What Helps You Feel "Centered"?

By being "centered" (is that the right spelling?) I mean feeling "balanced", generally good physically, emotionally and spiritually.

For me this is often achieved by:

* Stopping for a moment to "gather my thoughts". This means having a quiet time to complete a thought and sort out my feelings and strategies for challenges etc.

* Putting an essential oil in my vapourizer. This could differ according to how I am feeling unbalanced. My InEssence Motivation oil often helps.

* Doing basic body maintainence things like drinking lots of water, and avoid food high in sugar and salt. Having a shower. brushing my hair with a scalp massaging brush and putting it back in a pony tail with a head band <-- for some reason that really helps me start the day. Taking InLiven and/or Fast Tract.

* Visiting a place with good soul energy like a church. Reading self help books and parenting books (my book of the moment is The Science of Parenting... this has really helped me "center" as a parent). Distracting my mind from dwelling on the same thoughts.... looking for something new to think about. Meditating on newly acquired knowledge.

I'd love to hear what other people do! :)

What a great topic..

I like to
* go for a walk in the bush either by myself or with dh and baby
* choose a room in the house and go on a decluttering rampage
* buy myself something new
* read a great book -if I dont enjoy the book I stop reading it!

I know what you mean by wearing your hair in a pony!

I run. It's as if every time a foot hits the ground it earths me a little more until after 5k or so i'm totally grounded. It helps me deal with stress hormones and frustrations and makes me feel good and strong. I also enjoy my bodypump class because it's sometimes at the limits of my strength that i find out how much stronger i am.

I take 5 minutes out of whatever i'm doing to crawl round the floor after smee growling while she runs and squeals with happiness, then catch her and "eat" her tummy all up. I love being silly with her, my mum didn't do it much (my dad did) and i think she really missed out.

When things are really bad i like to go out in the rain, tip my face up to feel it and think about the tiny raindrops in the tiny world in the tiny solar system in the tiny galaxy in this tiny corner of a vast vast vast universe, where our galaxy is to it what that raindrop is to the world. It helps me calm down and realise that there are many big things going on, my stresses are miniscule and temporary in comparison.

Have a filter coffee. Sometimes decaff, it's not really for the "hit", i only have one a day, it just makes me feel realxed but "ready".

ikwym about the pony too Bath, something about getting my hair off my neck and face and feeling air all around makes me go "right, what next?"

Bx

Great thread. :) For me, it's getting my home organised. I know this is strange, but when my housework is done and my house is clean and tidy, I can go to bed and relax knowing it's all done. For some reason, I feel kinda cleansed when I'm done. And on the other hand, when my house is messy and needs a clean, I feel a little out of control. Strange huh?

Celsie. xoxox

Interesting replies :) I agree with them all especially feeling uncentered with a messy house Celsie. My problem now is that my house is soooo hard to keep tidy with 3 children. With my 3rd child something has tipped us over into chaos-land just that little more permanently! :o

I think what I especially need to do is what Hoobley suggested: get more in contact with nature (the rain was a great example, i did that last night at about midnight... just walked out into lightly falling rain before bed, bare feet massaged into the cool damp grass.... didn't get very wet, hardly wet at all, but i filled my lungs with the most delicious fresh air i have breathed in months!)

Funny how you agree with the pony tail! I thought that was peculiar to me... love having the time to brush my hair properly of a morning.... bit of a luxury ATM.

taking a bath with lavendar oils
yoga. I am so overdue for a yoga class.
Cleaning (the bathroom in particular)
Music (playing) - especially good for venting frustration

Excercise, whether it be going for a walk, working out at the gym, swimming. Stres causes adrenaline to build up in our body and excerise helps us to use it.
Watering the garden

I am the same as Celsie!! When the house is spotless I am so much more relaxed!! Also doing a good old cardio class down at the gym makes me feel so good, also a good punching bag session is a good one.

I didn't mention this before because it's a bit corny/embarrassing but I always find that if I wear matching underwear I feel more calm and collected....

hehe dach .. kwym bout the knickers .. i like matching sets too ...
i like to end the day with a good walk around the block with dh and ds .. helps us centre ourselves and revive after a hard day ..

a good clean bed and new pjs always refreshes me .. i never have a clean house .. but on a weekend if all my "chores" are done . i feel free to veg and totally relax ..

yep, clean bed linen and pj's is always nice...

Yoga, the satisfaction that comes from cleaning the house then sitting down and relaxing in it, things that smell good, clean sheets, lying in bed in the morning and thinking "I'll just stay here for another 10 minutes", being immersed in water, sitting and staring at an open fire, appreciating natural beauty, watching my garden grow over time, kneading dough, watching my partner sleep...

Celsie, i am exactly the same! i cant be happy and at peace if my house is cluttered and messy!
i love burning some oils and having a glass of wine after a sarutday morning of cleaning the house, then a body scrub shower.
and laying naked with my lover after making magic :)

Yep, clean house for me too. It really feels like I can rest.

Bath, just have one clean room you can escape to if you can....

Most of all I like to lie on the grass and feel the earth under my body.

i like to talk to the stars... (yes i know i am a bit weird)
But i like to go outside on a moonless night and stare at the stars and just thank the universe for what i have, and ask it for what i need, i find it helps ground me coz i look at all the stars and just think "i"m living on one of those!! Somewhere out there maybe someone else is looking the earth as a tiny dot in the sky" Sometimes it leads me to ponder too much- but i like that....

I also loove taking my dogs for their walk- they are so eager to go and some mornings i am like "can you please just wait till i have had my cuppa???" but then when i get outside and the morning air is so fresh and the dew is still on the grass and we run and play it is really nice start to the day- i get back and i dont NEED my cuppa anymore!!

I am also a messy house messy head person!! I like to do the trick where i clean one room first and then its my relaxing place for the day while i get the rest of the house in order- when the house is clean and the animals are fed then its time for a shower pjs and a good book or some telly!!!

This is going to sound incredibly an*l but I must have my filofax entries updated and tasks completed (which I haven't been doing lately) I don't feel balanced if I don't have my life ordered in black and white, and my future tasks mapped out for me so I don't forget anything.

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I didn't mention this before because it's a bit corny/embarrassing but I always find that if I wear matching underwear I feel more calm and collected....

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LOL I've never had matching underware, maybe that's what's been wrong! I think I might look for a nice set during the New Year sales...

For at the moment it is getting in the car and going for a drive, especially of an evening when Maggie is getting to much and the traffic is fairly light. It gives us both a break, I am not expecting her to do anything and driving helps get my mind of things for a moment. Of course driving in peak hour does not count.

Oh another thing I love to do.. make a to do list and tick each item of as I do it! It makes my life feel 'neat'!
I forgot about wearing matching lingere. Havent done that for awhile, I wish someone would make nursing wear more attractive!

* A clean house here, I can finally relax if everything is spotless!!

With clean houses: Sometimes the trick is to get "centered" despite a messy house so that you can muster the motivation and energy to actually clean it! LOL I think this is what I'd like help with.... my house hasn't been spotless since having kids, about 13years. Some days i feel centered enough to make inroads, other days i don't and there are more "don't" days than do! Maybe there is a cleaning inspiration thread?

i find the domestic goddess thread - what did you achieve today (or something like that) pretty inspirational Bath (unfortunately haven't visited there lately) cause I keep a list (that others can see) and try to knock things off it and can follow my success - a paper list doesn't work as well for me for some reason

Bumping this - I'm in some need of some centering and would love to hear what others do.

Breathing! Like, going and sitting somewhere and taking some deep breaths to clear my mind.
For me as well, being a Christian, it's the time where I say hi to God and ask for...well usually discipline :redface: and patience. And then I move on, knowing what I'm trying to achieve.
That covers emotionally and spiritually I guess.

Physically, being outside. It only needs to be wandering out in the yard with Riv, or going to the park. That really makes me feel alive.

Ideally, if I have time, I'll go walk and sit somewhere with my bible while Riv plays (throwing the good book aside and sprinting when I see him head for the road :P).
Most days it's walking out to the front step and taking a few deep breaths and stretching while saying 'hi God'. And letting Riv play in the front yard when we've just got home from somewhere.

Would love to hear other people's loooong centering time, and also how others grab some time to ground themselves when they're busy. Especially when you get to that point in your day where you feel like you're about to crack.

Yes tidy house does it for me. OK, tidy room. OK, one made bed if I'm going to be realistic!

And a clean sink. I have just discovered how good this makes me feel and now clean it virtually every day.

DP and I have been dealing with some longstanding issues (renos, financial stuff, his XW and DSD, me being in chronic pain) and it has felt for an awfully long time that we have not been making headway and every day is like the last. So what worked for me was telling myself each night that I may not have got many/anything done on my list but I had done THE most important thing which is looking after DD and making sure she's happy.

This week I've been waking up at 4am every morning and not being able to go back to sleep because there's been too much going on in my head. I can't normally nap during the day either but told myself today that I had to and went to bed saying this mantra (and I'm SO not a mantra person) ... "the world is calm. There is no problem that you have to solve in the next hour so go to sleep." Worked like a charm!

... not sure if I've mentioned this before but for several months now i've been having acupuncture. Combined with a massage afterwards the session last for nearly an hour. I have it done on a Saturday morning. This is really helping me to feel more centred!