Adult colouring is all the rage at the moment. You can’t go into a book store or department store without seeing a range of colouring books pitched at adults rather than kids. A friend working in a book store even had one woman ask where they kept the adult colouring pencils! (TIP: regular pencils magically turn into adult colouring pencils when an adult uses them to do some colouring).
This craze for adult colouring is piggy-backing on the recent buzz around mindfulness – meaning being present in each moment, giving it your full attention rather than letting your mind wander. You can practice mindfulness by meditation. You can also practice it by consciously drawing your attention back to the task at hand when you notice your mind wandering during every day activities (from this idea we get mindful eating, running as meditation…and adult colouring!)
Scientists are starting to catch up with mystics of every age and religion who have understood the benefits of mindfulness for millennia. Certainly, practicing mindfulness is one of the most powerful techniques for stress management.
The point is there are lots of ways to achieve and practice mindfulness and adult colouring is only one of them. If you are looking for stress management techniques it could be counter-productive to try incorporating too many different mindfulness practices into your already busy day in an effort to achieve a sense of calm.
If you’re already stressed and overwhelmed by all that you need to do, try practicing mindfulness by really noticing what it is you’re doing when eating, or driving, or exercising. When your mind starts to wander consciously draw it back to what you’re currently doing. Don’t feel you have to find another 30 minutes in your day to devote to colouring between the lines.
