Use This Simple Technique to Lead with Confidence, Grace, and Gratitude

Live into the height, width, and depth of your being with Centering

As a naturally reflective person who is also an avid walker, yoga practitioner, and occasional dancer, I am intrigued by self-improvement techniques that include embodied awareness, that pivotal space that links the psychological with the physical.

One such technique comes from the Strozzi Institute as a part of its Embodied Leadership program. Centering, the practice I want to focus on here, is a small part of the Institute’s EL curriculum but is easy to learn and offers a unique perspective on what it means to be an engaged and vital person, wherever and however you are living your life.

In essence, Centering uses the three physical dimensions of length, width, and depth to provide a focus for entering the present moment, opening to possibility, and cultivating mindful awareness of what matters. Here’s how it works.

How to practice Centering

The vertical axis: heaven and earth

Begin by standing comfortably with your feet firmly rooted and your arms resting at your sides. Bring the upper, mid, and lower parts of your body into vertical alignment as best you can.

Check for the areas that tend to misalign in your natural way of standing. For example, you might need to tuck your hips and straighten the small of your back while raising and straightening your upper back. Make sure your head aligns vertically over your neck without pitching forward or backward. Engage the knees comfortably without locking them.

Focus on the length of your body. Rather than thinking about your body, the invitation is to live into the vertical dimension of your physical presence. As you settle downwards into the base of your body, become present to what you see through your eyes and present to the observing awareness within.

Particularly when feeling tired and stressed, consciously aligning and relaxing the body on the vertical axis reminds us somatically of our worthiness and rightful place in whatever context we find ourselves.

Related to this: In the 2012 TED talk, “Your body language may shape who you are,” Amy Cuddy presents intriguing evidence for how our body postures raise and lower hormone levels that influence how confident and comfortable we feel in stressful situations. I enthusiastically recommend viewing this talk if you have not already. (It is the second most popular TED talk of all time.) It’s a great talk and gives biological evidence in support of the powerful effects of simply standing upright.

One of Cuddy’s most significant insights is this:

When we think of [body gestures and postures], we think of how we judge others, how they judge us, and what the outcomes are. We tend to forget, though, the other audience that’s influenced by our nonverbals, and that’s ourselves. We are also influenced by our nonverbals, our thoughts, and our feelings, and our physiology.

The horizontal axis: social relationships

Move gently from side to side by shifting your weight from one foot to another, slowly and smoothly. Arms should be neither too tightly held by the sides nor too widely extended. Envision a bubble of space that wraps around your torso a few inches wider than your body. Within this bubble, gently touch your arms to their limits to define your personal horizontal space.

This dimension speaks to how we are in relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and anyone with whom we interact in daily life. If our boundaries are too rigid, we may hold our arms tense and close into our bodies. If they are too relaxed, we may want to extend the arms too far away from the torso. Instead, aim for a balanced posture that communicates a good sense of social awareness.

In exploring this dimension, I became aware of the difference between what I would like to do physically and what the practice suggests.

While researching this article, I watched two demonstrations of centering. In both, the suggested area for the horizontal axis felt too small. My natural inclination was to splay my arms out wide, as when stretching to relieve tension. As the instructors explained, this dimension not only acknowledges one’s desire to reach out and connect with others but equally important, honors and respects the boundaries of others. It was interesting food for thought.

Related to this: For a clear and concise tutorial on the practice of Centering, watch Mark Mooney’s demonstration of the technique. For a longer demonstration of the technique by Strozzi himself, follow this link.

The depth dimension: front to back

To explore this dimension, direct your attention to the space that lies behind and in front of you. What lies behind you represents all people, places, and things that have brought you to this moment. Included are your life experiences, as well as your lineage reaching back to a time long before your birth. What lies ahead is what you envision for your life and all the ways it may touch the lives of others.

The aim is to remain centered in the vertical and horizontal axes while being mindful of the past and open to the future. If you lean back on your heels, you may feel contracted and too small to fully engage with the present. If you lean forward onto your toes, with too much focus on the future, you can fatigue your core muscles by the strength it requires to hold that posture.

Related to this: A key scene in Steven Spielberg’s film Amistad is the moment when John Quincy Adams talks with Cinque, the spokesperson for a group of captured Mende who have revolted on a Spanish slave ship and been captured off the coast of Long Island, circa 1839. Adams wants to prepare Cinque for the upcoming trial to determine if the rebel group is to be considered slaves or free people. Cinque listens to Adams’ warning that the legal challenges will be great and the odds are against them. Through an interpreter, Cinque’s reply demonstrates a rich awareness of the power of his ancestor to come to his aid:

We won’t be going in there alone. I will call into the past, far back to the beginning of time, and beg [my ancestors] to help me. At the judgment, I will reach back and draw them into me. And they must come, for at this moment, I am the whole reason they have existed at all.

Balance is key

In all dimensions, the challenge is to stay in balance — between the sky and earth, between your social province and that of others, and between the past and the future. At the center of all these dimensions is you in the present moment. That middle ground is your point of power and clarity.

Centering is a body-based practice that helps people to identify psychological realities, some of which may be unconscious. Once these attitudes and beliefs are revealed through the steps of the practice, the way forward becomes clearer.

Often, that forward motion unfolds immediately, starting in the moment through the next hour, or day. For example, when feeling drained, asking the body to communicate its insights through this practice can provide a useful, embodied reminder, or insight, of self-worth, belonging, vitality, faith, or courage.

Even the most confident among us can benefit from these reminders from time to time.

Thank you for reading my story. Are you ready to try Centering? Let me know if it works, or leads to other discoveries that you want to share.