How often do we all find ourselves in the kitchen, scrubbing away at the never-ending pile of dishes, chopping, cooking, wiping surfaces, sweeping, and otherwise trying to get back to the baseline cleanliness that we hope to maintain? For many of us, these activities are a chore, and we look forward to being able to put our feet up and bid the kitchen farewell. For those of us with mobility issues and/or pain, standing for a long time in the kitchen while performing these highly physical tasks of bending, reaching, and turning can become extremely tiresome and even insurmountable on a bad day.
Here are a few tips and tricks for turning these dreaded chores into a much more enjoyable experience:
Try silly moves!
Turn your kitchen activities into a dance. Turn on your favorite music that gets you moving and grooving. Sing along and dance to the music as you wipe down counters. Glide your hips around as you scrub the dishes. Take a break every so often from the task and just move to the beat. This will make the activity far less repetitive, it will allow you to move your body in a variety of ways, and you will begin to associate an otherwise unenjoyable activity with joy.
Make it a practice in mindfulness
If you have a regular meditation practice, you may be familiar that the intention of mindfulness is to be fully present (and non-judgmental) at any given time. For many of us, we may intend to meditate regularly but perhaps feel like we don’t have the time, and easily let the habit slip away throughout the business of life. So why not make something we already have to do a practice in mindfulness? Practice bringing your full, complete attention into the task at hand, breaking free of judgment and reactivity. Feel the wetness and heat of the water, the weight of the dishes in your hand. Notice where your mind goes when the task may present with frustration, such as dried food caked onto the dishes, accidentally dropping a fork into the metal sink, etc. Can we flex our “mindful muscle” as we perform this activity that we don’t love to become more present in what we are doing? You may find that this makes the chore more engaging, interesting, and enjoyable.
Consider biomechanics
Many Wellness Station clients describe activities in the kitchen as extremely limited due to pain or mobility challenges. Trying silly moves and mindfulness can help in these situations. In addition, we want to consider some biomechanical principles to make sure we are moving with the least strain on our joints as we do these physical tasks. Here are some tips:
Whenever bending to lift something (such as a dish from the bottom rack), send your pelvis back as you bend down, and tuck your pelvis under as you stand up. Read our blog post on Bending & Lifting. When in doubt, consider moving your pelvis opposite of where you are reaching.
When reaching overhead (e.g. putting a glass on the top shelf), consider how you can use your body more efficiently. If reaching up with the right hand, glide your pelvis to the right, and allow your left heel to lift up. You should feel the right side of your body lengthening, and the left side shortening.
Use your body weight to help with repetitive tasks. For example, when wiping down a surface, sweeping, or vacuuming, try shifting your weight from side to side. In other words, don’t wipe with your arms, but wipe with your hips.
If these cues are not fully clear, your Wellness Station therapist can help clarify by providing individualized movement lessons to help you and your brain figure out how to perform any of these tasks with greater efficiency and ease.
Written by Jacob Tyson, DPT - Physical Therapist, Yoga Instructor and The Wellness Station Team