Holding Onto Your Center

No emotional crisis is wholly the product of outward circumstances. These may precipitate it. But what turns an objective situation into a subjectively critical one is the interpretation the individual puts upon it – the meaning it has in his emotional economy; the way it affects his self-image. – Bonaro Overstreet

Your center which is your core, your stability, your steadiness, and your strength is what keeps your self image balanced and peaceful. Finding and holding center in a chaotic world takes awareness and discipline. Circumstances, like shifting winds, will continually pull us away from our steady course. It is the awareness of this shift and the experience of holding center in times of turmoil that is the difference between a balanced life and a life that is chaotic.

Turmoil and strife can leave us drained. Stress takes away our health and our appreciation of the moment to moment events of life. In my yoga classes this week we are practicing the art of finding our center by using the breath to surrender to the stillness and the quietude of our inner selves. I’m asking them to practice the “centering technique” or a meditation that opens the chakras (energy centers) from the base of the spine all the way up to the top of the head where the crown chakra opens and allows us to expand out into the eternal energy of the universe.

We begin by sitting quietly in a cross leg position with the hands resting on the knees and the eyes closed. Center yourself in the Saturn chakra located at the base of the spine. The chakras are fountains of energy that lie along the base of the spine. There are eight major chakras and many minor chakras. When energy is flowing freely through them we are complete and fulfilled.

The first chakra or the Saturn chakra corresponds to the color red and is the quality of the earth element. This chakra represents the day to day ordinary aspects of life. When our energy is flowing freely through this center we are grounded, dependable, realistic, and secure. If this center is not in balance we have a tendency to be spacey and ungrounded. Pull your energy into the Saturn chakra and focus. Feel as well as visualize a ray of light moving up the spine to the top of the head and then visualize the thousand petals of the lotus flower opening from the top of your head. Do this without any other thought. As you visualize the light moving up the spine do not let it move to either side but keeps it moving straight up the spine. Now return the light to the Saturn chakra in the same manner. Breathe in and then release the breath. Stay with your center.

At the end of the class I will bring them back to the Saturn chakra and once again we will center and move up the spine to the crown chakra at the top of the head. Your center is there forever and for always. When the world becomes chaotic and unbalanced sit quietly, find your center. It is your strength. It is your peace of mind.

Doctor Lynn
www.doctorlynn.com