Mindful Drinking Exercise: Drinking a Glass of Water

Aims of the tool

The aim of the tool is to enhance mindfulness by focusing on a simple daily activity. It encourages participants to develop awareness, stay present, and notice small sensations in everyday life.

Description of the tool

This tool provides instructions for a mindful drinking exercise where participants focus on the act of drinking a glass of water. The exercise encourages participants to maintain contact with their breath, the sensation of holding the glass, and the water’s interaction with their body. This practice fosters greater awareness, reduces automatic behaviors, and cultivates mindfulness. The learning outcome is an increased ability to stay present, an improvement in attentiveness, and the development of mindful habits that can be applied to other areas of life.

Exercise instructions: Drinking a glass of water mindfully

Please...
… fill up a glass of water, preferably non-carbonated.
… adopt your attitude of mindfulness, which is characterized by allowing your breath to flow
freely. Maintain contact with your breath throughout the exercise.
… then establish a conscious and attentive contact between your fingertips and the glass of
water,
… then establish a conscious and attentive contact between your eyes and the surface of the
water.
… register the small movements of the water surface in interaction with your body rhythms such
as breathing and pulse.
… associate contact with water with a thought of mindfulness such as: "I am very aware".
… then slowly bring the glass to your mouth as you prepare for the water to wet your lips and
palate and then, absorbed in small sips, spread throughout your body to every cell.
… follow this process closely with all your attention when you start drinking.
… feel what changes occurred in your perception while you practiced in this way.
… finish the exercise by stretching and stretching and then returning to your tasks.
… try this way of exercising on different everyday-routines just like having a shower, washing
your hands, eating your breakfast, drinking a cup of coffee, walking in nature…
(By Thomas Erbskorn-Fettweiß at Calumed e.V.)