When and how did I discover passion in yoga and mandala painting?

I started yoga in 2005. The purpose during that time was mainly focusing on the physical side, to tackle the health problems that could be generated by the job like jet lag and continuously lifting heavy objects. Time goes on I find out that there are more and more benefits that I could gain from practicing yoga, apart from physical health, but also the mental health that I feel calmer and knowing how to deal with life using a different perspective.

Not until 2017, I had my very first yoga training in Mysore, India, which sowed the seed of my passion in drawing mandala which I learned from a young Indian artist. Half a year later in 2018, my second yoga training in Rishikesh India, has helped my mandala passion blossom, where I always called this place as the birthplace of my soul, the home of my soul.

What is mandala painting?

Mandala, a Sanskrit term (classical language of India) meaning “circle” or “discoid object”, is a geometric design that holds a lot of symbolism in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. It represents different aspects of the universe and is used as an instrument of meditation. In the West, Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, was the first to explore
mandalas and popularized its usage by introducing the therapeutic powers brought by drawing mandalas. By repeatedly drawing patterns from outer layers towards its center, one can “enter” the mandala and drop all unnecessary objects, and ultimately find one’s own “atman”, a Sanskrit term meaning “Self”.

How is mandala meaningful to our well being?

As we’re living in a metropolitan city, stress comes in from all directions. Our bodies technically absorb a large amount of stress and pressure without us noticing, which becomes the root of a lot of physical and mental illnesses, and some of them couldn’t even be cured using scientific approach. Drawing mandala or simply meditating on a mandala serves as a therapeutic tool in calming the mind, which in turn calms the nervous system and leads to good health, both physically and mentally. It is not a belief. Anyone could try it on their own and get a taste of it without believing anything.

What is the most inspiring moment in my new passion?

I had drawn lots of mandalas within the two months during my second yoga training in Rishikesh back in 2018. It was a tough, intense, mind blowing, inspiring, and enlightened journey that I’ve ever had in life so far. My sketchbook and my pens were my best friends during that time. Sitting at cafes, resting time in between classes, I kept drawing and drawing to release any uneasy feelings and tension that generated from practice. I then pile up lots of work from then on, without thinking too much of how or what to do with them. Not until last year when Covid hits, the whole universe has changed, and I know it is time to do something about it. With the encouragement from friends and my teacher in India, my online shop named “Bodhisattva” has launched, showcasing my designed mandala products such as
tote bags, t-shirts and accessories. Apart from doing it online, I’m also out in town to advertise the brand at pop up markets. I personally haven’t thought of this could go this far but apparently the universe has set the ground.

What would I like to achieve in the future?

Apart from my passion in mandala, I’m also studying clinical hypnotherapy course. Together with the knowledge that I’ve learned from yoga studies, and also from energy healing practice, becoming a therapist is my foreseeable path, one way or the other. I’m open to opportunities from all sorts, at the same time humbly keep practicing, having faith that the universe will take care of what it is meant to be. After learning wisdom from masters and gurus around the world, sharing is always the key. With the art of sharing, knowledge and wisdom could be magnified, and all beings could be manifested at their best, and ideally, pave for the way of the end of suffering.

Ivy is also currently organizing mandala’s painting workshop. If you are interested please contact her through:

www.instagram.com/bodhisattva_hk/ or www.facebook.com/bodhisattvaHK/