Making Routines Mindful Practices
As someone who was never enjoyed hygiene as a child, I’m still genuinely shocked by how much I love my current morning routine. Simple: I wake up. I wash my face and brush my teeth. Maybe this seems like a normal routine to you, and perhaps it is. But for me, this routine has become more than repetitive motions that I go through every day. Instead, it’s become a mindful practice.
How do you turn routines to mindful practices?
To be honest, I’m not really sure how it happened. I suspect, however, that doing something purposefully and consciously every day has an impact. For me, washing my face has become that very thing. I love my collagen balm, toner, face oil and cream. Yes, I am that yogi.
Now that I have these four steps, I love taking the time to really do them all thoughtfully. There is a universe where I (and I’m sure many of you) rush through their mornings. Rather than taking the time to do things right once, we scrub our faces vigorously. We brush our teeth while trying to put our eye liner on before rushing out the door.
So instead of that, I’ve been doing things the other way around. I make sure to get up those 10 minutes early so that I can that those moments in the bathroom for myself. Now – there are least a few moments in my day that I can spend mindfully and for myself.
Of course, face washing isn’t the only option.
What’s awesome about making small moments of your day mindful is that there isn’t anything off-limits. I can also use my biking commute for 15 minutes of peace, or the five minutes it takes to cook my oatmeal. In other words, I don’t have to stress out about meditating for 30 minutes a day if I can fit in little moments everywhere else.
Maybe it’s a little silly, but in my mind, I’d rather transform all the little repetitions and habits into moments of mindfulness. If I’m going to be ‘adulting’ for the rest of my life, I’d rather do it with just a bit more joy and mindfulness than before.
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