They can be particularly useful for:
- children -- coloring mandalas can help children deal with emotions and cope with illness. Instead of verbalizing their feelings, many children express themselves through color and art. Psychologist Barbara Sourkes, PhD, has used mandalas with children at hospitals.
- people who cancer or terminal illness -- The University of California at Irvine Cancer Center and the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center are just two cancer centers that have offered mandala workshops to cancer survivors.
- people who are trying to quit smoking -- for the same reason that many smokers take up knitting when they quit. Coloring mandalas keeps your hands occupied and relieves stress. You can bring your mandala book with you so you can pick it up for a several minutes at a time whenever you have the urge to smoke.
But it is not for everyone. Coloring mandalas involve repetitive movements and gripping, which can aggravate the pain rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis in the fingers. It can also cause pain in people with carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow (known medically as lateral epicondylitis), and other forms of repetitive strain injury.
