Overview

Engaging with art can support well-being by helping us build skills that have value in our daily lives, such as deepening awareness, considering new perspectives, and sparking inspiration. When we tend to our well-being, we cultivate our sense of purpose, identity, insight, and connection with ourselves and others. By taking this course, we hope you discover what well-being looks like, feels like, and means to you and that you find new ways to nurture well-being in your life through art. Art offers us one approach to the difficulty of slowing down, noticing what’s happening inside ourselves, and feeling present and attuned as we move through the world. In this course you will explore different ways art can support well-being using a wide range of practices and approaches. You’ll hear from mindfulness instructors, therapists, artists, somatic practitioners, educators, researchers, and scientists. You’ll learn about the healing qualities they’ve found in art and the ways art enriches well-being. Along the way, we hope that you’ll discover how art can serve as inspiration for routines and activities that you can bring into your life. How you approach this course is up to you—there’s no right or wrong way to embark on this journey! Start where you want, go at your own pace, feel free to skip around or engage with your favorite activity more than once. All we ask is that you stay curious along the way. We hope that in taking this course you feel more connected to yourself, others, and the world around you. Please note: This course is not therapy. While the course may feel therapeutic and includes the perspectives of therapists and practitioners in adjacent fields, it is not clinical. If you're interested in therapy of any kind, we suggest you reach out to a licensed professional or organization to find the best approach for you.

Syllabus

Welcome to Artful Practices for Well-Being

Welcome to Artful Practices for Well-Being! In this module you will consider what well-being means to you. You’ll explore how experiences with art can prompt different emotional responses and learn a technique to sift through your feelings and experiences. At the end of the module you will have an opportunity to reflect on the connection between art and well-being.

Humor, Playfulness, Curiosity

Humor, playfulness, and curiosity can be a powerful support for well-being. The ways the artists and artworks use humor, playfulness, and curiosity may inspire new ways of incorporating them into your life and help you be conscious of the impact they can have.

Compassion, Gratitude, Joy

In this module you will discover how recognizing and expressing compassion, gratitude, and joy can support your well-being and cultivate a more flexible nervous system. You’ll explore activities that you might use when gratitude and joy are difficult to access.

Dreaming, Imagining, Envisioning

In this module explore how dreaming, imagining, and envisioning can support your nervous system and help you to integrate complex ideas, thoughts, memories, and feelings in your everyday life.

Grief, Loss, Longing

This module acknowledges grief, loss, and longing in our lives and explores how we might meet ourselves with compassion. You’ll learn about artists who use different materials and forms to express grief, loss, and longing and to move through the grieving process.

Rest, Coziness, Comfort

In this module you’ll discover restful practices to incorporate into your day and different ways to bring a sense of coziness into your life. Learn to recognize the power of comfort in your life and understand when are the best times to turn toward discomfort.

Body, Somatics, Embodiment

In this module you’ll explore what it means to cultivate care for and express gentleness toward your body and others. You’ll explore strategies for deepening your relationship with your nervous system and learn some techniques for becoming more embodied in your sensations.

This is just the beginning...

This module marks the end of the course, but not the end of your exploration of Artful Practices for Well-Being. In this module, you’ll have a chance to reflect back on the themes in this course, and on whether your definition of well-being has changed. You’ll also consider ways you can continue to bring art into your daily life to support your well-being.