the US alone have tried meditation at least once. But if you haven’t, this might be the type of meditation that really speaks to you…
There are a lot of different ways you can meditate – like taking a body scan at the end of a long day, going for a mindfulness walk, or practicing your breathing. But it might surprise you to know that you can practice meditative drawing!
In the Simple Daily Drawing November 2022 sketchpad, we have a collaboration with Lindsay Keeling (founder of Art Within) for our prompt “Meditation.” She’s done a tutorial on meditative drawing for us that we’ll be going in depth on in this article.
What Is Meditative Drawing?
But first – what exactly is meditative drawing? Meditative drawing is just as it sounds. It’s practicing meditation through creative drawing. These types of drawings are designed to relax and calm the mind while focusing your awareness. And the best part is that you don’t need to be an experienced meditator to reap the benefits. All it takes is your desire to soothe your mind using creativity.
Combining meditation and drawing creates a really powerful method to more permanently relieve stress.
Drawing on its own can help reduce anxiety, and the mindfulness of meditation allows for that deep kind of relaxation that has a more lasting impact. The mindfulness that is cultivated through meditative drawing bridges the gap between your “attention” and your “awareness” to create a peaceful balance. “Attention” is wherever your focus is as of this moment (which would be reading this article, or admiring your cute fur baby cuddled on the couch with you). “Awareness” is everything you’re aware of happening in the background (the cars on the highway you hear out your window, the taste of coffee lingering, the way your foot might be starting to itch).
When the relationship is balanced between your attention and your awareness, your mind becomes “stronger, more stable, and consequently more relaxed.”
There are a lot of different ways to practice meditative drawing, and it can be as simple as drawing completely closed circles over and over.
Lindsay Keeling has some other really fun ideas for you to try. She’s an abstract painter and founder of Art Within, and her meditative drawing prompts are really effective ideas to use on the November 13, 2022 drawing prompt “Meditation” – or for whenever you feel you’d like a helpful way to de-stress.
She goes over 3 ideas for you in this 2 minute video. You can also scroll down to see her ideas below!
Lindsay’s 3 Simple Ideas for Meditative Drawing:
1. Pattern Drawing
Start with a small shape anywhere on the page, then continue to build outward from your initial shape. Think of it like a mandala – the end result will be a symmetrical pattern all across your page.
2. Intuitive Designs
Start by drawing one continuous line in an abstract shape across your paper. Feel free to get flowy by making loops and overlapping the line. Then close it by connecting your line back to the starting point. Then fill in each part of the shape with shading, patterns, or other designs.
3. Draw Your Breath
Starting on the left side of your paper, move your pencil up as you inhale and downwards when you exhale. You can fill in the entire page while following your breath, or feel free to use it as a quick way to be present.
Watch Lindsay’s 2 minute video here!
And always keep in mind Lindsay’s wise words as you go along… “Art can be therapeutic no matter your skill level. Just enjoy the process and don’t get too caught up in the outcome.”
Happy meditating!
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