In our multi-tasking, fast paced world, it would probably be difficult to find someone who doesn’t juggle a multitude of things to get done while doing other things. There is perhaps a time for this sort of scattered attention: cooking dinner while putting dishes away and helping a child with homework is a common experience—there are only so many hours in a day.

That coupled with the COVID-19 restrictions that have forced so many to wear different hats at the same time in the same space: boss, parent, employee, partner, spouse, friend, and so many more, it is no wonder that we find ourselves feeling overwhelmed and like there is still so much more to do.


Mindfully Avoiding Burnout

Katie Shulist, founder and CEO of Dhyana Cleaning, a successful and sought-after green cleaning services provider in Toronto, Ontario says that by using her mindful cleaning method, one can manage their energy, not just their time and move towards a more fulfilling life. This is done in part by becoming more skillful in the cleaning process, but also by using cleaning as an opportunity to be grounded in the present moment.

Over Katie’s almost 2 decades of experience as a social entrepreneur and a professional cleaner, she has developed some important insights regarding the many opportunities cleaning provides for developing mindful attention to one’s thoughts, ego, and physicality. Reading about Buddhist and Yogic philosophy led Katie to realize that she was doing the same sorts of introspection and mindful attention when she was working as a cleaning professional.

This inspired Katie to develop a program that could help others access the kind of mindful cleaning practice she knows is accessible to all of us. Katie says, “it is within our practice that we come to realize our boundaries are self-imposed, that anything is possible with the right mindset.”


Mastering Mindset

If we want to become more efficient and focused, we can do so by creating the right mindset, which can often be honed through meditation practice. Neuroscientists who study the effects of meditation on the brain have found that meditation not only affects change at the behavioural level, but at the level of brain functioning as well. In a 2018 study conducted by Benjamin Schöne et al, they found “that mindful breath awareness meditation may lead to refinements of attention networks, enabling more efficient use of attentional resources.”

​In a social world where multitasking is not only valued, but often a sought-after skill in various forms of employment, learning to have more efficient use of our attentional resources may look differently than we think. Rather than becoming improved multitaskers, we are better able to begin a task and see it through to its end with more accuracy and focus (Adler & Benbunan-Fich, 2012).

More than rushing through the cleaning process to simply get it done, Katie’s mindful cleaning is one that engages body, mind, and spirit. Cleaning is a physical task, one that is bolstered by using “effective and efficient systems to clean skillfully.” Next, says Katie, we shape our experiences with our attitude and mindset. The mental experience of the cleaning process is very important. If we look at cleaning as a menial task that is somehow beneath us, it will not serve our mental states.

But if we look at cleaning as an opportunity to come back to the body, to breathe with awareness, to have concern for the products we use for our own health and that of the environment and we see cleaning as an opportunity to check in, to be real with our emotional and physical states, we can begin to see it in a different light. And that different light is one of having a spirit open to providing service, whether just for yourself or for all beings that live in your home.


Fine Tuning Attention

In a study done by Kathleen G. Burger et al (2017) mindfulness meditation was shown to improve executive attention “which is the type of cognitive processing required under technically difficult conditions involving critical decision making, trouble shooting, and prioritizing one's attention among competing stimuli” (Burger et al, 2017).

Mindful cleaning, like mindful walking or mindful movement is a practice that can help to develop such focus (Crivelli et al. 2019). Given all the many competing items for our attention, especially since the COVID-19 restrictions, a practice that can support prioritizing attention in a skillful manner can be quite beneficial.


Many Benefits of a Mindful Cleaning Practice

Many people are interested in meditation for a variety of reasons, not the least of which include gaining a deeper sense of self-awareness and emotional resilience to help avoid burnout. Through Katie’s practice of mindful cleaning, there are the overlapping benefits of positively affecting your space by creating a clean and ordered environment alongside a deepening of our self-awareness.

As Katie says, “my aim is to create an environment that enables you to deepen your connection to all of life, and open to transformation within yourself.” By using Katie’s mindful cleaning principles as outlined in her Clear Mind course, we learn to transform the world around us by transforming the world within. Want to try Katie’s course? Contact her at katie@dhyanacleaning.com.

Green Cleaning for Healthy Spaces, Minds and Bodies

As awareness of the impact of chemical cleaners on personal and environmental health grows, more people are turning to the benefits of green cleaning products and services to help them with their cleaning needs and goals.

When Katie Shulist, founder and CEO of Dhyana Cleaning, Toronto’s premier provider of green cleaning services was asked to weigh in on what green cleaning is, here’s what she said:

“Green cleaning isn’t just cleaning for appearance. It’s cleaning for health, so the outcome is different.”

While of course green cleaning takes appearance into consideration, it’s a holistic process that also considers human, animal and environmental health. For Katie, green cleaning principles inform “the products that we use, the processes that we follow and the tools as well.”

Kicking VOCs Out and Inviting Cleaning for Health In

The products Dhyana Cleaning uses are those that have low or no VOCs (volatile organic compounds) which are, says Katie, “damaging to the planet and to people’s health. They not only damage the environment—they can damage the air in our homes.”

VOCs have been linked to cancers, birth defects, hormone disruptions, and neurological disorders (Bably & Arif, 2019, McDonald et al 2018)). Katie says the use of harsh chemicals goes against green cleaning principles which are “to remove germs and bacteria to create a space that’s healthy so that you can thrive.”

From Thriving to Dhyana Cleaning’s Mindful Cleaning Movement

It’s that thriving element that has really driven Katie to become one of Toronto’s foremost providers of eco-friendly, green cleaning services. She is passionate about what it means to truly thrive, and how she can help her clients and her employees develop opportunities for personal growth. Enter Dhyana Cleaning’s Mindful Cleaning Movement.

After reading a book on Buddhism back in 2005, Katie remembers thinking that she was learning to apply the same kinds of teachings she was reading about in her daily work as a cleaner.

“It opened up a world of non-judgement for me because I saw our universal, shared humanity. Going into other people’s private spaces, you see their struggles. You see their wins and their losses.”

Noticing all of this gave Katie the opportunity to relate to her clients and their cleaning goals on a deeper level. Reflecting on those early days she says, “I think that shared humanity is the first lesson cleaners learn.”

Katie’s expertise in green cleaning led her to seek out a path that most resembled how she felt about the cleaning process itself. Mindful cleaning is “a way to get in touch with how you’re feeling in the present moment,” she says, and it offers “a practice to build present moment awareness. Once you become aware of what is coming up inside, you can choose to put those thoughts aside, in service for the person you are serving, as well as for yourself. It’s a practice in humility.”

Ultimately, mindful cleaning is “a practice to build loving kindness for yourself and also to build that for the people you’re cleaning for.”

And if all that weren’t enough, Katie Shulist’s Mindful Cleaning Movement is one that offers “a practice to become more self-aware, which is so important for well-being.”

Research into the positive effects of mindfulness meditation are numerous, and studies show benefits such as decreasing anxiety, improving emotional regulation, improving attention regulation, and positive change on perspective of the self (Holzel, et al 2011, Hulsheger et al 2013, Davis & Hayes, 2011).

Revealing the Beauty of a Space to Reveal the Beauty Within

Katie was inspired to create a way for people to learn about these principles, whether they practiced mindfulness or not. She developed #revealbeauty to help her employees, clients, and those using the green cleaning resources on her website as a way to begin to develop the self-awareness that mindful cleaning can offer.

Katie’s #revealbeauty reflects her philosophy that through mindful cleaning, as you “reveal the beauty in your space, you become more spacious in yourself, thereby revealing the beauty within.”

Katie’s vision includes all people who are engaging in the cleaning process, whether they are a professional, like her employees, or someone cleaning their own space.

In fact, gaining such expansive personal growth opportunities from her own commitment to mindful cleaning and revealing beauty was what motivated Katie to expand her company. Dhyana Cleaning also invests in their employees by offering them learning and development opportunities and supporting them to develop the unique strengths within themselves.

Katie is committed to providing green cleaning services and helping others learn to clean mindfully as an opportunity to develop self-growth and awareness. She’s also aware of the powerful mental-health benefits of a clean and organized space where “not only germs and bacteria are being removed, but by organizing, the visual aspect of order helps to lower stress.”

Katie’s experiences and understandings of how a clean, organized space can lower stress echo recent scientific studies that saw a direct correlation between higher reported stress levels and clutter (Arnold et al, 2012, Roster et al, 2016).

“It was from that awareness and that practice that I thought ‘this is what I want to teach other people. This is what I want other cleaners to experience.’”
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Katie has most recently been inspired to help people reveal beauty in their homes and in themselves by how much the current COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions have added to their stress and anxiety.

While mindful cleaning can benefit everyone, it can be particularly helpful when transitioning from work mode to home mode. This is especially true when so many people are missing the physical division of these spaces.
There’s no longer that separation between work and home, Katie says, and a 20-minute round of mindful cleaning at the beginning and end of the workday can help. This provides a way for those working from home to check in with themselves, slow down, and be more completely present when it’s time to shut the computer off.

Given the complexities of our current times, a practice that can help deepen self- awareness, lower stress and anxiety, and help get the house in order sounds like just the thing. Katie’s Clear Mind program is one that offers immersive training in how to begin and then continue a practice of mindful cleaning. In the meantime, Katie says anyone can become more mindful when cleaning with her 5 easy tips.

Katie’s 5 Easy Tips to Practice Mindful Cleaning

1. Set your intention (for example, do you want to increase your energy or learn to become more patient?)
2. Make it easy to get started by committing to a small task for 1-5 minutes. Starting is the most challenging part!
3. Make a plan. This creates an efficiency-mindset while conserving energy and making the best use of your time. (Stay tuned for the next post that covers this tip in more detail!).
4. Focus on your environment. Appreciate what you have and what you are cleaning. Are the items in your space gifts from a loved one? What about the care that was taken by all of the people who made the products in your home? This teaches us about our interconnectedness.
5. Set a timer and get as much done as possible within the time frame and without judgement. This helps you to drop into focus – focus on the next immediate step – not too far into the future, just moment to moment awareness of revealing the beauty of your space and within.

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Adrienne Kitchin is a freelance health and education writer as well as a Liberal Studies and Anthropology Professor at Humber College in Toronto, Canada. She can be found on LinkedIn .