Finding calm when your thoughts won’t quiet down

We all know that meditation is good for us. Study after study confirms its benefits for reducing stress, improving focus, and enhancing overall well-being. But what if traditional meditation—sitting still with nothing but your thoughts—feels impossible? What if your mind races, your body fidgets, and the very idea of emptying your thoughts makes you more anxious?

Enter colouring: meditation’s approachable, cosy cousin.

Colouring offers a unique form of meditation that works beautifully when you movement and focus to find stillness. Unlike traditional meditation, which asks you to empty your mind, colouring gives your hands something to do and your eyes something to look at while your mind has something moving to focus on. This gentle activity occupies just enough of your brain to quiet the mental chatter while allowing you to enter a state of flow.

The rhythmic back-and-forth of your coloured pencil across the page becomes a moving meditation—each stroke an opportunity to be present, to breathe, and to simply be.

There’s something inherently cosy about settling in with a colouring page. Perhaps it’s the childhood nostalgia, or maybe it’s the permission to slow down and create without pressure. Whatever the reason, colouring can become a beautiful ritual of self-care and comfort.

To create your own cosy colouring ritual:

1. Set the scene: Find a comfortable spot with good lighting. Perhaps add a soft blanket, a cup of tea, or light a candle.
2. Disconnect: Put your phone on silent or in another room, somewhere out of sight, out of mind. This is your time to step away from notifications and endless scrolling. You can of course listen to music, a podcast or an audiobook, but try to stay away from your phone and focus on the colouring (turn it upside down if you must!)
3. Choose your tools: Whether you prefer coloured pencils for their precision, markers for their vibrance, or watercolours for their fluidity, select tools that bring you joy to use, tools that feel fun.
4. Start without expectations: Remember, this isn’t about creating a masterpiece for your wall. It’s about the process, not the product.
5. Breathe and colour: As you colour, pay attention to your breath. Notice the sensation of the pencil in your hand, the colours blending on the page, the gentle pressure of your hand against the paper.

Embrace the paradox of structured freedom.

Colouring offers a fascinating paradox: the structure of pre-drawn lines provide a container for creativity while removing the pressure of starting from scratch. This balance of structure and freedom makes colouring uniquely soothing for when you find blank pages intimidating but still crave creative expression.

The lines give you permission to focus solely on colour choices and techniques, narrowing your decision-making just enough to make the experience calming rather than overwhelming. You’re free to experiment within friendly boundaries.

Using printable colouring pages is a great way to also not worry about making mistakes. If you don’t like how you coloured one or want to do the same image again, just print another one!

When your mind wanders (and it will), simply let the thoughts come and then let them go.

One of the most beautiful aspects of colouring as meditation is that it’s forgiving. When your mind inevitably wanders—to your to-do list, to that awkward thing you said three years ago, to what you’ll make for dinner—the physical activity brings you back, allows you to let the thoughts come and go without sticking.

Notice your wandering thoughts without judgment, and then return your attention to the colours, the lines, and the movement of your hand. This practice of noticing and returning is, in fact, the heart of all meditation.

My free colouring pages are here for you when you want to start!

I’ve created a small collection of free colouring pages for you to enjoy. Each design is hand-drawn with care and offered free for your personal use.

Whether you have five minutes or fifty, whether you consider yourself creative or not, colouring offers an accessible path to mindfulness and inner calm for everyone. Remember: You don’t need to sit still to find stillness within.

Simply click on any image that speaks to you, download the PDF, and print it out whenever you need a moment of creative calm.