Day 16 – Coloring to Relieve Stress and Create Relaxation

Did you know that coloring can relieve stress and create relaxation? Perhaps that is why kids love it so much! For many adults, the thought of producing something “artistic” can be stress-inducing, not relaxing. In order to push through our resistance, we have to release the stress and enjoy the feeling of putting pen on paper.

For the previous 15 days of this 31 day series on how to Build Your Creative Confidence, I have asked you to experiment with colors and coloring pages, to start a journaling practice and to play with words. The trick to building your creative confidence often involves getting out of your own way so that you can remember how much fun it is to be creative!

Today, I want to lead you through a guided visualization where you will color out your stress, pouring it onto the page and out of your body. Then you will color into relaxation and allow that to express itself on the  page. Please make sure that you do this in a quiet, safe place. If you feel stuck in stress or it feels overwhelming to color your stress, focus on the lines and images and allow the feelings to flow through you and out of you onto the page.

I think this exercise is one you will want to try several times. If you are feeling sad or angry, you can also color through those back to relaxation and love. This is a sample lesson from my Creative Stress Buster’s class. What we discovered during the class was that it often took people several pages of coloring out the stress before they could color relaxation. So trust your instincts and color as much as needed.

Lesson 16 – Coloring out your stress will help build creative confidence

Supplies needed:

• Paper
• Something to color with
• Something to write with
• Your computer or smart phone to listen to the audio file

I encourage you to use oil pastels or chalk pastels if you have them but crayons, colored pencils or markers work well also.

If you want to treat yourself, buy some large art paper, the bigger the sheets the better so you can fill the page!

Pastels are wonderful to use for this process for their ability to flow easily across the page as well as the option to blend and mix the colors.

Here’s the link to the audio file: http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WVQllw1s

Just follow the instruction on the audio. Have fun and RELAX!!

Could you use some stress relief right now?

If you shouted YES to that question, you need to participate in the Creative Stress Buster’s workshop. Each week for 8 weeks I will send you a new creative stress buster. Or perhaps you have been longing for creative play in your life but don’t know where to start. Each week you will receive a guided prompt and activity that will make it easy to tap into your well of creative self-expression. I guarantee that the joy you find in that box of crayons or watercolors will be an instant stress buster. Click here for more information.