March is National Craft Month and we thought this is the perfect time to share the benefits of crafting for your health and wellness.
In HealthandWellness.com, Nancy Monson writes "Soothe your soul, get a hobby. Scientific research is beginning to reveal what hobbyists have intuitively known all along: CRAFTS and HOBBIES have mental, physical, and spiritual benefits." Crafting is a way of changing the patterns in the mind. My dad always said "a change is as good as a rest." Changing the patterns of thinking de-stresses us. Hobbies and crafting change our everyday thinking patterns that we associate with stressful situations. I recently sat down with our Zentangle instructor, Maxine Erickson, to do a sample drawing. Her method of teaching made me feel the "Zen" part of Zentangle. I immediately went to a new happy place in my mind, freely thinking as I drew. I was immediately hooked on the feeling that went with the drawing. After experiencing my new Zen place, I went back to work. I had faced a problem for the previous two days, and the solution immediately came to my mind. All I needed to do was let go.
In Caringtoday.com an article adapted from Nancy Monson further states: "Find a craft you love - the more rhythmic and repetitive, the better. Passion for a craft keeps you interested, while the rhythmic and repetitive nature confers the mind-body benefit. Knitting, sewing, crocheting, woodworking and other rhythmic crafts are great choices." We all follow our own rhythm, yet life sometimes interrupts that beat. Finding ourselves again in a hobby we love seems to bring us back to the true sense of our spirit.
Take note and learn from the children in your life. In an article by Kathryn Hatter in Livestrong.com states "If your kids love digging into arts and crafts projects with paint or glue up to their elbows, relax -- they're learning and developing in essential ways while they're making a beautiful mess. Children derive many important benefits from the opportunity of working with arts and crafts projects, making creative activities worthwhile in your home." Personally, I like the idea of a beautiful mess. Some of my best ideas come to me when I'm in that state while being creative.
Adrian C. Taylor
Ben Franklin Crafts and Frame Shop
Monroe & Bonney Lake, WA
Source links:
http://healthandwellnessclub.com/features/articletype/articleview/articleid/12/soothe-your-soul-get-a-hobby
http://www.caringtoday.com/reduce-stress/reap-the-benefits-of-crafting
http://www.livestrong.com/article/80368-benefits-arts-crafts-children/
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Ben Franklin Crafts and Frame Shop
21121 Hwy 410 E, Bonney Lake, WA 98391
253-862-6822
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