When times are stressful, it’s important to develop self-care habits and mindfulness rituals that help you take back a little bit of calm. And there’s no one way to do self-care—in fact, there are seemingly endless strategies to show up for yourself, from surrounding yourself with scented candles to developing a daily meditation routine, and everything in between. Our favorite form of mindfulness? Coloring and doodling.

That’s the thought behind our Mindfulness Coloring series by Emma Farrarons (with now 1 million copies in print!), and the reason we’re excited to publish The Mindfulness Creativity Coloring Book, available today. The Mindfulness Creativity Coloring Book is an exciting twist on the coloring book trend, since the book includes patterns to color, lettering to copy, and pages of guided sketching and doodling to keep you entertained for hours.

Read on to learn more about why coloring is helpful for combating stress and achieving mindfulness—and to download some sample coloring pages from the series!

1. Mindful coloring redirects attention.

A simple activity like coloring takes attention away from yourself (and the things that stress you out!) and puts it on the present moment. In that way, coloring mimics meditative and mindfulness exercises by forcing you to focus on the here and now.

2. It relaxes the brain.

When your thoughts are focused on an easy, repetitive activity, the brain tends to relax. It’s easy to get wrapped up in work, social media, and electronic entertainment, but it’s important every once and a while to unplug and reset—and your brain will thank you for it.

3. The low stakes make it pleasurable.

Color outside the lines, we dare you! Coloring can be as neat or as messy as you choose, and there are no real consequences if you mess up; just turn the page and start fresh.

4. It satisfies your inner child.

There’s a reason kids love coloring—it’s just plain fun! If you enjoyed coloring or other creative activities as a child, it can be rewarding to revisit those pastimes as an adult. And even if you didn’t, there’s something satisfying about stepping away from the technology of our day-to-day lives to embrace the simple paper and pencil.

5. Customizability!

All coloring books are by nature customizable. But many, including The Mindfulness Creativity Coloring Book, go beyond the basics to offer more than coloring. In fact, our latest book in the series offers designs that you must complete yourself, including drawings to imitate symmetry, patterns to sketch up, and lettering to trace.

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We hope this post convinced you just how great mindful coloring can be! To try it out for yourself, don’t forget to download the below coloring pages from all the books in the Mindfulness Coloring series, and be sure to grab your copy of The Mindfulness Creativity Coloring Book, publishing today!

The Mindfulness Creativity Coloring Book	The Mindfulness Coloring Book – Volume 1
The Mindfulness Coloring Book – Volume 2	Moments of Mindfulness