This would be the strangest thing that I am going to write. It makes me smile. Showering is something we do alone, most of the time. It is very personal affair between us and the body we possess. What a good opportunity to practice some mindfulness? How can a daily routine shower can be a place for you to relax and be mindful? That is the objective of this article. At least get you a smile at the end.
A natural Shower.
First, we will look at natural showering. Have you ever taken a natural shower? From a waterfall, or a roadside stream? A dip in the sea or a natural pool. These are my observations.
I can remember when I was a teenager I took a dip in the sea. I call it a dip, as I did not know how to swim. I was always fascinated by the sea. I would walk to the depths of the sea until I am drowned to my nose and wait for a big wave. When it does, it was often higher than me, and I would be rolled and washed toward the beach. That was a dangerous affair, as Sherlock Holmes would point out, as at any moment I could have been dragged to the sea. I can remember I would close my eyes when a wave is approaching and just roll with it to the shore. Only to open when my feet hit the ground again. Fortunately, it always did hit the ground. I wouldn't do that today. As I have become wiser to know the life is more valuable than the adrenalin rush in the youth. Some would not survive to live up to the full potential of it because of the stupidity like I had.
Even before this we would take a "Natural shower" when it was monsoon. The rain created a little waterfall, from the gutters, and this was a fun time for us kids. We were allowed to take a rainwater shower. Mind you those days we took water from the well, and there were no pipelines to our house. I have written a great deal on monsoon and showers we had, in my previous article Rain rain go away.
What is the wisdom we can gain from above to our daily routine showers?
How to have a Mindful shower?
I want you to imagine going back to those natural showers and remember what happened. You were fully engulfed by the environment or in the moment. At such places the mindfulness is natural, and that is why we can remember everything. Even the sensation of splashes of water in your face. One thing I noticed is I have kept my eyes closed. And let the body feel what it does with the water.
That there is a simple trick to have a mindful shower.
Close your eyes and fully engage with water. Rather than doing it habitually you can do it mindfully. Once you close your eyes feel the water from the top of your head to toes. And you will feel your problems washing away. You may find that when you close your eyes, the body is not able to identify the difference between a waterfall shower and an artificial shower. It is the same sensation. Only difference is the context provided by your mind that this shower is not natural. And you will realize that all showers are same. It is natural, and there is a waterfall, at your home. I'm sure you will enjoy more when you realize this fact. Do you know the best part of it is that this "Natural shower" comes with zero risk to life. Unlike a dip in the sea, even the stones are slippery at the waterfall.
You can be more creative taking a shower.
As I wrote in the previous article being creative is the modern American Dream. So, you can be more creative in taking a shower. You would ask me why? I would say look at the numbers my friend. Do you know how much time we spend in the shower during our lifetime? If it is twenty minutes a day, that would be almost one whole year in shower in your lifetime! Do you want to fill this year with stress and anxiety or creativity in life?
Taking a shower is a conceptual art.
Not only taking a shower, but anything can be conceptual art. You do not believe me? You would, once you know how much they paid to the guy who pasted a banana on the wall with a duct tape and call it an Art. So, I created my own art during the showering. This is how it worked.
I kept my hands on my chest one folded over another and created a little pool. Let the warm water (or cold if you prefer) accumulate in this little pool on my chest. It starts to overflow like a dam on a heavy rainy day. And it transmits the heat of the water directly to my chest. And I would let it go, like a break in the dam, so the rest of my body, which was devoid of water now flooded with it.
It makes me smile every time I do this, as I felt like a statue of David in the middle of a fountain. I am sure you will be more creative than this. Let me know. I hoped you enjoyed reading how to have a mindful shower.
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