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Mindful hand washing activity

by Lara Hocheiser December 19, 2022 3 min read

Self-care Saturday: Practicing Mindfulness during daily activities

In the spirit of generosity, I wanted to re-share the #selfcaresaturday campaign, a free resource I developed for our community to inspire the regular integration of mindful living. Enjoy this lovely way to slow down and tune in.

Practicing Little m Mindfulness

My meditation teacher taught me that the way we do one thing is the way we do everything. With the use of ‘Little m Mindfulness’ we can make a habit out of being present during any and every activity. Bringing our awareness and full attention to the activity at hand allows us to practice little m mindfulness.

Let us start somewhere we all need to constantly be: hand-washing at the sink.

Mindful hand washing is timely with COVID. It is imperative to our daily routines to have a fighting chance of stopping the spread of germs. We can use this daily activity as a perfect time to practice mindfulness for ourselves and with our children!

Watch the video to learn more!

The next time you wash your hands, slow way down.

Look at your hands. Next, notice the lines and crevices. Then, turn on the water. Listen to the sounds of the water dripping into the sink. Notice your breathing, is it slow or fast? As you rub the soap in, take in the smells, sensations against your skin, and the sight of the bubbles you are consciously creating. As you rinse, enjoy the water and note the temperature, sensation, and possible joy you are feeling by consciously paying attention in this moment. Take the 20 seconds to be fully washing your hands. Notice if you go into autopilot and invite yourself back to the present moment by using your five senses any time you go back to thinking, thinking, thinking...

A recent participant of the IntegratingMindfulness into the School Day online course, Ewelina said, “I have never noticed how good it feels to wash my hands before. It was such a sensual, amazing experience. I will never look at handwashing the same.” - Ewelina, homeschool mom

How Little m Mindfulness Makes a Big Difference

How can this change your life? Because now you know that you can engage your senses and attention to everyday activities and can bring this skill into your work, home life, and role in influencing the children you care about.

How can you extend this activity to the kids in your life?

In the classroom or home: Download our Mindful Hand Washing coloring page. Rather than just give information about how long and where to scrub, we also include cues for engaging the five senses!

How to talk to you kids about mindful handwashing: “It’s so important to do a thorough job washing our hands to prevent the spread of COVID, but did you know that we can also have a fun time doing it!? If we pay attention in a special way using our five senses, washing our hands can become a little break from hard work where we get to feel, enjoy, and slow down!”

Tips:

⏭ Try Mindful Hand Washing by yourself

⏭ Hang Mindful Hand Washing coloring page up near a sink

⏭ Share Mindful Hand Washing with the children in your life

⏭ Practice it daily, or multiple times each day

⏭ Take time after you do so to reflect upon your experience, including the children in this reflection by asking what they noticed about their experience.

⏭ Prevent the spread of COVID and have a Little m Mindful moment!

⏭ Share your experience!

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Want to get in on the #selfcaresaturdayfun? Subscribe!

Let us know how it’s going!Tag us @flowandgrowyoga on instagram and use the hashtag #selfcaresaturday when you post pictures or videos using your Mindful Morning Routine Tracker! Or reply here to tell us about your experiences! Photos are always welcome!