M is for Mandala

 

 As always, a huge shout out to Ninja Minion Master Captain Alex and his army of ninja minions! 

My Theme: Yoga.  For those of you who don't know, I've been working on obtaining my yoga teacher's certification for the past year and am just a little over a month from graduating with my RYT200.  As such, I figure there's no better way to spend this month than teaching you folks some of what I've learned.

A mandala ("circle") is is a meditation tool used to enhance one's focus on a particular goal or desire.  It helps one not only to train their eyes in a soft mediation gaze but is also said to act as a connector between the mediation individual and the cosmos (because it represents the cosmos).  It is typically comprised of four gates witha central focus point in the center.

 

The design and creation of a mandala is, in and of itself, a meditative act and many individual report the activity calming (which is why mandala coloring books are so popular nowadays.