Dear Integral Meditators,
In an article from last week I explain awarness as the basic form of love. If you were to combine that with this week’s article on centering, you would have loving centered-ness, balance & flow!
Last 24hours to catch the I-Awake 16th anniversary 50% sale . If you are interested in how sound can help you in your journey as an aide on many levels, check it out.
In the spirit of 360,
Toby
Mindful-flow around 360-degree centering
This article explains an exercise that, once you are used to it takes only a couple of minutes. You can also be putting to good use informally in your daily life once you have put it in place. Benefits include:
- A more balanced, broad-focused sense of awareness
- Getting out of a hyper-focused, excessively narrow focused or over-focused mode
- Getting out of mental drifting into a more grounded sensibility
- A place of presence that is adaptable, and can move from resting to action relatively seamlessly
- A specific somatic form of mindful-flow that helps us to navigate the ups and downs of our day more evenly and effectively
Our narrow habit of attention
Often in our day, our sense of awareness is essentially focused on a narrow range: in front and out to the sides a little, kind of like your field of vision if you look straight ahead. This is understandable, as our awareness often follows our senses, and our field of vision in particular. However, staying in this narrow range can lead to an imbalance in our awareness that we can re-work quite easily with 360-degree centering.
Centering within the four quarters of the body
Actually, your body can ‘sense’ in every direction. All you need to do is to being awareness to the four zones of the body; front & back, left & right, in order to activate this. This can be done very simply, as a preparation for meditation, or as an end in itself. Sitting or standing comfortably:
- Your front line – From the crown of your head, let your awareness flow down the front section of the body, face, neck, chest, belly, hips, front of legs, feet and toes. Notice any areas of tension, release them a little, notice what it is like to be aware along this front line
- Your back line – From the crown of your head, let your awareness flow down the back of the body, back of head, neck, shoulders, back, back of legs, ankles and feet. Notice any areas of tension, release them a little, notice what it is like to be aware along this back line
- Your right line – From the crown of your head, let your awareness flow down the right side of the body, side of head, right ear, neck, shoulders, right arm, from right armpit down to hips, side of right leg, ankles and feet. Notice any areas of tension, release them a little, notice what it is like to be aware along this right line
- Your left line – From the crown of your head, let your awareness flow down the left side of the body, side of head, left ear, neck, shoulders, left arm, from left armpit down to hips, side of left leg, ankles and feet. Notice any areas of tension, release them a little, notice what it is like to be aware along this left line
- Simultaneous – After doing all four individually, take a few breaths where you are aware of all four zones together. Notice what it feels like to be aware of all four sections simultaneously. If this feels too much initially, try just with two; the front and back simultaneously, and the left and right simultaneously.
Finding your mid-line
From your crown now imagine you have a line of light and energy going down the middle of your body, all the way down to your perineum. This is your mid-line, the mid-point between the front and back, & left and right halves of the body. Practice breathing in and out of this mid-line.
Linking your mid-line to the four quarters
Focusing on your mid-line, as you inhale, gently gather your energy into your center. As you breathe out, relax from your center-line, feeling the energy flowing out evenly to the four quarters of the body. Gradually build capacity to feel the focused inflow to the core as you breathe in, relaxing outflow as you exhale.
Related articles:
Making your physical awareness balanced & whole
Finding your spiritual, physical home
Aspects of environmental meditation
© Toby Ouvry 2026, you are welcome to use or share this article, but please cite Toby as the source and include reference to his website www.tobyouvry.com
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