Centering Yourself

Do you ever get the feeling that something is not right about your body, but you can not put your finger on it? You just don’t feel right, your usual standards appear sub-standard. Some may find that they are a bit woozy, but not quite dizzy. Maybe you’re sluggish and unmotivated, or in a perpetual nasty mood. Are you going through a stressful period? Have you recently been in an argument – or anticipate one?

There are many benefits to centering yourself; one of the first things I teach my students is to ground and spiritually protect themselves. Centering and grounding bring a sense of peace to the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical bodies. Not only does it help to release pent up anxiety, it also assists the sitter in reconnecting to their higher self.

Centering helps to prohibit over-stressing our bodies and more fully connects our physical body to our spirit. Often, when we’re not living in a healthy place or we become over-stressed, our physical symptoms are often the first things noticed when we’re out of sync. Centering ourselves is a great technique that helps us to release the pent up energy that causes distress.

Centering and grounding also brings things into focus. If you’re stumped over a problem at work, centering often helps you to get out of your own way, allowing you to see things in a different perspective. It also helps us to relieve our mental body of the baggage, which is not needed – and we all know that our mental stressors are just as detrimental as our physical.

Centering:

Sit in a comfortable position with your feet flat on the floor or in a lotus position. Your hands can be in any position other than clasped together. I don’t recommend laying down unless your goal is to fall asleep.

Breathe in deeply and hold your breath for a comfortable period of time. As you exhale, imagine black stress, anxiety, poor health, etc., leaving your body. Continue this a few times or until you feel you’ve succeeded in removing all of the "blackness."

Be cognizant of your muscular system – mentally reminding yourself to relax each muscle group. If any muscle seems to resist your mental urging, inhale deeply, centering the energy of the breath at the area of tension. As you exhale, imagine the black tension leaving the area. Repeat this step until all areas of your body are fully relaxed. Once this is complete, and you’re fully relaxed, go on to the actual grounding phase.

Grounding:

With your eyes closed (aids in focus, but isn’t essential), imagine the spot at the base of your spine. From this space, imagine a large root growing downward into the Earth. Your root digs deep into Mother Earth where it binds itself to the core as if there’s a large boulder there.

As you inhale, imagine that the healing energy of the Earth is traveling up your root and entering your body.(I find that imagining the healing as a green-blue swirling energy, assists me in mentally seeing the clearing and centering taking place.) Repeat this step until your body appears to be completely full of this wonderful healing energy. Stay here in this time of total peace, allowing yourself to bask in your natural glow.

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