What a Waste of Relief
The number one and number two sneakiest ways to practice mindfulness most meditation teachers keep to themselves.
You don’t have time to practice mindfulness.
I get it. You’re too busy.
But you find time to go to the bathroom. Right?
Hear me out.
Meditating for twenty minutes a day is not the only way to develop mindful awareness.
One liberating approach is to notice that you’re alive—more often than never—without drawing attention to yourself.
Instead of scanning your calendar for potential pockets of silence and serenity, consider getting double duty out of your basic bodily functions.
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it
I couldn’t be more serious.
We make time to attend to the internal pressure our bladders and bowels create.
Most of the time, we rush through the process of relieving ourselves, making this essential activity a fertile ground for adding a pinch more awareness.
Number one
A full bladder can be a fantastic mindfulness teacher.
Notice when it sends sensory signals that it’s filling up.
Notice when it approaches full capacity.
Notice the palpable relief that comes from relieving the inconvenient discomfort.
Number two
You get the idea. You can apply it to bowel-based sensory data, too.
This is a carefully guarded mindfulness secret.
You regularly sit on a gold mine of pleasant sensations that go unnoticed. Giving them a bit more attention can feel surprisingly luxurious.
I dare you to try shifting your attention from what you’re thinking (or texting) about in the bathroom to track the physical relief playing out right under your nose.
As the meditation teacher Eric Harrison points out:
“Being present is not just about smelling the roses.
It is also about smelling the shit.”
The most challenging aspect of mindfulness practice is remembering to do it consistently. It’s easy to approach it too narrowly or preciously.
Secretly savoring the relief of elimination could keep you quietly occupied for the rest of your life. Why waste the countless opportunities to get better at savoring relief?
Nobody needs to know.
