In this mindful spiraling exercise, we’ll draw different spirals and see how they make you feel.
Spirals are interesting shapes. You also see them a lot in nature and mythology. It symbolizes turning inwards or outwards, depending on the direction of your spiral. It also represents development and growth. You often see toddlers or preschoolers draw spirals, especially in the infamous ‘no’-phase. The spiral represents their need to take control and be their own person. It helps them to express these feelings and deal with them.
In this exercise, we’ll draw spirals in different directions and see how they make us feel. Listen to your emotions and only do things that make you feel good. If it doesn’t feel good, stop and try a different direction. If spirals are not your thing, try drawing circles within circles instead.
The aim is to have a repetitive motion that calms you and focuses you to be in the moment.
Have fun with this mindful spiraling exercise! Please let me know if you’ve tried this one, I would love to see it.
You can find a small video of this exercise on my Instagram @thecreativecooldown
Supplies used:
Bristol paper 300gr (Hahnemuhle), alcohol makers (Ohuhu), washi tape, fineliner no. 0.3 (Copic).
Alternative supply suggestions:
You can use colored pencils, crayons, or watercolor as well. Even a pencil is enough. Just use what you have.
Instructions:
Step 1
Before you start, slowly breathe in and out a few times to clear your head. If you like, you can add washi tape around the borders to create a frame around your drawing.
Grab a pen or pencil and start drawing spirals on your page. Experiment with spiraling inwards and outwards and see how they make you feel. When spiraling inwards you go to the core, but also the core of yourself. This can be pleasant or not at all. On the other hand, moving outwards can feel free-ing, but for some people, it can also feel scary. It’s different for everybody. So listen to your emotions and draw what feels good for you. If both feel unpleasant, just draw circles within circles. This is an exercise for you. Don’t force yourself to do something that doesn’t feel good.
Continue until your page is filled with spirals
Step 2
The next step is picking a few colors. Choose ones that you like or calm you and start filling your spirals with these colors.
Step 3
Now, pick slightly darker shades of the color you’ve used in step 2 and trace some lines of your spiral to give it more depth.
Step 4
After coloring our spirals, we’ll fill our background with color. You can also fill it with a pattern. See what feels good for you.
Step 5
Lastly, we’ll give our drawing some more depth by adding shadows. Pretend that the sun is shining on your paper. For me, it was shining from the upper-left corner. This means that there is a shadow below your spirals and on the right side. Other spirals can also cast a shadow. Add a slightly darker line below and to the right of your spirals. You’ll see that this will give it more depth.
Slowly remove your washi tape (if you used any). Keep it parallel to your paper when you remove it.
Now this mindful spiraling exercise is done! Hope you had fun.
If you liked this exercise, you might like my mindful spiral exercise as well.