In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, this Creative Break invites you to practice mindfulness through intuitive drawing, a simple way to ground yourself in the present moment by letting go of judgment and the urge to plan your next task. Regular mindfulness practice has been shown to lower baseline levels of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. 

Materials Needed 

• Paper of any type, sized 8.5 x 11” 
• Pen or pencil 
• Black marker or felt-tip pen 
• Colored pencils or markers 

Step 1 

Using a ball-point pen or pencil, loosely scribble a swirling pattern on your paper. Try to make sure you create intersecting lines.

Step 2 

Using a black marker or felt-tip pen, trace over the line drawing you created. As you trace, try to slow down and focus on the marks you are making. Allow yourself to complete this step slowly, there is no hurry when you are focused on the here and the now.

Step 3 

Using colored pencils or markers, allow yourself to continue slowing down as your focus shifts to filling in each segment of your line drawing. Use each bubble as a container for your focus as you slowly fill in each space. Try not to judge your color choices too much, just allow your choices to be intuitive!

We’d love to see your intuitive drawings! Tag us @thearttherapyproject