Zentangle and Anxiety

Zentangle Method Reduces Anxiety Among Medical Students

Chelsea Roundtree (left) and Narois Nehru (right) present the results of the study, led by AUC’s Dr. Somphone Schwarzer, at the Resilience Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, on April 14, 2019. The study showed conclusive benefits of a Zentangle practice on reducing anxiety in medical students. While this is not a surprise to anyone who has practiced the Zentangle Method, many people place great value on these studies.

This study also established a road map for future studies into the benefits of the Zentangle Method. Of particular interest is the potential of the Zentangle Method as an art-based alternative to psychotherapy and drugs which are traditional first-line treatments for anxiety. Dr. Miller comments, "What surprises me is the degree to which anxiety was reduced. In the pilot study (which was never written up or published), almost all of the participants were known to have anxiety issues, and the results were dramatic. I honestly did not expect to see approximately the same strength in this round, as we had no idea who would be taking part." We are grateful to the careful effort that this team put into this project and to Eleanor Miller, Ed.D, CZT, who contributed to that effort. Download a PDF of the study at this link. Download a larger image of this presentation slide at this link.

Hummies came to Visit Kensington Library

The hummingbirds are back from a cold winter - to Kensington/Normal Heights Library.  From the book The Art of Zentangle, we created this whimsical hummingbird for our Zentangle class today. All eight artist enjoyed finding patterns to fill in our string - that happens to look like a hummingbird.  

Below was a "newbie" to Zentangle.  She said "I'm not an artist, I'll sit in the back.  Of course I said this class is for folks like you that are intimidated by art.  This is her art piece. She actually liked black and white (no color).  I always say, you don't need much color with Zentangle.  The patterns speak for themselves.  A little color goes a long way.  She actually decided on a little color for the flowers.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

It Must Be Spring - Butterfly's are flying

We caught butterfly's at University Community Library in San Diego, CA.

Using The Zentangle Method, and tangelations (portions of tangles),
we brought flight to our butterfly's.  The rest of the time was spent adoring the art.

Fifteen participants relaxing as we tangle.

Zentangle looks complicated and intricate, but with our motto

 "anything is possible, one stroke at a time", you can create lovely art pieces.

This is the progress of this art piece. 

 Zentangle projects that were shared today:   lovely

Wellness Day for San Diego Library

With wellness at the top of our busy lives -

 I was invited to be a presenter at Sandall Spring Institute 2019.

Zentangle is a meditative art method. Psychology Today calls Zentangle "Yoga for the brain".

A stressless and relaxing day at the Sandall Spring Institute in Del Mar, California.

All the presenters showed different approaches to taking the stress out of our lives.

The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-do art method that creates beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. During the process of drawing, you relax, focus and get into a state of well-being - I call it the happy place.

ZERO ART EXPEREINCE NECESSARY

Zentangle has been proven to benefit those with:

anxiety, stress, bereavement, depression, PTSD, ADHD, ADD, chronic medical conditions, cancer therapy, pain management, addiction recovery and more.

I teach at over 40 city/county libraries in the San Diego area.  

Check out my classes (icon at top of page) and see if one is near you.  

Sunday Tangle Day

This Sunday was a tangle day at the Riley house.  The multi-generations came together to learn something new and exciting for the whole family to partake in.  Thirteen kids, adults, and grandparents shared an afternoon of tangling, food and love.

 That's my daughter - the blonde!

First we created a basic Zentangle tile with four tangles (patterns). Zander/Tipple/'nzepple/Ambler.

The next tile (that is what we call the paper), we applied those tangles we learned in the first project and created a tortoise art piece.

 

Fun to admire each others art.

Of Course, the after class was fun too.

Thanks for hosting a Zentangle class my lovely daughter and her hubby, Nick.

Spring is in the Air

Spring is in the air in Oceanside, San Diego.  Thirty five women for "ladies" night fell in love with The Zentangle Method.  Andrea came to a couple classes and wanted me to share this fresh, new art method with the ladies at her senior community.  Potluck, friendship and Zentangle.   

We created a garden sleeve for a greeting card using Cherryl Moote's Tropical Garden tangles.