How can yoga help you keep a cleaner home and body?

What do yoga and cleaning have to do with each other?

Well think about what we're learning in yoga, we're learning to move consciously, and to pay more attention to how we behave and how we feel. I clean for people both residential and Commercially part of my job is inspector/detective type work. I have to really look to see where people have touched, what people haved used. I have to make sure that I sanitize everything that's been exposed to human germs and bacteria or the elements. Are you consciously moving through your day, through your home? How do you use things? When you clean up after yourself do you clean what you think you used or what you actually touched?

The example that comes straight to my mind is something I find frequently in homes, where door knobs and light switches are very clean but the areas around the knobs and switches, the switch plate itself and the door above and below the handle, as well as the door frame at elbow height, are all often overlooked. I bet when you consciously move through a door you touch less of it, but when you move through unconsciously you might actually grab the door handle to open it, pull it (from about 6 to 8 in above the handle) open, and then grab below the handle to pull it closed.

There are many ways that we repeat this Behavior throughout the house think of how you use your kitchen when you're cooking. Opening and closing the cabinet doors, using the seasonings, maybe your hands are a little Foody when you're putting things away leaving little morsels in areas that you don't even really conceive of using.

In yoga we learn to do things consciously we start with conscious breathing and move into conscious movement, conscious awareness of thought patterns and Cycles. Eventually we become conscious in all acts of life, the way we move, the way we eat, the way we talk to one another. All learned from slowing the Mind, going Inward and becoming the silent Observer.

Therefore the simple Act of living consciously gives you a cleaner house in two ways As you move through you use less and when you do clean you're aware of your habits and are sure to clean all the areas being used a clear space is a path to a clear mind.

Experimental homework for an hour observe yourself and your movements notice how controlled you become when you're observing yourself. For the rest of the day observe the others in your home how they use things, how they move, what they touch and where, how they breathe (or forget to), how they talk, how they eat. If you're a scientist see if you can encourage them to observe their movements and behaviors for an hour. Continue to observe them during this hour to see if you can see the huge adjustment.

An example of this from my life that springs to mind is every time I go on any type of diet and I start to journal or log the foods that I eat. When I'm watching what I eat, I eat better food more nutritious and less overall. When I'm just eating what I want, when I want sky's the limit and I eat very very unhealthy in substance and in behavior.

One of the first things I noticed in yoga is that any observed behavior is immediately changed. At the beginning of a yoga class you are often instructed to observe your breath before you attempt to control it, and just by beginning to watch the breath you almost can't help but deepen and control the breath to get a better quality. Because you just noticed that you've been breathing shallow and not fully. I bet you noticed recently how much better you're washing your hands since you're paying more attention to washing your hands.

Another cleaning tip that can be tied into yoga is to turn the light on both literally and metaphorically. Look around how dark is your home? Maybe you can't see what needs to be cleaned, turn on all the lights and open up the blinds or curtains. Shine a light on the dark corners of the home, the way that we shine the light in the dark corners of the mind when we meditate. The way we send our breaths to the sharpest areas of our body when we move. Reminds me of an adage I once heard about a man who woke up every night to go to the bathroom and stubbed his toe on the furniture in the room. Every night he stubbed the same toe over and over and over again. Until finally his wife awoke to the sound of his cursing, yet again, about stubbing his toe. So she said "why don't you turn on the light?" and from then on when he got up to go to the bathroom at night, he turned on the lamp and never stubbed his toe again.

Conscious behavior and living is only one of the many hidden benefits of doing yoga and look at the domino effect it can have in every aspect of life. For more about yoga check out my website https://cyndigill333.wixsite.com/mysite/about

Be sure and check out Balance Boutique virtual 360 Studio on Facebook. Start with a Free 30 minutes class to try https://balancebyjamilallc.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1015233?fbclid=IwAR3A2DDui9cONlqA67TZDga90ILyN_NapDtgv9nc1U0vxpRkYgAcYNvTaRg

Here is a very quick yoga check in! Breathe and stretch with me for 19 minutes. https://youtu.be/1JaX5-0vq5s

Also look for Publications by the yoga journal, research people like Sadhguru and Swami Kripalu. Get the free meditation app insight timer.

For more pro tips on cleaning (smart not hard) and a chart for using herbs as cleaning agents in the home check out my blog. https://cyndigill333.wixsite.com/mysite/post/pro-cleaning-tips-are-you-cleaning-these-frequently-touched-places-and-my-cleansing-herbs-notes

For now this has been a Silly Goose working from home adventure! Be happy, Behave consciously, and most of all try to have some fun!