Zentangle - art to heal people | Fusion - WeRIndia

Doodling in notebooks during long lectures and presentations is a common occupation for students in boredom, but as Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts discovered in 2004, doodling feels so satisfying to the bored mind because it is actually therapeutic.

The two found a system of doodling that puts one in a meditative mindset, which they called the Zentangle Method. This method consists of doing repetitive patterns with a pen or pencil to relax the brain.

There are no rules or judgements in the composition of a Zentangle; the mind is free to create any design it wishes without any conscious thought involved.

Now, in India, Dilip P. Patel and Malathi Kapur have been credited as the country’s first Zentangle teachers. They have been opening up classes and workshops to introduce this new method of therapy to Indians seeking a new method of finding one’s peace of mind.

Even people who have absolutely no experience in art can partake in these sessions, since Zentangles are simple and are not to be judged.

The Zentangle is meant to be an abstract design without any specific structure or conscious planning, simply created by the instincts of the mind. Therefore, this makes the process excellent for therapy, as it allows the mind to roam free of any troubling or negative thoughts.

Patel and Kapur’s classes have had marvelous success with their partakers, with one of the most touching examples being a group of girls who had been victims of trafficking. When they first came in, they seemed scarred and empty, but as time went on, their true colors began to show through, thanks to their emotional improvement from the meditative process of the Zentangle.

More cases like this have occurred, and the duo are overjoyed to see the improvements of their people.

Their success has led them to be invited to large cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad to spread their new method for achieving peace of mind, along with creating some beautiful art doodles in the process.

Image Reference: TheBetterIndia