Anchoring - Step 1 in the Process of Getting UnStressed and UnStuck

by Martina Steiger
(Kitchener, ON)

The stress management technique of getting unStressed and unStuck comprises three important aspects:

Anchoring;

Relaxation/Meditation; and

Choosing to Choose.

Anchoring for me consists of breathing, grounding and centering.

Breathing, grounding and centering prepare the stage for us to de-stress so we become present to ourselves and to our surroundings in a meaningful and healthy way.

We all experience wonderfully successful anchoring ability in certain situations, such as when we engage in singing, praying, meditating, playing sports or practicing a particular healing modality, and much more.

Can you feel yourself anchored as you imagine yourself deeply engaged in your practice?

It's a great feeling.

So, now let me ask you.

Do you carry over that feeling of anchoring into all aspects of your everyday life and activities?

To me, that's the goal - to remain grounded and centered throughout the entire day, regardless of our outward activities.

Just imagine a pottery wheel in front of you.

You center the clay and then you get the pottery wheel spinning.

Except, the clay starts slipping, the wheel's actions become wobbly and there you have it - the end result is a distorted pot, unstable and misshapen.

Could that possibly be you when you feel ungrounded and uncentered?

(By the way, Mary C. Richards deserves the credits for that imagery, as you can read in her book Centering in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person.)

Therefore, I suggest that if we learn to center and remain centered as much as possible, we can take the feedback from the wobbly wheel of life when things just don't go so smoothly.

We can then adjust and re-center ourselves perfectly so that we can proceed living in a healthy way that supports us.

The poet T.S. Eliot, probably best known for his poem 'The Wasteland,' refers to our sense of ANCHORING as the "still point of the turning world."

Isn't that a perfect description?

Our challenge, I propose, consists not so much in ever reaching this still point, but in living from this still point.

That means we have incorporated (truly taken into our body, and therefore cellular being) and integrated the principles of anchoring.

Now to my suggestions of how to get there.

Check in with yourself as often as you can throughout the day and see how deep and relaxed your breathing is.

If you feel emotional or moody, for instance, you can take that as a clue that you need to re-anchor yourself.

Paste notes and other visuals in key places of your work space and your home that remind you of your breathing or anchoring.

Create a list of exercises (brief and easy to incorporate into your life, regardless of your surroundings) from which you can choose the appropriate exercise that will allow you to re-anchor at this moment.

Take a 30-second to 3-minute break and get yourself anchored, which will be infinitely worth it because you will be much more productive afterward.

Congratulate yourself for each time you recognize when you are off center and manage to get yourself anchored again, regardless of how often that might happen in a day.

Persevere with a smile.

Most relaxation and meditation techniques are based on deep breathing.

Alternate Nostril Breathing also works well.

Many healing modalities have their own process of how to become centered.

Find what works best for you in various situations to prepare the foundation for Getting UnStressed and UnStuck.