Try it out: find inner peace with origami
5/9/2025
Translation: machine translated
I spent (more than just) a week trying out whether folding cranes, boxes or hearts relaxes my body and mind. You can read about how it worked for me and why you should definitely give it a try here.
It's time for another creative experimentation week. In my search for a relaxing activity to boost my mental health, I quickly found what I was looking for: Origami!
The centuries-old Japanese art of folding is not just a delight for fans of colourful printed paper, but is actually a scientifically proven method for sustainable stress and anxiety relief. Folding paper exercises mindfulness, motivation and perseverance as well as fine motor skills, concentration and precision.
That sounds promising - and like an excellent task for this week of trying things out.spoiler: It shouldn't be just one week.
Colourful, creative and a huge selection
I quickly found the basic equipment for my meditative relaxation: an origami pad from Topp with 350 sheets of colourful patterned paper. I have 25 different motifs to fold to my heart's content. It also includes a short basic course with ten instructions - from cranes to boxes.
Source: Anna Sandner
Beginning with obstacles
I can hardly wait and get started as soon as I hold the pad in my hands. I once learnt how to fold a simple box at school. Back then, I went into a real frenzy until I had countless boxes in every imaginable colour and size and no longer knew what to do with them. Will it be like that again once I get started?
Far from it - what awaits me at the beginning is neither relaxing nor meditative, but quite frustrating. The problem? The promised «basic course» in a folding block is, to put it kindly, very minimalist. Strictly speaking, it's a page explaining four folds and an explanation of the symbols, which will still cause me a headache.
My problem is that I don't know how to lay the paper at the beginning so that I end up with the printed side on the outside. This initially causes frustration, because of course I'm wrong every time with my «trial and error approach» and so my first results don't reveal much of the beautiful patterns. At least a sheet like this only has two sides and after a few attempts I finally know how to start.
Source: Anna Sandner
Folding up to the flow state
Once I've started, I don't stay alone for long. My son sees the metallic paper and immediately joins in. Together, we fold our way through the various motif instructions. And I quickly realise that it really works - and not just for me. We sit quietly and absorbedly in front of our project for almost an hour and create a small mountain of paper artwork. With the nine-year-old bundle of energy next to me, it's nothing short of a miracle.
We really enjoy it. Thanks to the many different motifs, we always reach for the next sheet as soon as we've finished a piece. After a while, we know our favourite figures by heart, which makes folding even smoother. The heart, fox and box are our favourites, which are quick and easy to make in just a few simple steps. What I had previously read about origami, I can now clearly feel for myself: I get into a real flow state. It just flows and my mind switches to relaxation. I concentrate so much on the folding that my mind can switch off and it actually feels a bit like meditation. And with creative results too.
Source: Anna Sandner
Fold, fold, fold - the variety is endless
And the euphoria remains. The next day, the origami pad is already smiling at me from my desk in the morning. Despite yesterday's orgy of folding, there are still motifs that I haven't finished. And so I treat myself to a few minutes of folding fun before I open the computer. Meanwhile, my son has taken a whole pile of folding paper to school and started a little origami hype in his class. In the afternoon, various foxes, ducks and the like tumble out of his satchel towards me.
On day three, I'm finally ready for new challenges. The ten instructions from the origami pad are no longer enough for me. Especially as I admittedly failed at one of them. But with the routine figures, any stress disappears surprisingly quickly and I feel noticeably more relaxed and calmer.
Source: Anna Sandner
The hype continues, as does the variety of designs
I don't have to look far to find more instructions that go beyond the crane, heart and fox. The internet is full of them. A quick search reveals: Absolutely everything in the world seems to be foldable out of paper too. Jeremy Shafer, for example, shows impressive works of art on his YouTube channel - from Rubik's Cubes to Mandalorian helmets, including folding instructions. On Origami.me, I discover free step-by-step instructions for many other simple and slightly more advanced models that I really like.
Not a day without origami
And so origami folding becomes my daily balance. I don't even have to plan it in, I somehow find a moment every day when I feel like it. Sometimes I only fold one figure, other times I immerse myself completely in the world of small paper creations for a longer period of time. I find myself unconsciously building up a whole stack of boxes while I'm on the phone. Every now and then I look for a new set of instructions and fold them over and over again until the individual steps come naturally to me. The planned week of trial and error turns into two, then three ...
Construction paper
Quantity discount
EUR7,93 per piece for 4 units
333 Origami Minis - Happy Paper - Your decorative reversible pad for creative folding & note-taking
704 x
Construction paper
EUR13,08
333 Origami - Hello baby - Cute papers for making mobiles, albums and cards
80 g/m², 333 x
Conclusion: Highly recommended!
I was a little surprised that a small pad with a bit of printed paper could keep me busy for so long. Just like the effect: calmly folding the paper had a lasting relaxing effect, similar to traditional meditation, I was able to switch off the rattling in my head. The large selection of origami paper with all the different colours and patterns always makes me want to do something new. And the folded results are something to be proud of - and can even bring joy to others as a souvenir.
I have already enjoyed a similar creative relaxation with «Slow Drawing», which I tested during a trial week some time ago. You can read how I fared here:
You can read about my other trial weeks here:
Header image: Anna Sandner
Anna Sandner
Senior Editor
Anna.Sandner@galaxus.deScience editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always outside - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.
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