Mindfulness: Mindful Motion & Mindful Non-Motion

In a recent rant (last post), I chastised a celebrity doctor (who is a real ER M.D.) who recommended housework as a way for women to de-stress. It was perhaps a little too easy to pounce on the fact that recommending housework to women wasn’t the greatest idea. And, now that I got that out of the way, I will defend the poor Doctor and agree with him that even housework can be a meditative retreat.

Most of us know the feeling of Mindful Motion … that all-consuming concentration where the mind-chatter stops, and we forget about everything else and are fully in the moment. Usually this happens when we are engaged in some hobby – whether it’s while golfing, scrapbooking, or playing a musical instrument. Most of us don’t think to apply this “mindful motion” state of mind to other activities (such as cleaning or doing laundry) because often conditions are less than ideal for concentration and focus – such as doing housework while there’s a screaming kid or two in the background, or doing three chores at once, or planning dinner while folding shirts. In my opinion, it is far easier to start with practicing Mindful Non-Motion.

Mindful Non-Motion typically takes the form of meditation, but I like to expand the idea to include making time for sleep (adequate sleep, not “just enough to get by” sleep!), soaking in a bath, and sitting in the outdoors feeling the sun while listening to birds sing. What surprises many of us is how difficult it is to DO NOTHING! And once our bodies are still, it’s even more difficult to also have the MIND do nothing. No thoughts of meal-planning or other to-do’s. Just BE. Experience the moment.

Mindful Motion has the same difficulties of “just being in the moment” – it requires doing what needs to be done and nothing extra. When we calm the mind and use our body in an experience we can de-stress … yes, even while doing housework. No doubt about it, this takes practice. So, start to make an effort to do everyday chores in a mindful state rather then the usual “mindless” state (in which our mind is occupied by so much else). You may find that it can in fact be a source for de-stressing. Some would even call it Zen.