What Is a Mandala and How to Color it for Therapy

When I think about how to best color a mandala, I’m taken back to an early childhood experience. I remember coloring my first mandala when I was at summer camp at age 9. The memory is still with me. As I picked up my pens and began slowly filling in the black lines with vivid color, I began to lose all track of time and my breathing slowed down. I began to relax without even trying. Why? What was it about coloring a mandala so many years ago that produced such an amazing experience? It could have been due to the act of coloring in general because we know that coloring is itself a form of therapy . But as anyone who has ever colored a mandala can attest–coloring a mandala is even more therapeutic than standard coloring. There are now many types of coloring therapy and stress relief dedicated just to mandala as well as coloring books. 

So what’s all the fuss about? Why is coloring mandalas so incredibly therapeutic? Well, the answer to this question lies in mandala’s origins and also the special techniques you can use to color a mandala because of its unique form. In this post, we’ll not only delve into the origins of mandala and its meaning, but also discuss some of the benefits of coloring mandalas. And before we end, we’ll also show examples of mandalas and give you four quick tips to help you make your next mandala not only therapeutic, but truly beautiful! 

What Is Mandala?

I sketched every morning in a notebook a small circular drawing, ... which seemed to correspond to my inner situation at the time ... Only gradually did I discover what the mandala really is: ... the Self, the wholeness of the personality, which if all goes well is harmonious. 

–Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

A mandala is simple really–just a geometric configuration of symbols. Specifically, mandalas are circular geometric patterns that are symmetrical. The circular nature of mandala is essential. In fact, the word itself comes from the original sanskrit word for “Circle.”

As such, Mandala has been used to help practitioners of some of the world’s oldest religions, like Hinduism and Buddhism focus, establish a “sacred space,” and meditate for thousands of years. In ancient Hinduism, the word mandala first appears in the Rigveda spiritual hymns, and a smaller two or three-dimensional mandala called a “yantra”  was employed in complement with “mantra” in meditative rituals, imbuing the mandala with sacred power. 

The compositional elements of the yantra can help us to understand its power. It originally took the form of a square with “4 gates” with a circle as its center point and was composed using radial balance or symmetry.

Mandala in this design is both the universe as well as an inner representation of the world. In this respect we can see how Mandala’s circular shape, which continuously redirects attention back to the center, can help us “focus” and keep us “centered” as well as “balanced.” 

While Mandala first originated with Hindu spiritual tradition, it was through Buddhism that mandala came to fully flower as a religious practice. In Buddhist tradition, the mandala has no beginning or end. Buddha not only introduced mandala in sandpainting, but both Tantric and Tibetan Buddhism also feature mandala heavily in practice. Mandala has also been a focal point in Mesoamerican ritualistic practices, including the infamous Aztec Sun Stones, likely used in gladiatorial sacrifices, and the Aztec Calendar. 

While not featured as heavily in Christianity, there exist some mandala-like elements in the religion, such as the Cosmati Elements in Westminster Abbey.  

But Mandala didn't fully come into its own in Western culture until psychoanalyst Carl Jung began researching mandala and featuring it prominently in his work, such as Memories, Dreams, Reflections and Man and His Symbols. According to Jung, mandalas were symbols or representations of a person’s “collective unconscious” as well as a “self-archetype.”  

For Jung, Mandalas express a “wholeness”: “In the products of the unconscious we discover mandala symbols, that is, circular and quaternity figures which express wholeness, and whenever we wish to express wholeness, we employ just such figures.” Through their representation of wholeness, mandalas were capable, according to Jung, of exerting “a retroactive influence on the unconscious.” This ability of mandala to influence and even “change” one’s unconscious past, imbued the mandala with “magical significance.” Mandala was not only the center, but all paths that lead to the center. And the center for Jung was nothing less than “individuation.”

Start your path to healing with our FREE Mandala coloring page.

Benefits of Coloring Mandalas

The answer to why Mandala is therapeutic lies in its name. As we noted earlier, mandala comes from the ancient sanskrit word for “circle” and means “center.” As a representation of wholeness, mandala can become a dynamic means for inner transformation and catharsis. 

An example of how mandala can be an agent for transformation can be seen in this touching mini-documentary about the power of mandalas to heal by Michele Faia: 

Michele was depressed and also diagnosed with breast cancer and used mandala to heal herself both emotionally and physically. 

The most important way in which coloring mandalas heals is by allowing the colorist to get into what experts call “that optimal window of arousal” in which they can “think” and be in the prefrontal cortex, but simultaneously to “feel,” which put them in their limbic system. In other words, it allows the colorist to access both parts of the brain simultaneously.

Coloring contained shapes also brings a level of hyper-focus, which helps you to feel more grounded and more present in the moment.

Mandala is currently being used in numerous practices that promote health, healing, and stress relief. Here are just a few of the most popular. 

Art Therapy 

Mandala is the starting point for mindfulness-base coloring, essential for healing and stress relief. Because the mandala ultimately helps you toward self-discovery and transformation, coloring a mandala during therapy actually becomes a “self portrait,” which can be used not only to help heal but also for practitioners to gauge healing in patients. 

Pain Relief

As you can see from the video above, Michele Faia actually used mandala during her cancer treatment, which enabled her to stop chemotherapy and the pain associated with it. Recent studies support the notion that mandala coloring can actually reduce acute pain. Other studies have shown it can reduce widespread musculoskeletal pain.  

Meditation 

Coloring a mandala can have a hypnotic effect precisely due to how it affects two separate parts of the brain simultaneously. In helping to empty the mind and focus on the moment, mandala becomes a gateway toward meditation. In fact, although Buddhist monks have been using mandalas for meditation for centuries, the western medical and psychotherapeutic worlds are only just now realizing their usefulness in this capacity. 

How to Color a Mandala– 4 Quick Tips

1 . Choose Colors that “Heal”

Selecting color before you begin a coloring project is important, but it is especially so when coloring mandalas for the purpose of healing. For these reasons, it’s critical you review and become acquainted with color theory and how color combinations not only convey color but also meaning and emotion. But you need to go further than basic color theory because each color in a mandala has symbolic weight and should be used very deliberately when coloring for therapeutic effect. 

Here are some colors and the symbolic meaning they convey in a mandala:

White: The color “white” replaces ignorance with wisdom.

Yellow: Yellow, when used in a mandala, is capable of healing “pride” and replacing it with completion.

Red: The color red is said to heal “fear” and replace it with freedom and confidence.

Green: Green heals “jealousy” and replaces it with unconditional love

Blue: Likewise you can heal “anger” and replace it with intuitiveness when you color with blue.

Don’t know color theory? No worries. We’ve got you covered. We’ve created a free Color Scheme Kit to help you develop a phenomenal color scheme for your mandala.

2. Color Systematically and Uniformly

There are many opinions about where you start coloring a mandala. Some experts suggest starting from the inside and working outward. Other experts suggest starting in the exact opposite direction and working inward. Still others suggest that the balanced, symmetrical nature of mandala means you can easily color and complete one “section” at a time.

I would suggest that you start coloring from the outside because it will help you keep your eye on the “center” as you work inward toward self-healing. As each “ring” of the mandala is complete with complementary hues you will find yourself moving ever closer to the center, which is where you will ultimately come to true “wholeness” which results in self-discovery. That is, where the magic of mandala can take hold of you and help you heal. 

At the bare minimum, make sure whatever coloring method you use is systematic and uniform. Only through the rhythmic and uniform coloring–which is “thought-less”–can your mind release itself from the stress and the day-to-day thoughts that keep you anxious and depressed. In other words, through uniform rhythm you’ll open your mind to relaxation and healing.  

3. Take Advantage of Negative Space

As we’ve already noted, “white” is the quintessential healing color. It not only connotes wisdom but also peace, serenity, and purity. If you’re coloring your mandala on a white medium, like a canvas or art paper or card stock, the good news is that you already have plenty of “white” to play with in the form of negative space. When coloring, we often feel compelled to fill every space with color, not realizing the balancing effect “white” negative space can have on your mandala’s composition and a coloring experience that results in healing. 

4. Experiment with Coloring Tools

Remember that Buddha himself created the first mandala sand painting. Rather than using traditional mediums and tools, Buddha explored new ways to create and color mandalas with sand. And when you think about it, mandalas have been created out of almost every material imaginable. So you’ll want to do yourself a favor and think outside the box in terms of what you used to color your healing mandala. 

Don’t just use typical pencil, gel pens, and markers. Explore with different types of pigments and paints. 

Watercolors: Watercolors are wonderful for coloring mandalas. Their special quality infuses your mandala with “water” and creates a luminous look and feel conducive to catharsis and self-healing. 

Oil Pigments: Deep oil pigments in shades of white, yellow, red, green and blue also help you bring your mandala to life in ways that pencils or standard markers can’t–making it even easier to use color as well as shape to promote healing. 

Colored Sand: Sand has been used for thousands of years to “color” mandalas. Why not experiment and see how sand can help you develop your center in mandala.   

Bring Your Mind and Body Back into Balance

As you can see, mandalas should not only be colored because they are beautiful and produce amazing art when completed, but also because they provide a way for people to use art as a means toward health and wellness. Mandala is simply art that heals. Amazing when you think about it.

There are also no set of strict rules when it comes to coloring mandalas because mandalas can be colored by children and adults at any age. However, there are a few practices you can employ to ensure your mandala is not only radiant but helping you to heal. 

Finally, you don’t have to be sick with cancer or be diagnosed with depression to begin coloring mandalas. They can and should be used as part of your basic wellness ritual. Coloring even a single mandala once a week can do wonders for both your body and your mind.

Want to get on the path to healing with mandalas. Why not try our Mandala 3-Pack to get started? Our starter 3-pack includes a flower, sun, and ornamental mandalas.