Pottery has been identified as one of the most ancient forms of skills and art forms. This is a medium that requires one to be truly hands-on. Moulding the wet and very malleable clay requires the complete usage of your palms. Most expert potters can make minute adjustments with gentle movements of fingers. The resultant pots prove to be very artistic and aesthetic, with many taking great efforts in preserving them.

At the Dharana Wellness Retreat near Mumbai, pottery is evolved to aid the mind, body, and spirit in the form of Clay Therapy.

What is Clay Therapy?

Clay Therapy is an extension of Art Therapy, using clay as a medium of self-expression. It is using hands, fingers, and other tools to mould and manipulate the clay into different shapes and forms. You are encouraged to explore and project emotions onto the clay, helping you gain a deeper insight into the entire therapeutic process. Working with clay can be considered a primal mode of expression and communication, especially when considering that touch is one of the first sensory experiences developed in humans.

How Does Clay Therapy Work?

At the Dharana Retreat in India, Clay Therapy works by allowing individuals to express themselves in a unique, non-verbal manner. For many, communicating verbally can prove to be challenging. It is susceptible to filters and emotional issues. Clay Therapy Techniques provide an alternative method for expressing these often repressed and unconscious emotions and feelings. The tactile experience of manipulating clay can also be therapeutic inherently. 

Benefits of Clay Therapy

Various approaches have been taken to explain How Clay Therapy Works. One can approach the potter’s wheel without any specific, hard, and fast rule as the benefits of Clay Therapy come through naturally. 

Research has identified many mental benefits of this medium. Specifically, a variety of published papers emphasises the benefits of Clay Therapy for patients with Major Depressive Disorder, noticing actual improvements in patients. This provides ample support for this therapy as a complementary addition to current treatment.

In a study conducted on 39 adults, Psychologist Kaimal G and colleagues identified a statistically significant lowering of cortisol, the stress hormone, in adults who partake in Clay Therapy compared to those who didn’t. This change was specifically seen in the salivary cortisol, a glucocorticoid hormone acting as a noninvasive biomarker indicating stress. This exact hormone reduces in response to clay therapy.

As one of the Best Wellness Centres in India, Dharana, and its experts have identified Clay Therapy as the most impactful in dealing with musculoskeletal disorders and improving hand functioning. Researchers Burungale, Mayuri Dattatray, and Varadharajulu, G. conducted a study in which stroke patients were either given conventional physiotherapy or Clay Therapy. Those who worked with clay had statistically significant improvements in hand functioning. Various other published studies have identified Clay Therapy’s effectiveness in helping with Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Fibromyalgia.

Clay Therapy, thus, proves to be a wholly unique approach to self-expression and Wellness. The tactile experience of working with clay can be calming and grounding, reducing feelings of anxiety and stress. It also fits into an existing Wellness routine with ease! Experience guided Clay Therapy Near Mumbai at one of the Best Wellness Retreats in India, Dharana at Shillim! To book your stay, click this link.