Mandalas with Jean Ryan in Ireland

So while the trainees are starting to show signs of excitement and exhaustion as we are in the last leg of 200Hr Riya Yoga Teacher Training, as a special treat I invited a local artists Jean Ryan to come and share his love for painting and art with these amazing ladies.  I met Jean with Mia at a local networking event for local artists, and venues in Limerick.  Jean Ryan is a highly respected artist and art teacher, who had a gallery very close to Sun and Moon Yoga & Healing Center.  I had the idea to invite him to share the concept of creating Mandalas with the Trainees.  I have used Mandalas with kids Yoga, and find it to be an incredible meditation tool.  Before I had a chance to ask Jean, he was gone.  However, since this universe is so incredible and we manifest what we put our mind on, Jean had come back to the studio to see Mia.  She knew that I had wanted to ask him. 

My Mandala...it was relaxing to create.

Table of Mandalas

Donna enjoying the relaxation with her beautiful mandala.

Mia creating a breathtaking Mandala

Mielle enjoying her lovely Mandala.

Exploring Mandalas with Jean Ryan

As Jean Ryan was admiring the Yoga Studio for the first time, he casually mentioned to Mia that she should have some Mandalas painted on the walls, and Mia immediately looked at me and smiled.  I stepped up and asked Jean, and like a true artist he was happy to return to share some Mandala painting with the ladies.  We spent the later end of the afternoon with meditation music on, exploring the power of shapes, chakra colors, and concentration while creating our mandalas.  All of us found it to be a relaxing afternoon, and perfect way to spend the later part of our Teacher Training!  Thank you Jean Ryan for your time and talent, we are so grateful for your contribution to our Training experience.  Jean Ryan may return to Sun and Moon Yoga Centre for art workshops and mandala painting, so for those in Limerick please keep your eyes and ears open for this relaxing and creative way to meditate.

Mia and Jean Ryan

Mandalas with Yogi Beans

It is no secret that kids love to color. It is a chance for them to express their creativity. The vivid pictures, the lines to stay in, and that waxy smell of a new box of crayons is familiar to us all. Sometimes, in a yogi beans kids class, the kids color mandalas. While they color the mandalas they meditate on a happy place, time or thought which is later shared. Recently, I watched as two young ladies colored their mandalas. One little girl paying attention to creating a pattern with speed, and the other paying attention to detail and more abstract. It is amazing what the human eye can create when given a blank page. A blank artists page is very much like our lives, we have the opportunity to use and appreciate all the colors in the box, create patterns, be abstract, be detailed, and feel however we choose. After coloring her mandala, Lena told me that she Loves Yoga and decided to write that on her Mandala. Make the most of your lives, color with joy and love the process! ~ Peace & Hugs, Ambria