Ever get stressed but struggle to switch off and practice mindfulness, like so many seem to swear by? Me too! I learnt a great tool to help with this and wanted to share it with you all. This fabulous tool to help is called a Zentangle. It's a simple way of keeping your mind occupied and your fingers busy to give your busy brain some time out - and they look great too.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to be an accomplished artist. Zentangles are made up of structured patterns - these patterns are called tangles and can be created using dots, lines, shapes and so on. The tangle is unplanned, there is no right or wrong and in turn nothing at all to stress over. It is a simple, yet effective way of being creative helping you to experience greater focus, concentration, creativity and an increased sense of wellbeing. Hurrah!

There are many intricate pictures and designs for Zentangles but today I am going to explain how to do a simple one, you can always go on and experiment with this making it as detailed as you wish.

Firstly grab yourself some paper and some pens (or nicely sharpened pencils).

On your sheet of paper draw a word in bubble writing that represents your mood and then fold that paper into at least six sections. This should leave you with a grid over the word. 

You can now begin to make your patterns. You can rotate the pattern by rotating the paper, change your colours, and doodle away to your hearts content. There is no right or wrong, no judgement and you don't even need an eraser to rub out any mistakes - as with Zentangles, there are no mistakes! 

 

If you try this method of mindfulness, please do let us know and tag us in your pictures. Enjoy!