Transforming Wellness Beyond Imagination
  • About
  • Health & Wellness Blog
  • Healing Arts Blog
  • Support Our Programs
  • Contact Us

Expressive Arts for Wellness

1/18/2019

0 Comments

 

By:  Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm, Mind-Body Specialist 
Email: lforsythe@som.umaryland.edu

​Writing, journaling, doodling, and painting can all be restorative, healing practices.  Expressive arts practices are great to work with after you have completed “Evaluating your life for what is really important” and “Organizing your life for Success.”  Working with art projects is a great way to get what is swirling around in your head integrated into your heart.  “The arts ground us in the senses in which images are seen, heard and touched simultaneously by the artist and witness.” 1   An expressive arts practice can help you process emotion, create meaning and purpose and connect with intuition and creativity.
Picture

Art Activity: Revelation word cards or circle


Read More
0 Comments

Art Doodle Kindness

2/12/2018

0 Comments

 

By Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm

There are many ways to be kind.  Below are a variety of expressive arts activities using a love of doodling/art to create fun random acts of kindness.
Picture
Using expressive arts to offer random acts of kindness offers two major benefits. First, you are using a relaxing modality of self-care which you already enjoy and find calming.  Second, studies have shown that when we express gratitude and kindness we benefit from the positive intention to connect socially.  “The experience of gratitude and the actions stimulated by it build and strengthen social bonds and friendships.”(1)   Art is a “win-win” as a random act of kindness!
Picture

Here are some suggestions:


Read More
0 Comments

Heartfelt Gratitude

11/21/2017

0 Comments

 

By Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm

Picture
In an article posted on DailyGood.org, Brother David Steindle-Rast speaks about Five Small Gestures of Gratitude to Counteract Violence:
  1. Say one word today that will give a fearful person courage.
  2. Make a firm resolution never to repeat stories and rumors that spread far.
  3. Make contact with people whom you normally ignore.
  4. Give someone an unexpected smile today.
  5. Listen to the news today and put at least one item to the test of Common Sense.
​Read the full article here.

Read More
0 Comments

October Leaves of Grace

10/23/2017

0 Comments

 

By Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm

Picture
​The falling leaves of our beautiful autumn have inspired this expressive arts activity.  In an article titled, Fall Meditation to Embody Openness and Self-Reflection, author Tris Thorp from the Chopra Center, encourages embracing change and letting go.  
​This expressive arts project is designed to encourage you to notice certain habits of thought which no longer serve your best interest, and to begin the valuable process of replacing the thought with a new word that suits your best interest.  It is important to start this process with the realization that these thoughts were put into place in your mind at another time in your life – just like the tree lets go of the leaves as a process of growth and rebirth.

Read More
0 Comments

Hope Tree

9/6/2017

0 Comments

 

By Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm

In his article called “A Vision for the World,” Brother David Stiendl-Rast speaks about gratitude.

September is a time of great abundance in nature.  Trees are full, offering shade in all shades of green turning into glorious colors of orange, yellow and red.  In this expressive art project, we will use the symbol of a swirly tree full of leaves to express gratitude even in moments of great challenge and stress.

Gratitude is a word that gets tossed here and there.  Brother Steindl-Rast explains that while we cannot have gratitude for everything, we can be grateful in every moment.  I call these moments “Gratitude In” moments. 

In this arts project we will create a tree on an old bulletin board and record our “gratitude in” moments on the leaves of the tree. Leaves on a tree absorb carbon dioxide from the exhalations of animals and humans. In this project, we will write out our gratitude moments, worries or prayers on leaves as a metaphor to be “absorbed” by the swirly tree.
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Imperfectly Perfect - An Expressive Arts Project

7/7/2017

0 Comments

 

By Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm

“We experiment with visual means to express what we most want to communicate.  We try things out and see what quickens our pulse, what fully engages us.  Our exploration and self-awareness grow over time - through drawing, through our life journey, and through seeing what matters to us.  What moves us.”   The Confident Creative by Cat Bennett.  (An amazing little book, a quick summer read for inspiration and big Questions.)  By the way, Big Q questions are the ones that give you pause. 
The idea for this expressive art project came from a failure.  I was using spray inks to spray a flower stencil that I had made.  The ink spread and blurred out from under the stencil and the colors blended in a drippy mess.  Or so I thought.  “Humph” I thought and I walked away… it dried and I thought “wait, what if…”
And I doodled and played with the mess:
Picture
​And then I realized that “hope” can spread and seep into all parts of our lives and now I love this imperfectly perfect flower with its message of light.

Read More
0 Comments

Spirit ID Card

6/2/2017

0 Comments

 

By Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm

“Emotional agility is a process that allows you to be in the moment, changing or maintaining your behaviors to live in ways that align with your intentions and your values.”  Susan David, "Emotional Agility," Harvard Business Review (2013)  
We all have many forms of ID, badges and cards that let us in and out of life’s red tape.  This activity will focus on creating an ID card for your spirit.  In her article "Emotional Agility," Susan David wrote, “The mind’s thought stream flows endlessly and emotions change like the weather, but values can be called on at any time and in any situation.”
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Intention Circle

4/10/2017

0 Comments

 

By Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm

This artistic project is designed to remind you of an intention that you hold dear.  The activity works to connect you back to the big picture goals of your life.  With the busyness and hustle bustle of life come challenges, and these challenges can throw us off kilter OR we can use expressive arts and challenge as a reminder to focus on values that are important in our lives.
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Heart Centering Garland

3/7/2017

0 Comments

 

By Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm

Picture
Picture
This activity combines the idea of a Tibetan “prayer flag” and the idea of Guatemalan “worry dolls” (both pictured below).  In the process, you paint, create or decorate paper hearts, write out worries, prayers, thoughts or words of focus and fold them prayer style over a string to create a hanging garland.
Picture
Tibetan Prayer Flag
Picture
Guatemalan Worry Dolls

Read More
0 Comments

Gratitude Heart Pass Along

2/13/2017

0 Comments

 

By Lolly Forsythe-Chisolm

Commercial Valentine's day can be rough. Expectations about "romantic love" can feel overwhelming or disappointing.  This expressive arts project encourages you to take the best care of your own heart by showing gratitude/love to another's heart.
Picture
Picture

Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Be in the know

    Sign up to get our monthly
    e-newsletters and other information about our Center.

    Support our programs

    Learn how you can help us transform wellness today!

    Learn with us

    We have great classes for health professionals throughout the year.
    Learn more here.
    ​
    Healing Pathways:  Self-Care for Healthcare Providers
    April 11-May 20, 2018
    Learn more here.

    Yoga Teacher Training
    • 200-hour
    • 300-hour Advanced
    • Therapeutic Yoga
    Learn more here.

    Applied Integrative Medicine
    A Hands-On Training for Healthcare Practitioners
    Learn more here.

    Self-Healing Retreat for Cancer Patients
    May 13-19, 2018
    Learn more here.

    From the University of Maryland, Baltimore Graduate School: 
    • Integrative Health & Wellness graduate certificate program
    • Aging & Applied Thanatology graduate certificate program​

    ​Join us as we participate in the 2018 International Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health
    May 8-11, 2018
    Baltimore, MD
    Learn more here.

    Categories

    All
    Art Project
    Gratitude
    Happiness
    Healing Arts
    Kindness
    Meditation
    Positive Thinking
    Self Reflection
    Self-reflection

    Archives

    February 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    RSS Feed


This Website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or received from This site. 

  • About
  • Health & Wellness Blog
  • Healing Arts Blog
  • Support Our Programs
  • Contact Us