Any activity can be done mindfully: eating, showering, walking, doing chores, talking with people, competing in sports, performing on stage, or even just hanging out with friends. There are lots of benefits to being more mindful during daily activities.
As you have hopefully already discovered, doing an enjoyable activity mindfully almost always allows you to enjoy it more fully; doing an unenjoyable activity mindfully often allows you to decrease your resistance and thus decrease your suffering. Also doing an activity mindfully brings your attention into the present, preventing you from worrying about the future and obsessing about the past, and this decreases both anxiety and depression. And most importantly, as you have learned, bringing mindfulness into difficult situations allows you to respond rather than react, and this often will prevent the difficulty from spiraling out of control. That’s why mindfulness is being used in many Fortune 500 companies and police and fire departments, as well as by professional athletes, physicians, lawyers, schoolteachers, musicians, actors, chefs, military personnel, and people in almost every profession.
Doing daily activities mindfully means bringing your full, kind, and curious attention to whatever it is that you’re doing. Here’s a mindful toothbrushing practice that you can try:
As you begin to brush your teeth, bring your full, kind, and curious attention to what you’re doing. During the few minutes it takes to brush your teeth, see if you can give your complete attention to this activity and nothing else—not homework, a problem you had during the day, an exciting event that’s coming up, texting a friend… Simply rest your attention on brushing your teeth, here and now.
Feel yourself pick up the toothpaste and unscrew the cap. Feel the texture and temperature of the tube and the cap. Feel yourself pick up the toothbrush, squeeze the toothpaste, and put down the toothpaste. Feel the movement of your hand, arm, tongue, and cheeks as you brush your teeth. Notice the taste of the toothpaste and whether you choose to spit or swallow.
If you notice that your mind wanders into the future or the past, that’s okay. It happens to everyone. In fact, noticing this means you’re being mindful! So when you realize that your attention has wandered, gently bring it back to the sensations of brushing, the flavor of the toothpaste, and even the scent. Listen to the sounds of brushing your teeth and to the sound of the water as you rinse your toothbrush. Feel your movements as you put the toothbrush and toothpaste away.
Again, any activity can be done mindfully; so you may want to play with mindful walking, showering, resting…