Transcripts
1. Introduction: Have you ever wondered
what it feels like to draw with both
hands at the same time? It's more than just an
artistic challenge. It's a therapeutic practice that can help you
release stress, process emotions,
and quiet your mind. Hi, I'm Neha Modi artist and a top teacher
here on Skillshare. My journey has all been about
blending mindfulness and creativity and using it as a tool for
emotional well being. And one of the most
amazing methods that I have come across is
bilateral drawing. Now, bilateral drawing
or in simple terms, drawing with both hands helps you create
a balance between your logical structured side and the creative emotional side. It is based on the concept
of bilateral stimulation, a rhythmic back and forth, side to side or
alternative style of movements that engages both
hemispheres of the brain. It is commonly used
in therapy to help process traumatic memories
and regulate emotions. Now, in this class, I
will take you through the entire process of
creating a bilateral drawing. You will learn how to use free
flowing marks to express, release, and reset without overthinking or aiming
for perfection. I'll also share some prompts and creative variations so you can keep exploring this practice in ways that feel natural
and right for you. So if you are ready to let go of what's weighing you down, clear your mind or just
try something new, then grab your
favorite art supplies and join me in this class.
2. Material & Class Project: The beauty of
bilateral drawing is that it is extremely accessible, and that is why all you need
is just basic materials. You can use pens, crayons, pencil colors, paints,
or even markers. Any size of paper works, though I recommend
using an A three size so that you have enough space
to move your hands freely. The goal is to start
with something basic and then with time, try the different versions and use whatever
works best for you. Now, for your class project, you will create a free flowing drawing using both
hands at the same time. The goal isn't to
make it look good. It is to let your emotions out and allow your hands to
move freely on the paper. Whether it is a
tangle of scribbles, a rhythmic pattern or something
completely unexpected, please do share your work
in the project gallery. I would love to see how this
practice unfolds for you.
3. Meet Yourself On Paper: Hi there. Welcome
to this session. I'm so glad you're here. Now, before we dive in into
our first bilateral drawing, I want to invite you to
pause with me for a moment. Just take a deep breath, inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Do that for a few more times. Let your body settle. Now
gently check in with yourself. How are you feeling right now? Is there any tightness
in the body? An restlessness in the mind, or maybe just a dull kind of
tiredness you can't explain. There's no pressure
to name it perfectly. Just notice without judgment. You don't need to
change anything because whatever
you're carrying, we are going to meet
it on the paper. This practice will hold it all. Once you feel ready,
gather your materials. I'm using a simple A three
sheet of paper today. I've taped the paper
to the surface just so that it stays
in place while I draw. I do this because it removes
one little distraction, and this practice is
all about removing as many barriers as possible between what you feel
and how it flows out. Now for this first practice, I have chosen two fine
liners, black and red. You can choose any color or any other medium that
feels right to you. I start by drawing small scribble circles on
both side at the same time. I'm not trying to make
them neat or perfect, small movements, circling,
building, and breathing. As I go, I keep
expanding the circles. I'm letting each hand move
outward in its own rhythm. It's like ripples growing wider laid one after the other in
a kind of meditative dance. What's beautiful here is that I'm not trying to
control each hand. I'm just letting them move. Sometimes they
mirror each other. Sometimes one hand feels slower or more chaotic,
and that's okay. That is what the space is for. Now, this might look
like a simple exercise, but something powerful happens as we move both hands
together like this. You are activating
both hemispheres of your brain at once. Your left hand connects
to your right brain, the sight that holds emotions,
creativity, memories, and intuition, and
your right hand connects to your left brain, the site that organizes,
plans and rationalizes. This rhythmic
repetitive movement helps bring those two
sides into harmony. It creates a sense
of integration, a conversation between
the parts of you that don't often get a chance
to speak to each other. Now, while you do this, please remember this isn't about
making a beautiful drawing. It's about releasing
what's stuck, calming your nervous system, and reconnecting with
yourself through movement. There's no right or wrong here. You don't need to stick
with what you started. You can draw lines, loops, or anything that you feel like. You can scribble
with wild energy or draw gentle
curves with focus. The point is to
let your emotions and body move
together in rhythm. If your lines get messy, great. If they overlap, even better, feel free to press
harder, move faster, or switch colors depending
on how you are feeling. When you feel like you're
reaching an endpoint, let the strokes get softer, smaller until they
naturally come to a stop. Take a moment to step back and look what you have created. Ask yourself, how did that feel? You don't need to analyze your
drawings, acknowledge it. If you feel like it,
you can jot down a few thoughts or simply sit with the experience
for some more time. Now, in the next video,
I'll guide you through some other variations of
bilateral drawing using shapes, lines, colors, and
rhythm in ways that it brings deeper emotional
clarity and calm.
4. Make It Your Own: Bilateral Drawing Prompts: Now that you've experienced the main process of
bilateral drawing, let's open it up and explore how this practice
can evolve further. Each time you return to it, you can approach it differently, depending on your mood, your energy, your
emotional state. Now in this session, I'll share some of my
favorite variations, all of them rooted in the same signs of
bilateral stimulation, but each inviting a unique kind of awareness or
emotional release. You can try one or many, mix and match or let these spark your own variations
so that you can keep the practice
engaging and personal. Let's start with one of
my favorite variations, which I like to call
emotions in motion. It's a colorful abstract,
scribble based pattern, which is loose, expressive, completely unplanned, and
full of intuitive energy. To make this, I just let both my hands move across the
page at the same time. There's no fixed
shape, no right way. I make all sorts of
marks, squiggles, loops, waves, curves, sometimes
fast, sometimes slow. It doesn't matter
if they overlap, separate, or
contradict each other. In fact, I welcome that. It's like my body's
speaking in motion, and I'm just listening
with my hands. I let my hands choose the color. Sometimes they go for
bold, reds and oranges. Other times they
want the gentleness of blues and purples. It's not about what looks good. It's about what feels
true in that moment. Some strokes are soft, almost like whispers on paper, others come out with
pressure and urgency. This whole process
becomes less about what I'm drawing and more
about what I'm feeling, what needs to move through me. When I change colors midway, I notice how something
shifts internally too, like moving from
frustration into focus or from noise
into stillness. It's a very fluid
kind of journaling, where instead of words, I'm using motion,
pressure, and color. You can try using this using just one color if you
want simplicity or unity. You can use two colors to
reflect contrasting emotions or energies or an entire mix like a layered story told
in movement and shales. Some days when I feel
scattered or overstimulated, I come back to the
shape of a flower. There's something incredibly
grounding about it. I begin at the
center of the page, just soft circular
strokes with both hands, and then I let the petal
slowly unfold outwards. My left hand flows outwards in one direction and my
right hand mirrors it, and together they create
the quiet rhythm. The shape is repetitive, soothing, and it feels like
I'm breathing onto the page. This prompt is about
giving form to the feeling of growth
of gentle expansion, and of opening up to yourself
one layer at a time. That is why there is no pressure to draw a perfect flower. This pattern especially
helpful when your mind feels like it's running in
100 different directions. The symmetry of the petals, the structure of the shape, it gives your body and brain something familiar
to settle into. It tells your nervous system
that you're safe here, you're allowed to slow down. Now, when you make
this, you can stay with the same type of petal or
change them as you go. You can color them
in, add texture, or keep it simple and light. The goal is to tune in
and follow the movement. You can think of it like
a meditative bloom, your own personal way
to center yourself. This prompt is perfect for
days when I feel stuck, way down or mentally boxed in. The act of drawing wings
becomes more than just marks. It becomes a physical release, a way of remembering what
expansion feels like, especially when
life feels tight. When I draw wings
with both hands, I start close to the
center and sweep outwards, big white arcs. I let my arms stretch, my shoulders move,
and my breath deepen. You know, this kind of
movement feels very free, almost like I'm trying
to lift off the page. And here's the beauty. You don't have to stick to symmetry. One wing might be bigger, one might feel sharper,
and that's okay. Let each side express
whatever it's holding. Maybe one side carries strength
and the other tenderness. Maybe both are trying to
fly in different ways. You can add feather, textures
or keep it abstract. The important part is
the gesture, the reach. When your hand move
outwards like this, your body gets the
message, I am not stuck. I can move, I can
breathe, I can soar. So to try this prompt as it helps you reconnect to
possibility to motion. And sometimes that reminder
becomes everything. Lines might look simple, but in bilateral drawing, they become something much more. They are carriers of
energy of rhythm, of emotion and direction. I often turn to lines when I don't have words when everything feels a bit tangled inside and I just need to move
through the feeling. Now, when it comes
to using lines, there are different
ways to play around. The first option is
inward to outward. You can try starting
from the center of the page and move outward. Let both hands draw
away from each other. This outward movement can
feel deeply expansive. It's a gesture of release, like exhaling something that's been sitting inside
for too long. You might use this when you're
feeling emotionally heavy, stuck, or holding
tension in your chest. Use this movement so that
it can help you let go. Now the next way of using
lines is vertical lines, moving them up and
down, like waves. I often match these
with my breath, inhale as my hands go up, exhale as they come down. It becomes a rhythm like
a physical meditation, and with each pass, I
feel more centered, more still, more in
the present moment. You can also try side
to side movement. You can let your
hands sway left and right gently or with energy. You can even overlap them and move from one
side to the another. These horizontal strokes
bring a feeling of stability, like a gentle
pendulum that reminds your nervous system that
you're safe, you're steady. Another variation when it comes
to lines is zigzag lines, fast, angular and sharp. I try this style when I need to move something
out of my system. It's especially useful when your mind is raising
or you're feeling a jolt of irritation or anger
that needs a safe outlet. You can let your hands do
what your thoughts can't. Now, if you want
to soften things, you can turn these
lines into loops. You can let the sharpness
melt into curves. Loops are a great
addition because they add fluidity and play and
invite a sense of ease. So when things feel too rigid or when I feel I've
been trying too hard, loops help me to
return back to flow. Every line you draw
carries your energy. It reflects your mood, your body's state, and
your emotional weather. And with each stroke, you are helping yourself move, not just physically
but emotionally. So try this next time
you feel scattered, overstimulated, or simply
unsure of what you're feeling. Another simple way to deepen your experience is by
mixing your materials. Some are soft and waxy, others are sharp and fluid. One might invite you to press, the other to glide gently. This contrast opens
up emotional texture. It helps you notice which energy your body
wants to explore. Colors hold so much
emotional memory. They symbolize energy,
temperature, and symbolism. And when you bring it
into bilateral drawing, it becomes more
than just pigment. It becomes a language your
body speaks fluently, even when your mind
doesn't have the words. On the days I want to keep
things simple and grounded, I just choose one color. The lines can be completely
different in shape or rhythm, but that shared tone brings
a sense of consistency. It helps me feel integrated, focused, and less scattered. When you use one color, you remove the
visual complexity, and you can just stay
connected to movement, sensation, and emotion without being distracted by contrast. Sometimes we feel more
than one thing at once, and those feelings
might not match. So for days like these, you can pick two different colors. One hand might hold calm, the other might
hold frustration. One might feel steady while
the other feels anxious. This is about giving
space to all emotions you are feeling without
trying to fix them. Just let them exist
together on the page. It helps you see that it's okay to feel more than
one thing at once. You're simply allowing
yourself to be honest and present with
whatever shows up. And then there are days when
I feel myself changing as I draw one color for both hands or different
colors in each hand, draw for a bit and then
switch to another. Almost like moving
through a gradient. This practice mirrors the
natural rhythm of emotions, the shifts we go through
without always realizing it. And by tracking these
changes visually, you begin to build your
emotional awareness, and you notice how you
move from one state to another with
gentleness and flow. The meaning of this
prompt is that you don't need to stick to
just one type of movement. You can start with
something repetitive like circles and then move
into scribbles or loops. There's no rule here,
just permission to play. This makes match
approaches powerful because our emotions
aren't one note either. By layering different
patterns together, sharp with soft,
loose with tight, you are giving space
to every part of your internal landscape and letting your page
hold all of it. This mix and match prompt is a gentle reminder that you don't have to
be just one thing. You're allowed to
be a whole mix of feeling, movements and moments. Sometimes it's not
just what we draw but how and where we draw
that changes everything. So with this prompt, I encourage you to shift
your physical position. You can try standing
while you draw or tape your paper to the wall
and move your arms freely. You can also sit on the floor, leaning closer to the
paper, and then draw. Changing your posture
can shift your energy. Like when you stand, it might feel more freeing, more open. When you sit, it may feel grounding inward
and more focused. If you've been holding
tension in your body, moving in a different position can create a sense of release. It's like giving
your body permission to express in a new way. So try it a few different ways and notice what
feels right for you. There's not one correct posture, just the one that
helps you connect more deeply with how you
feel in the moment. Now, there are no limits to how you can explore
bilateral drawing. Each variation invites a
different kind of awareness, energy, or emotional release. You don't need to try
all these proms at once. Choose the one that
resonates with you and come back to
the others later. This is your space
to experiment, to feel, and to find
what works for you. Please remember there's
no wrong way to do this. So give yourself permission to wander to scribble
and to switch it up.
5. Final Thoughts: Thank you for being here and exploring
this practice with me. I hope it gave you a moment of release a way to
reset and reconnect. I would love to hear
about your experience. So whether it's a picture of your drawing or
a few words about how this practice
made you feel or any other insights that you
discovered along the way, please do share them in
the project section. If you enjoyed this class, then do check out
my other classes on mindful drawing
and creative Welbing. And if you found
this class helpful, I'd really appreciate if
you could leave a review. Once again, thank you for being here for showing
up for yourself, and for trusting the process. Keep exploring, keep
creating, keep drawing. And most importantly, please be kind to
yourself. Take care.
Neha Modi, Mindful Artist & Educator
