Color Yourself Happy

I’m so grateful for the Midlife Blogger groups I am in because I get to meet the most inspiring women. Today, I’m happy to have one of them quite literally adding color to my blog.

Tara Reed has been doodling, painting, drawing and coloring since she could hold a crayon! Her favorite gifts as a child were new art supplies. She has been creating art for products that are sold in stores since 2004.

Tara believes that a happy life is made up of the little happy moments you can always find if you are looking for them. She also thinks that laughter really is the best medicine, and she strives to create art that adds to the happy in people’s lives.

Learn more at ColorYourselfHappy.com and PivotToHappy.com.

Color Yourself Happy – a favorite pastime of young and old

Coloring isn’t just for kids – more and more grownups are discovering the fun and therapeutic value of coloring. Whether you consider yourself to be creative or not, you will enjoy the benefits of creativity through the simple act of coloring.

You don’t have to know how to paint or draw – you simply pick a color you like and apply it to the designs in this book. Anyone can do it – and they are! Some of the top 10 selling books on Amazon have been coloring books geared towards grown ups.

Many of us live a left-brain dominated life. We use logic, communicate verbally and through symbols and try to make sense of the things around us. Computers, math, directions, writing, reading and speaking are all left-brain activities.

Sometimes the left side our brain has so much control that we have a hard time relaxing, being silly, having fun. We may have thoughts spin in our minds and interrupt our ability to enjoy life to the fullest.

Coloring stimulates the right side of the brain – where your creativity, intuition and visualization lies. Big picture thinking, music, color, emotion and fun come from the right side of the brain when you allow it some space to breathe and play.

Grabbing your pencils, crayons or makers and coloring is also a great way to detach from the many screens that have taken over our lives – from televisions, to computers to smart phones. Going “old school” and playing with colored pencils or markers and paper is a great escape!

Coloring is a form of active meditation – instead of sitting quietly, what most people think of when they think of meditation – you are doing repetitive and focused motions, which cause your brain to focus on the task and release the thoughts that may be spinning in your head and causing you stress. Stress levels go down and feelings of peace and happiness increase.

According to an article in the Huffington Post, “One of the first psychologists to apply coloring as a relaxation technique was Carl G. Jüng in the early 20th century. He did this through mandalas: circular designs with concentric shapes similar to the Gothic churches’ rose windows. They have their origin in India.”

Color psychology talks about how specific colors are related to different moods. If you want to make your coloring extra therapeutic, you could use these concepts when choosing your colors. For example blues are said to lower blood pressure and are relaxing while reds are energizing – this is why interior decorators often say not to paint a bedroom red if you want to get a good night’s sleep. If you want to know more about color theory and psychology, check out the Wikipedia page.

Personally, I just like knowing that coloring is not only fun, but is good for you. Choose the colors that speak to you and go for it. Color alone, color with your friends, color with your kids. If you haven’t colored since you were a kid – why not give it a try again!

If you are intrigued and inspired to try your hand at coloring, here’s a free page you can print and color today!

(Click on the image to download now.)

TODAY is a great day to Color Yourself Happy!

–  Tara Reed

Thank you Tara for your post and the free giveaway!