Mandalas, concentric art and mindful felt embroidery
I first came across Mandalas when I was about 15 - my mother was part of a network of female friends who were helping each other through the challenges of mid-life. They met up weekly for deep conversations, mediation and rituals. She came back from one of these sessions with a beautiful mandala, and I was instantly taken with it - the vibrant colours, the symmetry and the calming effect that looking at it had on me.
Where did mandalas originate and how did they become a part of popular culture?
The tradition of mandalas comes from ancient India - the word ‘mandala’ is Sanskrit for ‘circle’ or disc’. The ancient Indian mandala is a cosmic map which was used for sacred spiritual rituals.
In the 1920s the drawing of concentric patterns was adopted by Western psychologists as a tool to help people with their self healing. Carl Jung discovered for himself that drawing circles and symmetrical shapes helped him to cope with a personal crisis - he started encouraging his patients to create circular, symmetrical designs (‘Kreiszeichnungen’) and found that they can draw a person’s focus inwards and calm their mind. It was about a decade later that the link was made with Indian mandalas and the tool was given the Sanskrit name.
Circular art around the world and through history
As Jung realised, circular mark making is as old as humanity - perhaps because circles and round shapes are everywhere in nature. It is the first shape children learn to draw. They start by drawing lines, but there is a natural desire in every child to join the two ends of a line. So the line becomes a ring, without an end - a symbol of eternity.
Circles and spirals can be found in ancient art from all continents. African woven baskets, Minoan vases, Celtic jewellery, Roman mosaics and architecture often remind us of ‘mandalas’ - think of the Pantheon in Rome and the breathtaking circular symmetry of its vaulted ceiling filled with light from its central opening.
Mandalas in education
If you have children in your life, you will be familiar with the colouring-in sheets of mandalas that are handed out in nurseries and schools. They are popular in this context because drawing or even colouring in mandalas is said to reduce over-stimulation, and when combined with breathing exercises, can settle the nervous system.
An act of self care: concentric designs in felt embroidery
The ‘slow crafting’ movement has helped to revive skills like embroidery, mending, crochet and knitting. These activities require you to concentrate, shutting out mental chatter, while the repetitive movements of your hands and fingers activate your parasympathetic nervous system and lower cortisol (the stress hormone).
Combining the calming motif of a mandala with the meditative rhythm of slow stitching is more than a craft project:
It is an opportunity to pause and it is an act of self care.
My mini-course, Stitch in Stillness: felt embroidery, combines the meditative power of mandalas with six simple foundational stitches on wool felt - no hoop required.
