Hopefully we all brush our teeth (the importance of oral hygiene is undebatable). But how many of us brush our teeth and think about other things? What our plans for the day is? Our worries about work or finances? Our date for later that night? How many times do we forget to floss?
Instead of flooding our minds with discursive thoughts and worries, brushing our teeth is an opportunity to practice mindfulness. Try fully concentrating on the brushing action, paying attention to where we direct the brush. Notice the sensation of the bristles cleaning our teeth. Notice where in our mouth we are cleaning. Where does it hurt? Where does it feel good?
By fully paying attention to our teeth cleaning ritual, we become fully absorbed in the present moment and we will probably do a better job and end up with better teeth. Try this mindfulness practice and brush your teeth with focus instead of drifting through on auto-pilot.
