A Simple Chore Could Help Calm Your Mind, And It's Popular With Zen Monks

It's spring cleaning season, and for some people that can mean drudgery or anxiety.

But experts from Zen monks to psychologists say there are mental health benefits to be found in such manual chores as sweeping, mopping, and clearing away clutter.

These tasks can encourage mindfulness or permit the mind to wander, all while producing a concrete sense of achievement in accomplishing the basic tasks of daily life.

As one famous Zen saying goes: "Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water."

Holly Schiff, a clinical psychologist based in Greenwich, Connecticut, confirms that the process of cleaning can be calming and almost meditative.

"Repetitive, physical activities like cleaning can be regulating for the nervous system because they're predictable, structured, and give a clear sense of completion," Schiff explains.

Experts from Zen monks to psychologists say there are mental health benefits to be found in cleaning. (TrueCreatives/Canva)

That gives people a feeling of control and grounding.

Plus, you can immediately see the result of what you've done, "which can be satisfying in a way that many cognitive or emotional tasks aren't," Schiff says.

Zen apprentices, or "unsui" monks, spend much of their time cleaning and tidying.

"We sweep dust to remove worldly desires. We scrub dirt to free ourselves of attachments," Shoukei Matsumoto, a Buddhist monk living in Kyoto, Japan, wrote in his book A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind.

"The time we spend carefully cleaning out every nook and cranny of the temple grounds is extremely fulfilling."

Monks polish the wooden corridor of the walkway that connects between temple buildings at Soji-ji in Yokohama, Japan (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

For those who dread cleaning and find it daunting, it can help to focus on the process rather than on a to-do list.

"For people who tend to see cleaning as drudgery, I think the shift is less about forcing yourself to enjoy it and more about changing how you engage with it," says Schiff.

Don't try to rush through it. Pay attention to the physical movement or its rhythm, or to things like the temperature of the water.

"If you slow it down and focus on the sensory aspects of it, it can start to function more like a mindfulness exercise," Schiff says.

For some, cleaning can provide an opportunity to free their minds.

Matsumoto says cleaning is a way of caring for yourself and the world.

"In our practice, we don't see cleaning as a chore to control the environment. Instead, we view it as 'Habitat Care,'" Matsumoto says.

When we clean, we are not just fixing a room; we are tending to our expanded self. It is a way of caring for the relationship between us and the world."

Rather than needing a perfect result, says Matsumoto, try to embrace incompletion without being anxious.

"Peace is found not in the final 'tidy state,'" he says, "but in the humble, ongoing act of emptying the space and our minds."

Sometimes, the feeling of being overwhelmed isn't about the task itself, but what it represents. That could be time pressure, self-judgment, or other anxieties, for instance, says Schiff.

"Break the task down into very small, defined actions to reduce that barrier," she suggests. "Just choose one surface, one task, or one room for starters."

Related: Meditation Can Reshape Your Brain Activity, Study Reveals

"A lot of the overwhelm comes from anticipating the entire task rather than just engaging with that first step," Schiff says.

"In a clean space, even if the person who cleaned it is not there, we can feel their consideration and awareness," says Matsumoto.

"This awareness creates a sense of peace and safety, similar to why sacred spaces like temples feel different from the busy streets."