Mandalas: Ancient Art for Modern Wellness

Our Color Your Day mandala exercise, using overlapping circles and colors to express emotion.

Maybe you’ve heard this word “mandala” before, and if not, you’ve likely seen one! After this post, we hope you will start seeing them all over and fall in love as we have. The word “mandala” is the ancient Sanskrit word for “circle” or “center”. Mandalas are an ancient art form and visual tool for meditation, and creating a mandala can be a calming, creative exercise you can rely on when you need to release tension, manifest an intention, or ignite your inner artist.

Ancient Mandala Making

A Tibetan Buddhist monk uses a paintbrush to erase a sand mandala, created at Emory University in Atlanta, 2017.

Mandalas and other sacred circles have a diverse history, often with a spiritual tradition attached. Often mandalas represent harmony with the world - both in nature and within our minds. Some of the first mandalas were made by Buddhist monks who created mandalas using colored sand during spiritual ceremonies, beginning over 2000 years ago. The focus of these mandala ceremonies was the moment-by-moment process: the colors, the symbols, all creating harmony. And at the end of the multi-day ceremony, the monks dismantled their work, letting the sand blow away into the wind, representing the impermanence of physical life. 

mandalas and mindfulness

All mandalas consist of a design that radiates out from a center point in a symmetrical, balanced pattern. Symmetry and repetition in art are not only pleasing to the eye of the viewer, but creating with repetition is also pleasing to the artist as it relaxes the nervous system and helps one feel safe and at peace.

When making a mandala, you can practice mindfulness by staying intentionally in the present moment, not judging your thoughts or actions as good or bad. Spending time focusing on the creative process instead of the final outcome can be a relaxing experience and healing process when we are stressed.

mandala making

Curious about creating your own mandala? Check our community workshops page for local Charleston opportunities, or book a Mindful Art Painting workshop for you or your group.

Mandala making can be as simple or as layered as you like. You can easily use items found on your next nature walk to create some mandala earth art, or use any art materials you have to create something from the heart. Start at the center and move your way out in layers, using repeating patterns and colors that feel good.

We hope you get inspired by these amazing, ancient art forms, and try your hand at mandala making yourself!