Hand-washing. It’s the 20-second chore that, up until the coronavirus came into our lives, many of us treated more like a four- or five-second chore. But now we know better and we’ve got the Happy Birthday song on an endless loop in our heads, which also is … not great. I came across a suggestion from the meditation app Headspace recently, though, that has managed to turn this chore into—dare I say it—an actually pleasant experience.
If ever we’ve needed to add more calming mindfulness and meditation into our everyday lives, I would think it’s now. And with news alerts lighting up our phones ad nauseam and kids running amok through the house, those moments of hand-washing can actually be an opportunity to clear our heads and be present.
Headspace explains on Instagram:
The video goes on too long, I will admit that. I don’t believe they are advocating for us to wash our hands for more than two minutes like this person is doing; they’re simply teaching us how to feel the water running over our hands, to focus on the sensations of rubbing our palms together and intertwining our fingers.
Ever since I watched this video a few days ago, I have banished Happy Birthday from my brain and have, instead, taken the opportunity to slow down, clear my head and feel the soap and water between my fingers.
(Be sure to turn the water off while you’re soaping up, as shown in the video, but I’d also turn it off before you so mindfully dry your hands, to be less wasteful.)
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