How did I learn to wash the dishes without hurting myself? This might seem silly but I used to get terrible leg pain every time I stood to do the dishes! This was years ago but I want to share with you how I turned an unfavorite, daily activity into a pain-free & sometimes enjoyable one.
I used to dread doing the dishes. And because of this when I stood in front of the sink to do them, I would hold my breath and squeeze my buttocks. This caused me to stand on only the outside edges of my feet. Today it is quite obvious why doing the dishes back then, was such an unpleasant experience for me.
During a weekend when my best friend was visiting she volunteered to do the dishes with excitement in her voice. I was perplexed and I asked her if she enjoyed doing the dishes. She exclaimed, “Of course I do, how can warming up your hands and playing with suds not be fun!” I thought she was crazy but after a weekend of watching her, I decided to change my attention while doing this familiar task she seemed to appreciate.
To my great pleasure when I concentrated on the sensation of hot water running over my cold hands the next morning, I didn’t hold my breath and I didn’t create my leg pain! My awareness let me know how I was creating my pain and my change in focus helped me to have a better time being a dish washer! Today I don’t get leg pain and this is one of the ways that I maintain my new and better way of standing.
What daily activity can you improve upon and enjoy a little bit more? Email me your story, I would love to hear about it.
Donna