Find Your Center

Have you ever heard a yoga teacher say “find your center” in a yoga class? I’ve probably instructed students to do the same many times. Then I really thought about what I mean when I say, “find your center,” or “come to your center.” I thought about what my students think when they are asked to center in class. How does the definition of centering land?

As a concrete relatable concept, “to center” means “to focus.” Centering may also mean to feel aligned with purpose, grounded, and at ease. However, “to center” can be an abstract concept, too. If you had to locate the center of the body, where would it be? We surely can have a discussion on the physical center of the body, but what about the energetic center? When you turn your gaze inward to center yourself, are you able to identify where your center is?

We live in a state of being in the area above the shoulders. We are repeatedly required to be in the mental space to get through our day in a focused manner. This is a good place to be to problem solve and think through tasks in our wild world, but it’s busy. We cannot survive only in the mind. There are other basic elements of the body that we can land our attention on. Our yoga practice assists us in identifying these areas so we can bring them into view; for example, placing awareness on the throat, heart, or gut.

Try anchoring your center in your heart. Doing so may carve the pathway for awareness to expand outward from the heart. When you are in a balancing pose like Virabhadrasana III, your Drishti or your focused gaze helps you stay stable. Have you ever noticed your gaze widen when you are locked in your Drishti? Try to notice how the pinpoint you are looking at begins to grow the next time you are utilizing your Drishti. In my experience, it’s almost as if I have eyes at the back of my head when my awareness expands out.

So, what if your center was anchored in your body, but it grew from there? What if you transform this narrow view of the relationship you have with yourself into broader awareness?

Awareness grows into the walls of the heart and then the whole center of the chest. After some time, if it feels safe, awareness moves to the edges of the skin and the whole body lights up with your concentration. Then awareness grows into the energy field outside the body and is free to get as big as you are comfortable getting. Awareness moves into the space you are in and then bursts into the universe. This is where the duality of reality doesn’t exist, and awareness shifts into the feeling of oneness. Here, the only thing left to do is love.

Concentrating, focusing, and centering can be an interesting experiment. When you actually sit and contemplate or meditate, you may notice your center isn’t this laser focused fixed location, but a widespread perspective that can be as big as the universe. I invite you to sit with this, perhaps journal about this, and be curious about what comes through.