Currently Feeling: Unbalanced

A therapeutic art exercise to help you find balance when you're feeling rocked

Last week I was catapulted out of my normal routine because my dad was in the hospital for an entire week. The emotional rollercoaster of waiting on results and possible diagnoses was stressful enough, but on top of that I had to look after my nephew so my mom could be with my dad.

When Sunday rolled around I hit a wall.

My body felt like it had been hit by a car and even though I was exhausted, I had trouble getting a good night’s sleep. I was also bracing/anticipating for another week where I’d be asked to help look after my niece and nephew more than usual so that my parents could go to follow-up doc appointments and my sister could go to an evening work event.

Needless to say, I’m running on fumes.

(More like puffs of fumes!)

And way, way, way out of alignment.

As I was thinking about how I felt I had this image of balancing stones toppling over and needing to be stacked again. With this in mind, I created a therapeutic art exercise for myself to remind me of what I need to feel balanced again.

I am obsessed with this exercise and I hope you’ll give it a try next time you’re feeling rocked (pun intended).

Balancing Stones

I love the symbolism behind stacking or balancing stones. Maybe they become unbalanced and fall over, but you can always stack them again. As Jana Langsford said, “Balance is not something you find, it is something you create.”

In this therapeutic art exercise you’ll create your own set of balancing stones to remind you of the people, places, and things that make you feel balanced.

What you’ll need:

• A notebook

• Watercolor paper, paints, brush

• Pen or pencil

• Scissors + glue

The process:

Journal You may already know what makes you feel sane/balanced. But if not, here are a few questions to help you identify what you need:

• What activities make me lose track of time because I’m so absorbed and happy?

• What are 3 small things I can add to my life today that would make it feel more like me?

• If I woke up tomorrow with a blank slate, what would I choose to fill my life with?

• Where do I feel most alive — physically, emotionally, creatively?

Review your answers and list 3-5 people, places, or things that make you feel balanced.

Prep your paper Grab two pieces of watercolor paper. Cut one piece of paper in half (save the other half for another project) and set it aside.

The second piece of paper will be for your stones and you’ll use the entire page. Paint the entire page in whatever colors you’d like! I did color blocking because I wanted my stones to be solid colors, but feel free to paint however your heart is called. Set it aside to dry.

Cut + glue your stones Once your painted paper is dry, cut “stones” of different shapes, sizes, and textures. Round, smooth, oblong, rough — whatever you’d like!

Then, stack your stones on your half-sheet of paper, largest to smallest. Once you’re happy with the positioning, glue them down.

Label your stones Next to each stone, write down one of the people, places, or things you identified in step 1 that make you feel balanced.

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Now you have a beautiful piece of art and a reminder of what makes you feel sane, supported, and aligned (maybe hang it near your desk next to your Field of Dreams?)

I’d love to hear what keeps you balanced! 👇🏼