4 Ideas On How To Center Yourself
What is centering?
To understand how to center yourself, you first need to need to understand what it is to be centered.
I don’t think there’s one set description, but I think we can all agree that when we feel centered, we feel good. When we’re not in a centered state, we typically feel stressed, lost, or unsure. When we are centered, we typically feel calm, balanced, and peaceful. You also may feel more connected with your inner self when you’re centered.
Being centered also means that you’re truly living in the present moment. Too much focus on the past or future tends to pull you away from your center.
Should you center with your heart or your third eye?
Tapping into our energy is a wonderful way to help us to feel more centered. Working with the heart chakra or the third eye chakra can help you to find your center. I believe which one works best is really personal preference.
The heart chakra is a great place to use to center your energy. The heart is literally the center point of our major energy centers (which are called the chakras). There are 7 chakras and the heart chakra is in the middle; this means there are three chakras below and three chakras above. Based on the heart’s location, it allows us to balance what is going on in the material world, with what is going on in our internal world. When you’re centered, you’re living with a balanced flow of energy in the heart and are able to both give and receive love more freely.
The third eye can also work well for centering as this is where our right side energy and left side energy come together. The right side energy channel (also known as pingala) is related to masculine energy and the left side energy is (also known as ida) is related to feminine energy. We all have both masculine and feminine energy within us regardless of gender and the third eye is where both come together. This is why you may also feel centered by working with the third eye.
The key is to find what helps you to feel centered, that state of feeling balanced within. I have used both the third eye and heart chakra to center myself depending on what I need at the time. Do you want to feel more balanced to connect with your intuition? Maybe the third eye will work better. Do you just need an overall sense of balance in your everyday life? Maybe the heart chakra will work better.
So, how can we live in this state of being centered more often?
Below you’ll find 4 ideas to help you to center yourself. Try out the different suggestions and see what works best for you!
4 Ideas to Help You to Center Yourself
1. Anjali Mudra
This is a super simple yet effective way to center yourself. Anjali mudra is when you bring your hands into prayer at your heart’s center.
Like we discussed, bringing our focus to the heart’s energy, the center point of the chakras, can help us to feel centered. When we bring the hands into anjali mudra, we add on an extra layer. By bringing the hands together, we’re essentially balancing the right and left side of the body all while bringing the focus back to the heart.
This hand gesture has been around for a very long time and has been used in different cultures. Anjali mudra is from India, but a similar hand gesture called ‘Gassho’ comes from Japanese culture. I learned Gassho in my Reiki training as we were taught to use this gesture to center ourselves before a session. Upon learning this I thought, this is similar to anjali mudra in yoga. It’s interesting how you see similarities in different cultures.
To use this technique to center yourself, place your hands in prayer at the center of your chest. Your thumbs should be in contact with your sternum. Close your eyes and take 3 long, deep, steady breaths. You are bound to feel at least a little more centered after this!
2. Centering your energy into the heart chakra
This is a technique that came to me through my practice and understanding of our energy centers.
What you’ll do is sit in a comfortable position with the spine straight as you would for meditation. Your eyes should be closed. Imagine drawing your energy up from your feet, through your legs, through you pelvis, through your abdomen, and into your heart’s center. Take your time with this, there’s no rush. Next, draw your energy down from the crown of your head, down through your neck, and into the heart’s center. If you don’t feel anything that’s ok. The more you practice, the easier it will be to feel your energy but even so, just the imagery of this is centering your energy.
Once this is complete, keep your focus on your heart’s energy center and take 3 long, deep, steady breaths. You have now balanced your upper and lower chakras into their center point at the heart.
3. Alternate nostril breathing
This balances the right and left side of your body’s energy channels at their meeting point, your third eye.
Using your right hand, you’re going to use the thumb to control the right nostril and the ring finger to control the left nostril. Your index and middle finger will rest between your brows (this is where the third eye lives).
You’ll start and end this technique with the left nostril.
- Close your eyes and sit comfortably with your spine straight.
- Close the right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril.
- Next, close the left nostril, open through the right nostril and exhale through the right nostril.
- Next, inhale through the right nostril.
- Last, close the right nostril, open the left nostril and exhale through the left nostril.
- You can repeat this cycle 5 times.
- Upon completion, relax your hand down and take 3 long, deep, steady breaths through both nostrils feeling into this sense of balance and centering within.
4. Meditate with your focus at your third eye
My last idea for you is simple yet very effective, sit for a 5 minute meditation with your focus at the center of your forehead between your brows. This is your third eye. Keep all of your awareness here as you sit in stillness for 5 minutes. This is a tip from a previous post of mine where we talk about how to recenter yourself.
I highly suggest listening to some relaxing, zen music while doing this technique but this is your choice. If you’re able to meditate in silence, you can totally go for that as well! The key is to work to keep your focus at the third eye. Sounds simple but can be challenging!
There are your 4 ideas on how to center yourself! These tips are not time consuming and can easily be done as needed within your day. Particularly anjali mudra, this technique takes barely any time at all! I hope you enjoyed this post and again, I encourage to try out the different ideas and see what works best for you!
For those of you who enjoy a physical practice, below you’ll find a 20 minute yoga class for centering.
Namaste
Sources:
Judith, Anodea. Wheels of Life: The Classic Guide to the Chakra System, Llewellyn Publications, Woodbury, MN, 2019.
Muktibodhananda, Swami. Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Yoga Publications Trust, 2016.
Discloser: Links included in this description may be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links provided I may receive a small commission.
