Mindfulness: A 20 second exercise

This was the first exercise in mindfulness my new therapist gave me. It's quick and short, and everyone pretty much does it.

Wash your hands.

We tend to be on auto-pilot not really thinking about it, we just sort of do it and get it out of the way.

For this exercise, focus on the water, the temperature, how the water feels running across your hands. Feel the soap, experience the lather, run your fingers together and be open to the aromas and sensations.

Think about washing your fingers as well as your hands and wrists. How does it feel? How does it make *you* feel?

Rinse your hands, and focus on the water cleaning your hands off, how it feels and how different your skin (or you?) feel after that.

One thing that helped me in particular was closing my eyes while doing this so that I wouldn't allow myself to get distracted.



Something happened to me when I started doing this (and I do it in other areas), but you s-l-o-w down! It's amazing how we rush through things w/o thinking.

So this is just one simple little exercise, and we all have to do it several times a day, and it doesn't take long, and we can encorporate this often. If you forget one time, you know you'll be doing it again later in the day. Even posting sticky notes on the mirror.

Twenty seconds. That's all. It's a genuine start to a powerful experience.










M.

Great tip!! I so this through out my day at work! It's so nice and relaxing to just 'shutdown' for a minute and just focus on the sensations. It's like a mini spa trip lol! Nice post👍

Now this is something I can do! 20 seconds everyone can spare!
Thank you- will try it next time I wash my hands!

Thanks for this exercise. I am trying to learn more about mindfulness :)

Thanks for sharing. Excellent tip:)

Exactly!

I chose to add another step to my mindfulness exercises. I know this may sound totally weird and all, but,... I eat with a baby spoon.

When you do this, you pile less food on and it gives the opportunity to savour the flavour of what you're eating. It made me realize how often I'd just shovel food in and swallow it, when in truth, once the food has left your mouth (and gone down), the whole pleasure of eating is moot.

It's all about the flavour and the palette, taking it all in. So yep, I've got a little collection of 5 baby spoons. It has made a huge difference in how I perceive eating and food in general. Not to mention, I've managed to finally drop some weight. Always a silver lining! :)











M.

Great tip! Thank you!

Great exercise Merrida I will definitely be using that in my mindfulness practice thanks for sharing.

Hibee

I have an issue with washing my hands, let's call it OCD, so I wash my hands all day, so within a day I will probably be in a hypnotic state of mind.

Great tip!