Karakoko: 50 Mind Calming And Stress Relieving Patterns

Create Your Own Traditional Ukrainian Folk Art

These fascinating images from Ukraine can best be described as tribal designs, or as tribal or ethnic art, and will provide hours of coloring pleasure during which you can really let your creativity run riot.

Coloring is an activity which has long been associated with children and it has been taken for granted that, as we reach maturity, we put away our colored pencils and turn to more grown-up pursuits. However, in recent years we have seen this wisdom being rejected and coloring for adults has become a widespread and growing hobby.

But why has coloring for adults become so popular? There are many reasons for the rapid growth in adult coloring, but here are just some…

Coloring Reduces Stress And Anxiety

Psychiatrists have long recognized the fact that coloring relaxes the fear center of the brain and permits your mind to rest. In fact, Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, gave his patients mandalas to color more than one hundred years ago. In the hectic world we inhabit today the stress reducing properties of coloring are probably more valuable than ever.

Coloring Trains Your Mind To Focus

Staying within the lines as you color a simple black and white line drawing needs focus and, while you concentrate on this stress-free and relaxing activity, you can forget about your worries. Coloring is a mental exercise which lets you put aside everything for the time you spend doing it, and this is important in our hectic world.

Coloring Helps To Develop Motor Skills And Vision

Coloring forces the two sides of the brain to work together and involves both the use of logic (used for coloring forms) and creativity (as we mix and match colors). In turn, this brings those areas of the brain responsible for fine motor skills and vision into play, and helps to keep these active and develop them further. It is this aspect of coloring which is being increasingly seen as particularly valuable for older individuals, as many in the medical profession believe that it can delay, or even prevent, the onset of dementia.

Coloring Provides The Opportunity To Be Social

Although you might believe that coloring would be a solo activity, its growing popularity is quickly turning it into a social one. Friends, families, work colleagues and others are getting together to enjoy something to eat and drink and the opportunity to socialize, through their shared interest in coloring books. Undoubtedly, this is a perfect excuse for partying, as coloring takes only minimal concentration and can be done easily in a group setting.

Coloring Lets You Express Yourself

There are no rules when it comes to coloring and your coloring book is your coloring book. If you mistakenly color the dog’s back leg green because you mistook it for part of the grass, who is going to care? If you decide to make the sky pink, what does it matter? You may be as creative and experimental as you wish because this is your coloring book, and yours alone.

You may of course already be a fan of adult coloring, in which case you will appreciate its value. Alternatively, this may be a new project for you and one which you are thinking about for any one of several different reasons. If this is something new for you then I encourage you to try it out. It is no accident that so many people are fired up about the world of adult coloring, so jump on board and start to enjoy the benefits for yourself today.