Enhance Your Wellbeing with Mandala Art

Carolyn Pitts
Jul 5, 2024
2 min read

drawing of a mandala composed of shells and coral — Seashell Mandala by Carolyn Pitts

What is a Mandala?

A mandala is a repeating pattern arranged in a circle representing infinite continuity and completeness. Buddhists, Hindus and others have employed mandalas for meditation and religious rituals for thousands of years. Tibetan Buddhist monks will spend days creating elaborate sand mandalas, which are then ceremoniously destroyed as a reminder of impermanence and non-attachment. Mandalas also appear in Christian, Celtic and Native American art.

photo of Tibetan monks destroying a sand mandala — Tibetan Bubbhist monks performing the sand mandala destruction ceremony Photo credit: C Pitts

Mandalas for Wellbeing

In the early 20th century, psychologist Carl Jung explored the therapeutic effects of mandalas. Believing that the drawings revealed subconscious emotions, Jung created mandalas for his personal growth and encouraged his patients to draw them as well.

Scientific research has shown that mandala-based art therapy reduces anxiety and pain while improving subjective wellbeing. Various studies have focused on cancer patients, caregivers, emergency medicine providers, college students and children. Participants exhibited a reduction in heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol (a hormone associated with the stress response).

For some subjects, the concentration required to draw a mandala was a pleasant distraction. Other participants, however, preferred to color pre-drawn mandalas instead.

If you would like to try mandala art for yourself, there are many resources available online. I've provided the link to a tutorial for beginners as well as a website that offers free mandala outlines to download and color.

My Approach to Mandalas

I use 8-spoked mandalas in my art to represent the Noble Eightfold path of right livelihood, right action, right speech, right effort, right mindfulness, right view, right concentration and right intention. Visit the Mandala Collection in my high-vibe art shop.