Mindful Handwashing
As you know, we’ve been given guidelines from the CDC on when and how to wash our hands. We’ve heard from health experts, handwashing is one of the best ways to protect ourselves and others from getting sick. As a result, the CDC has provided five steps on how to properly wash your hands. In reviewing these guidelines, it seems like it would be useful to incorporate a mindfulness practice into this daily routine. After all, we have a number of mindfulness exercises that do just that. The following two exercises demonstrate how you can incorporate a mindfulness practice into the CDC’s guidelines.
Mindful Handwashing Exercise #1
This exercise combines the five steps recommended by the CDC and a modified Loving-Kindness meditation. By enhancing your routine with this practice, you not only extend the time and care you take, it gives you the opportunity to send a message of deep healing for ourselves and others. Just imagine 20 seconds of kindness being sent out into the world every time you wash your hands.
As you wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), begin to say to yourself, “May I and others be safe and protected and free from inner and outer harm.”
As you turn off the tap, and apply soap, say, “May I be happy and contented. May I be healthy and whole. May I experience ease and well-being.”
As you lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap, bring to mind people who are close to you, your friends and family, and silently say, “May they be happy and contented. May they be healthy and whole. May they experience ease and well-being.”
Now scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails and send this message out to the whole world, “May they be happy and contented. May they be healthy and whole. May they experience ease and well-being.”
As you rinse your hands under clean, running water and dry your hands with a clean towel or air dry them, visualize your message of love and kindness healing the world.
Mindful Handwashing Exercise #2
If a loving-kindness practice isn’t for you, here is another approach that aligns with CDC recommendations and will help you be more intentional in your behavior.
As you wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), notice how the water feels as it runs over your hands. Is it warm or cool? Do you need to adjust it to be more comfortable?
As you turn off the tap, and apply soap, notice if there is a scent associated with the soap. Does it smell antiseptic? Or perhaps it has a clean, refreshing scent?
As you lather soap on your hands by rubbing them together, notice your attention. If your attention is not completely focused on this activity, take the opportunity to re-focus your attention to the task at hand.
Next focus your attention on scrubbing your hands between your fingers, under your fingernails, and then to the backs of your hands.
What do you notice about how the soap lathers up? Does the soap produce frothy suds? Are the bubbles large or small? What is the color of the soap?
Do you notice anything in particular about your hands and nails? Perhaps the shape, the size, the color? How are they similar or different from members of your family?
As you rinse your hands under clean, running water and dry your hands with a clean towel or air dry them, take a moment to visualize how the steps you’ve taken will help keep you safe and healthy.
We invite you to consider how your actions will help keep you and others healthy and how the actions of others will help keep you and your family healthy. All of our actions matter.
References
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html