The Yoga of Cleanliness and Order
I grew up with a mother who kept our home so clean and orderly that a photographer from Home & Garden could have arrived at any given moment to document it. I remember this bothering me when I was a teenager. I just wanted to leave my clothes on the floor, my bed unmade, my desk piled high with hand-penned pages of dark poetry, and toothpaste smears all over my sink.
Today, I really honor what my mother taught me about keeping my space clean. As a yogi, I now find that my mother’s “yoga of cleanliness and order” is a great practice. Since our outer reality (our home) is a reflection of our inner reality (our mind), think of how much mental “clutter” might be cleared in the simple act of doing our dishes!
Here are 4 fast and easy “Yoga of Cleanliness and Order” practices that bring peace of mind, higher self-esteem, and joy to all in your household or workspace.
1. Start your day with an empty kitchen sink: If you are waking up to a sink full of dirty dishes, you are not starting your day out fresh. Symbolically, you have brought the past (and a dirty one at that) into your brand new day. The empty sink practice begins the night before when you are preparing dinner. Rather than wait until you are done eating to do dishes—when you are more likely to be tired from your food comma or a long day—start cleaning what you can as you cook your meal. Once your food is done cooking, take the extra 5 minutes to clean your dishes and put them back into the cupboard. Then you will only have a few extra dishes to clean after you eat, which won’t seem like much of a chore at all. If you have a loved one who does not cook, this is a great way for them to help you while you prepare dinner! You get a bonus if your kids see you do it!
2. Periodically stack your mess: Even my mom has a desk full of ridiculous amounts of miscellaneous stuff. However, the difference between her desk and most people’s is that whenever she leave her desk, she stacks everything in neat piles and leave a clear space in the center for the next project she is going to work on. This brings a sense of accomplishment to what you just did, and new vital energy to the project you are about to begin. (It doesn’t matter if it’s the same project!)
3. End your day with a gift from housekeeping: Even if you think you don’t mind, I assure you that no one wants to be greeted by an sloppily made bed at night. If you think about the physical action you are taking when you pull up your sheets and comforter, is it like doing aura sweeps on your bed. In the morning, before you do anything else (and you won’t need to because there will be no dishes to do!), I highly recommend taking a few extra minutes to make your bed really nicely. Having a couple of large ornamental pillows to cover the backboard will add some much needed flair, much like jewelry and elegant clothing will do for your person. And might it strengthen the Radiant Body of your bed? What is certain is that it only takes a few extra minutes, and it will make you feel like you are staying at a hotel! Any oppportunity to feel more regal is worthwhile in my book!
4. The best time to fold your clothes... is when you take them off your body! This was my mom’s favorite mantra when I grew up. It drove me nuts. If you think about it practically though, she’s actually right. When you take off your clothes and place them in a pile on a chair on the floor, you have to go back and fold them eventually. The mental to-do lists that form as a result of not taking care of things when you are called to do them takes energy out of the present moment. The next time you take off clothes (that don’t need to be washed), fold them immediately. I highly encourage you to try this for a week and see how it makes you feel.
The best part about the Yoga of Cleanliness and Order is that you will come back to your space thinking: “Wow, look at what somebody did for me! How sweet of them! It looks so beautiful in here.” And the person will be you. Now that is a great way to practice self-love!
Note: Focusing too much on this kind of yoga can have the opposite effect, so please moderate the intensity with which you practice!
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