Mandala is an ancient coloring art. Mandalas are mostly used into religious rituals by Buddhists & Hindus. These holy circles help monks to meditate, spiritual enlightenment & awakening. Christians & Native Americans also used this art in their healing circle practices which is done to restore mind, body & soul. 

What is Mandalas?

Mandala is a Sanskrit word which means circle or completion. It is a big circle that comprises different types of geometric shapes and symbols in it. These shapes are filled with vibrant colors. Apart from lines & shapes, there are some common symbols like Sun, Lotus, Eight spokes wheel, Bell & Triangles are used in Buddist Mandala to represent universe, spiritual enlightenment, eight paths of Buddhism, wisdom, energy & creativity. 

A dot is the center of every Mandala. A dot has no dimension hence it represents a free mind, mind without any prejudice that is ready to meditate & devoted to the divine. The center dot is surrounded by different geometric shapes and lines that depict life cycles. Outer big circle is considered as a universe and geometric shapes inside the circle depict different aspects of the universe.

There are 2 types of Mandalas: 1. Temporary Sand Mandalas are religious & destroyed after completion, representing that nothing is eternal in this world, everything is impermanence. 2. Painting Mandalas are used for teaching & healing or meditation purposes.

How significant Mandalas in today’s context?

Mandalas play a very significant role in today’s stressful lifestyle. It becomes an imperative tool in yoga nowadays. It implies the old principles of creating a holy space which is free from outer world’s influences for some time. In this way it rejuvenates the energy, increasing the concentration & inner silence. When someone creates Mandalas & observes all minor finishing work of it, it brings focus in mind and body, that’s how Mandala facilitates in meditation. It’s a guided cosmic practice by which misery is transformed into happiness.

How does it work?

In meditation, Mandalas are tools for healing. Some clinical research shows that it works as an immunity booster & increases the secretion of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that slows down the aging process of cells, helps in better sleep & calm the anxiety. In this way, Mandala meditation lessens pain and stress, controls blood pressure and gets rid of depression. 

Mandalas are simple art therapy that doesn’t need expertise but gives a lot of benefits. It’s a beautiful combination of meditation & art therapy that can be done anywhere anytime. It reposes & calms down the eager mind. It also evolves creativity of ones.

It is useful for people of all age groups & gives soothing and nurturing experience. Mandalas with simple coloring are useful for children. Children normally can’t express their feelings; Mandalas makes them more communicative and helps them in dealing with emotions. It boosts immunity thus helps in early recovery in those who have weak resistance power. Some child psychologists are using Mandalas therapy for cancer suffering children. Mandalas art is used as therapy in workshops conducted for adult cancer survivors also. Corporate houses use it for stress management of their employees. Give them a deep sense of inner peace & focused mind. This therapy offers better sleep & good spiritual experience in elderly people who are suffering from insomnia due to their age or any other reason.