If you are a parent, at various points in time you will have found yourself on the floor colouring in a cartoon character with crayons. You will feel silly paying attention to the lines of Mickey, Barbie, or Cookie Monster and ensuring that the colours are compatible. Then you will notice, that your child has wondered off and you are still colouring and feel like you are in relaxed bliss.
Enter the adult colouring book… that your child will want to colour just because it is yours. What is nice though, is being able to give your attention to more adult topics such as botanicals or architecture. You can turn colouring into a quiet family activity at the end of a busy day. Both you and your child will be able to reap the benefits of a more relaxed body and mind.
Adult colouring is now an ‘in’ thing that is being covered as a de-stressing tactic by Huffington Post, The Guardian, and the New Yorker. It also has it critics such as Psychology Today which will argue it is not meditation, mindfulness or therapy.
I would like to argue that everything needs a starting point. If a person is constantly on the go they need ways to learn to slow down. A colouring book can be the first step to teaching themselves other forms of meditation and mindfulness.
We also found it was a nice way to have a quiet party at home. We invited some friends to an Adult Colouring and Pimms night this past weekend. We provided a few books but many brought their own. It was lovely to see people sitting around a table, relaxing, enjoying good food & drink and having interesting conversations.
If you are looking to try out this recent trend, then head to your local bookstore, Amazon or print a free page found through a Google search.
SPROUTING [P]INSPIRATION:
Looking for some ideas on recipes, organization or things to do with your Lil Sprout? Come check out my Pinterest page and the things that inspire me to become more balanced.
In the comments, please share articles that you read this week that helped you SPROUT some BALANCE! And remember to follow us and SPROUT a conversation on Twitter – @sproutbalance