The Ancient Yoga Secret To Washing Dishes
Most people think of yoga as a series of exercises you do on a mat in special class but every part of your daily routine can become your yoga practice.
The great yoga secret is not necessarily that the activities you pursue from day to day change (although they might) but that you change the attention and awareness you bring to those activities.
The fundamental core of Yoga really is all about controlling your attention and your awareness.
Paying attention to your breath and all your physical actions gives you a “place to put your mind.”
This helps keep it from running around on autopilot – filling your head with worries and intrusive thoughts concerned with the past and the future that serve no really useful purpose in the present moment.
Calming your mind helps calm your system and keeps you focused on what you’re doing.
Calming your mind may also help keep you healthy.
A whole range of published studies show meditation can help reduce stress and anxiety and lower blood pressure.
Studies also suggest meditation could help decrease the symptoms of breast cancer, prostate cancer, depression, heart disease and lower back pain.
So practicing focused awareness in everything you do in your day to day life is a scientfically validated ancient yoga secret that can boost your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
You can turn something as simple as washing dishes into yoga if you do it with the level of attention you want to bring to your practice.
There’s an old saying “before enlightenment chop wood, carry water – after enlightenment chop wood carry water.”
We could change that to “before enlightenment run water, wash dishes – after enlightenment run water, wash dishes.”
So how do you apply the ancient yoga secret of washing dishes?
Remember every second of washing the dishes is your yoga practice so stay focused and observe the finest details.
Notice the feel of the tap as you turn on the water.
What does the water sound like as it hits the sink? How does the sound change as the sink fills?
Feel the detergent bottle as you squeeze. Watch the bubbles as they rise in the water.
Consciously pause and become aware of your whole body before picking up your first plate or cup.
Then very slowly with full awareness move your hands to pick that piece of crockery.
Be aware of your breath as you move your hands.
Watch as you wash the plate with care.
Listen to the sound of the bubbles as they slide off the plate and hit the water.
Feel the warm water and the suds on your hands.
Be constantly aware of all your senses – sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing.
Also be aware of all your movements.
Once you’ve applied the yoga secret to washing your dishes you can expand it to create “awareness triggers” in your every day activities.
If you work at a desk you can bring conscious awareness to your body every time you pick up a pen.
Pause for half a second or even a second or two before you pick up your pen.
This reminds you that the only time you have is the present – there is no need to rush through life to the next moment.
Slowly move your hand to pick up the pen as you breathe in deeply.
Be aware of how the pen feels in your hand and how that feeling changes as you start writing on the paper.
See the fine detail of the writing you’re creating on the page and listen to the sound the pen makes as it moves.
Anything you do can be turned into a yoga exercise.
Here are a few more guidelines for your yoga practice with everyday activities.
Be patient with yourself.
Don’t get upset with yourself when you find you haven’t been aware or paying attention.
Accept that you were unaware.
Your objective is to be an conscious observer not a judge.
As you practice awareness in your day to day life your attention and awareness will improve.
Pay attention to different aspects of your movement, breath, and your spine.
Pay attention to parts of your breath – inhale, exhale, the spaces in between, where the breath is going in your body, the sound your breath makes – all the different dimensions.
Most important of all have fun with it.
You can now turn tasks that seemed mundane into a fantastic adventure into yoga practice.
Really enjoy the liberation of living in the present moment and staying constantly and wholly aware of the wonders of life.
Remember “Before enlightenment, run water, wash dishes. After enlightenment run water, wash dishes.”
Andrew Cavanagh is a health writer with over 15 years experience who appears regularly on over 40 radio stations across Australia talking about simple ways to improve your health with diet and lifestyle changes. You can listen to free audio with more ancient yoga secrets for a modern world at www.yoga10.com/yogameditationtechnique.html [http://www.yoga10.com/yogameditationtechnique.html]
