A Toronto woman who named her house-cleaning service after an ancient practice of profound meditation thinks she can see a way through all this pandemic-induced stress and emotional overwhelm, and wants to share it with the city.

And spoiler alert: You may end up with a cleaner house, too.

The owner of Dhyana Cleaning has always felt cleaning could be a meditative, balancing, even energizing process, and she left a nascent career in corporate marketing in 2004 to start her business, which she says is named for the shared Hindu and Buddhist practice of profound meditation.

And now that professional house-cleaning has been put on hold by the current lockdown restrictions, she's looking to offer a course that she hopes will help clients deal with their stress and their mess.

Most people see cleaning as a chore, but Shulist thinks if you approach it differently as a self-care practice, it can be soothing.

"I thought if this is having an impact on my stress levels, maybe it could help other people."

So Shulist created a course based on daily cleaning practice, designed to focus your mind and reduce stress. She has tested it out with a few people and found it helped.

"It is shifting people's mindset from cleaning as a chore to a self-care practice or productivity tool."

Katie Shulist, founder and owner of Dhyana Cleaning, found she was feeling isolated not able to connect with staff, seen here in less isolated days.

There are a few different elements to the practice — cleaning and disinfecting using healthy, green products, and professional organizing.

"There is a lot of science out there that says a clean and organized space reduces cortisol levels."

Looking to do an informal type of market research on her idea, Shulist posted on Facebook community groups, asking to discuss the course with anyone interested.

She offered a free 1.5-hour post-lockdown cleaning in exchange for a 30-minute interview to see if people might be interested in the course, and how they have been dealing with their enforced isolation.

"I booked 10 interviews for Tuesday — I couldn't believe it."

Getting back to her corporate marketing roots, she is involving a market researcher and is looking to connect with professors or grad students who are studying environmental psychology and mindfulness.

Shulist also connected with a monk in Tokyo, Shoukei Matsumoto, who wrote, A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Clean Mind. She has also spoken with a couple in Berlin who are doing the same thing.

"I think it could be a movement that is starting — because of remote work."