Power of Clay
Psychologists prove that pottery is good for mental health.
Touching and smelling the clay and hearing the whir of the pottery wheel engages the senses and can lower cortisol, the stress hormone that can be physically and mentally harmful if at a high level too long. — MacLeod
Pottery is great for relaxing. This genius, an artistic hobby, might help you clear your thoughts and remove stress in the long haul. You are just focusing on one piece of clay while ignoring all the problems.
Your mind and body are in natural collaboration while turning the clay and mastering the wheel, which is excellent for your mental wellness.
We took a pottery class as a couple last year — a great idea by my partner to see the creative side of our minds. We really enjoyed it and thought it’s a great idea to share some health benefits with the world.
Here are the top health benefits of pottery.
Improve your focus
We know that exercise helps to increase our focus. Pottery is one of the best activities to improve your focus. Pottery is a solitary activity, and it helps to ignore Everything else in life but to focus on one thing.
Welcome to pottery, where your eyes and hand collaborate to create a masterpiece, and that is only possible with utmost focus.
You start with a tiny piece of clay to improve the shape or whatever shape is in your mind. You cannot make it a great shape without utmost focus.
Pottery also helps improve your productivity because you are improving one thing.
Reduce your stress
You are already super focused while giving a shape to your clay; it feels like a meditation where you control your hands and eyes. Studies show that people lower their blood pressure, improve breathing, and reduce stress during pottery.
As I mentioned, the repetitive tasks of your hands and eyes while shaping the clay allow you to immerse yourself in the process.
Everything else subsides around you. You truly forget about Everything except the clay. — Abbie Kasoff-Gray
I literally forgot Everything except the clay in my hands when I took the pottery class. Clay needs your 100% attention to mould into your thoughts.
Great exercise for your hands and wrist
We all know that walking, running, and/or hiking offer several health benefits. What if I told you that the pottery has a similar impact on your hands, wrists, and arms?
You are having fun and exercising your hands, wrist, and arms. Keep in mind that the next time you take a pottery class, you’ll be taking care of your hands and arms as well.
The good news is that pottery is not a strenuous activity like hiking but an excellent movement activity for your hands’ health. Studies show that pottery has excellent benefits on your hands, wrist, and arms health in the long haul.
Make memories with friends and family
My wife and I attended the pottery lesson, and we have many fond memories. She was the one who painted the best pots. This is the image where you can see our pottery class results. Can you guess which one is created by my partner?
Boost creativity
Research shows that pottery is excellent for mental health. You have to understand the fundamental rules to make pottery. You can change every rule according to your needs, or I would say creativity helps a lot.
When you are super focused on clay in your hands, your creativity level will be on the top to bring new innovative ideas to mould the clay.
I literally had the feeling that my brainchild was back in action. I used to play with clay as a kid.
Why is this the perfect time to try pottery?
Pandemic pushed us to stay at home all day. This is the best time to take pottery classes with family and friends.
You never know your hidden talent. My grandmother used to say that you do not know your hidden talent until you try something new. Trying new things always has a positive impact on our mental health.
It’s the right time to wake up your hidden or lost creativity. People are forced to lockdown; isolation is increasing mental illness across the globe.
Take pottery as your escape route; transform your thoughts into pots.
Final Thoughts
Pottery therapy is real, and you should get in on it. There is no barrier to entry; you simply take an introductory class in your community or even do it online.
The movement of making pottery staying focused is really beneficial to your mental wellness. Study shows that pottery is a great exercise for hand artrithes because it promotes joint movement.
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