There are many ways to center oneself. In this piece I’ll mention several ways to center your self. First and foremost, I hope you can begin to notice the many places where you already do this in your life. Also, perhaps you can find some new things to explore. As they say, all roads lead to Rome and certainly many roads lead back to one's center.
There are many practices that explore different methods of centering. Aikido, yoga, mediation, dance, self-hypnosis and tai chi are just a few modalities that explore this topic in depth and with their own subtleties.
For myself, being centered means being in a calm and alert state of mind and body where I’m able to respond well to whatever comes up in my life at the moment. My breathing is calm and my posture, whether seated or standing is fairly straight. I’m not leaning forward or backward or to either side.
At first glance, centering may not seem particularly interesting or useful. In time I’ve come to find it an incredibly useful resource state from which to respond to life and various challenges that may arise from time to time.
Here are a few things to try out if you’re new to the idea of centering or meditation. Take a moment to center your posture as I mentioned above. Allow your spine to be upright and relaxed as opposed to stiff. Notice your breathing and allow yourself to breath fully in and out in a relaxed way. I recommend keeping your eyes open and lightly focused in front of you. Take a moment to notice what’s in front of you and in your peripheral vision.
Notice if you’re leaning forward, back or to one side and bring yourself back to the middle. I like to imagine grass and how it’s able to sway in the wind and then find it’s way back to a nice resting place. Notice if you’re standing on your heals or the balls of your feet. Take a moment to try out both of these and then find a place in the middle.
If you notice yourself thinking about anything in particular, simply watch the thought as opposed to getting caught up in the particular thought itself. Is your thinking fast, slow, calm or turbulent. Take a moment to come back to the sensations in your body and in your breath.
If this is all new to you, you may want to take 5 or so minutes a day to play with this until you begin to get used to the process of slowing down and becoming centered. In other posts I’ll discuss many ways you can explore this in the context of change work. Also, feel free to contact me if you’d like other suggestion about how to play with this or other resources for exploring this.
