Simple Centering

Like no other time in human history, we face a barrage of stimuli assaulting our sensory inputs. Our thoughts swirl in our heads, our social media shows us the highlights of our friends’ and colleague’s lives, we’re targeted by advertisements, and so on. Taking a moment to simply ground ourselves in the moment can serve to lower our physiological arousal and assist us in being able to better respond to the barrage of demands on our attention. Try this one:

Find a comfortable sitting position and bring your attention to your five senses:

Identify and acknowledge 5 items you can see

Touch 4 items within your reach

Listen to 3 sounds occurring in your current environment

Smell 2 items within your reach

and finally

Taste 1 food or drink

Some useful guidance: as you complete this exercise, you will possibly feel a little silly…maybe you’ll even find yourself judging the items you see, touch, hear, smell, or taste. Our goal during this brief mind centering break isn’t to evaluate. Our goal is to notice and observe. Notice the texture on the wall you see. Feel the warmth of the television screen. Hear the pitch of the birds chirping. You will find yourself naturally thinking “oh this tastes “bad,” or that feels “nice.” Notice your judgements and gently refocus your attention on what you notice and observe. Describe what you notice.

Is this going to eliminate your anxiety? Not a chance! It will however decrease the intensity of your worry thoughts. With even a slight decrease, we are then empowered to be able to respond in a new and more effective way.