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EMBODIED JEWISH PRACTICES FOR CENTERING.
ABOUT
Centering is an embodied practice that helps us feel more aware of what is happening in and around our bodies, where we are in space and time, and what choices we have available to navigate this complexity. For many, the physical sensation of centering is felt most strongly just below the navel, radiating out from this gravitational center across body and spirit. We center in our bodies through attuning to our presence and positionality in spacetime, and in our purpose and intention — or kavanah — by reminding ourselves of what we hold dear and what we’re working for in this world.
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In our work at Mitsui Collective, we often refer specifically to the Sacred Center, aka the seventh dimension of place (makom). This is the dimension of presence, of dwelling within the divine container of bodies and all of creation. Connecting to our center tethers us to our inherent sacredness — for ourselves and for all of humanity — as beings created in the divine image. The number 7 also represents a sense of wholeness and completion, embodying the entire creation process in microcosm. We hope these practices help us feel just a little bit more whole as we work to repair the brokenness in our world. @mitsuicollective www.mitsuicollective.org
SOIL TO SKY BREATHING — NESHIMOT ADAMAH L’SHAMAYIM Find a comfortable position, and soften your focus or close your eyes. Imagine you are a tree. On your next inhale, imagine you are pulling in water and nutrients through your “roots” from the soil beneath you, sending them up and through your trunk, and with the exhale releasing them into the sky through your leaves and branches. Then, reverse the flow — inhaling nutrients from the air through your leaves and branches, moving through the body, releasing them into the soil through the exhale. Continue with this cycling. Notice what you need that comes from the earth — adamah — and from the sky — hashamayim — and what you release to each. Notice what nutrients remain within, composing and strengthening your heartwood, your bark, your shape and form, and your ability to be present as yourself.
@mitsuicollective www.mitsuicollective.org
SEVEN DIMENSION CENTERING
Sefer Yetzirah (the mystical Book of Formation) orients us to the physical world through seven dimensions: North, South, East, West, Up, Down, and to the presence of our bodies and souls dwelling at the sacred center.
Notice the full length of your body. Feel your feet on the ground and the crown of your head touching the sky. Notice your width — the shape and boundaries of your body on either side. Notice your depth — through the back body, leaning on everything and everyone who has come before; and to the front body, open and envision the future you seek to co-create. Finally, return your breath and focus to your own sacred center, dwelling at the intersection of all these dimensions, feeling into your kavanah, your sacred purpose and intention, and into the embodied knowledge that your presence matters and makes this place more whole. @mitsuicollective www.mitsuicollective.org
This practice is adapted from the work of Strozzi Institute
CENTERING THROUGH MOVEMENT While quieter practices are often helpful for centering, our Hebrew prophetess Miriam knew that music and movement can also help us feel more present to our experience of this moment. Put on a favorite song. Then, move your body in whatever way feels nourishing. Dance, sway, shake, sing, rock, hum ... whatever brings yourself into more active presence. Notice both the grounding connection to earth (adamah) and the levity of connection to sky (hashamayim) as you move. As the song ends, give yourself a brief moment of stillness to feel that sense of center through the quiet echo in space and time immediately following the music. @mitsuicollective www.mitsuicollective.org
ORIENTING
This practice connects us to the spacetime presence of Makom — which both means “place” and is a name for the divine. Specifically, it brings us into deeper connection with important people, places, memories, and lineage.
Start by orienting to the directions — North, South, East, and West. Then, map out (in your mind) geographic waypoints: where are important people, places, and memories in relation to where you are right now? For people, you might either choose where they are right now, and/or important places where you spent time with them. With these waypoints located in time and space, internally orient yourself again, holding your connection to these waypoints as tethers both guiding and uplifting you, helping you to be present and connected to that which you most deeply care about. @mitsuicollective www.mitsuicollective.org
SHEMA SOUND MAPPING
Sit quietly in a place that connects you with the earth. Close or soften your eyes, and create a "Shema sound map" — a mental map of the sounds surrounding you. If it’s helpful, begin by noticing what is coming from in front of you, then behind, to either side, and above … ultimately listening and mapping across the entire sphere of sound surrounding you. Notice what you can name and what you have no name for. What feels familiar and what feels new? How much can you hear and hold at one time? @mitsuicollective www.mitsuicollective.org
This practice is adapted from Teva Learning Center pedagogies
SEVEN LAYER BOX BREATHING
This practice uses breath to both re-articulate and expand the sacred container of our bodies by embodying each day of creation, building up to Shabbat, the seventh day. Set a timer to chime every minute for a total of seven minutes. Find a grounded position to the floor / earth. Begin the timer. Close your eyes. Breathe from the belly.
Follow this pattern: Minute One: 1 beat breath in, 1 beat pause, 1 beat breath out, 1 beat pause. Minute Two: change the pattern to 2 beats per breath/pause. Continue to expand the count of beats each minute ...
Notice what happens in the body as you progress through each breathing stage from one minute to the next. If the longer counts are particularly difficult, stay with a lower count. As we feel the growing vessel leading into Shabbat, we feel both the beauty and the difficulty of holding such an expansive space within our limited human bodies.
@mitsuicollective www.mitsuicollective.org
Upon the final chime, take what time you need to slowly open your eyes and return your presence to the space around you.
HAVDALAH SENSORY CONNECTION
This sensory practice helps us attune to this moment in time, connected to but distinct from past and future. Taste brings us into this moment — a brief sensation that quickly dissipates once gone, though its memory remains. Have a bit of something that excites your tastebuds. Savor the flavors and sensations. Smell connects us both to the present moment and to moments and memories of our past. Notice what smells are around you. Sight brings us into what is and what could be. Assess what is beautiful around you, what is difficult, what is cherished, what is broken and needs repair. Finally, separate this moment from what has passed and what is to come with a deep inhale — long enough to feel a sense of presence — then an exhale as you step into the continuing passage of time. @mitsuicollective www.mitsuicollective.org
WE HOPE THIS WAS MEANINGFUL If so, save this post so you can come back to it later. These practices work differently for different people. Try them out, notice what is effective, what is growthful, and what is “scratchy” or discomforting. Most importantly, continue centering to the knowledge, experience, and discernment held in the body. Mentioned: @strozzi_institute Teva Learning Center, a program of @adamah_org @mitsuicollective The information in this post is meant for educational purposes only. If you are experiencing physical, emotional, or mental distress, please seek professional support. @mitsuicollective www.mitsuicollective.org