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6 Tips to Recenter Yourself

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Feeling Emotional?  6 Tips to Recenter Yourself

Everyone has had their emotions run away with them at one time or another. The stress of daily life can place an emotional burden on any adult. But when you end the day feeling beaten up and emotionally bruised, it’s not uncommon to feel like your emotions are ruling your life. The good news is that feeling emotional is a temporary state that can be controlled by self-awareness, self-monitoring, and healthy habits.

What Does Being Centered Mean?

Centering is a technique whose aim is to increase and focus attention and energy, to provide relief from stress and anxiety. Centering is a mental/physical state of mind and offers a solution to the emotional spiraling so that you can get back to focusing on the things that matter. You notice that you aren’t centered when you feel out of touch with yourself or reality. For the most part, these feelings stem from unbalanced or unacknowledged emotions.

 

6 Tips to Recenter Yourself When You’re Feeling Emotional

It’s normal to feel overwhelmed by your emotions due to the stress of everyday life. But when you’re emotionally spiraling, it may feel like you’re out of control. Fortunately, there are easy ways to train your brain and habits to learn to recenter yourself when you notice your emotions taking the wheel. Here are 6 reset techniques that will help you calm yourself when emotions get the better of you.

1. Prioritize Self-Care

Self-care includes anything you do to keep yourself healthy — physically, mentally, and spiritually. Taking the time to care for yourself is usually the first thing you neglect when you are busy, stressed, or depressed, but it essential to remaining centered. Self-care is all about you, and what works for one person may not work for another. Your self-care routine should touch on recentering your 8 dimensions of wellness: emotional (journal, therapy), environmental (take a walk, recycle), financial (save, invest), intellectual (read, puzzles), occupational (polish your resume), physical (exercise, eat healthy), social (meet with friends, volunteer), and spiritual (pray, reflect). To effectively recenter yourself through self-care, you need to be consistent in your practice and intent.

2. Try Mantra Meditation

Mantra meditation is the emotional reset method that is the secret to a calmer mind. Think of a mantra — a word or phrase you repeat — as a tool to reduce wandering thoughts and recenter your mind. You might choose a word or phrase that you like the sound of or one that makes you happy. You might choose an affirmation as your mantra, such as “Every day is a new beginning.” Perhaps your mantra reflects your vision for yourself, such as “My life is full of joy.”. Sit in a quiet place and set a timer for 3-30 minutes. Take a few deep breaths. Continue breathing steadily through your nose as you begin to chant your mantra out loud. Your mantra and breathing will eventually settle into a rhythm. Acknowledge any wandering thoughts, let them go, and continue chanting. When the timer goes off, check in with yourself. Do you feel calmer and more centered?

3. Focus on Breathwork

Breathwork is an active form of recentering that allows you to disconnect from the mind and be guided by your body. When you feel overwhelmed, try the 4-7-8 breath to slow your heart rate and recenter your consciousness to the present moment. Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and exhale out of the mouth for 8 seconds. Repeat at least four times. As you breathe in, imagine the grounded energy of the earth coming into your body. As you hold your breath, visualize the breath spiraling up the center of your body and pulling out any energy or thought that does not serve you. As you exhale, visualize light pouring through the top of your head back down to your feet and the earth below you.

4. Incorporating Positive, Healing Rituals in Your Day

Incorporating positive, healing rituals into your day is the emotional reset technique that should be totally personalized to you. Whatever healing ritual holds meaning for you is the best choice to recenter yourself and facilitate your healing. Try a Body Scan Meditation, relaxing muscles individually from head to toe. Bathing with essential oils is a sensory recentering experience that can relax your body and clear your mind. Walking in nature is a wonderful healing ritual for recentering yourself. Creating art, listening to music, or journaling are also engaging healing rituals that help recenter your thoughts when you are emotionally spiraling.

5. Practice Intentional Mindfulness

When you’re feeling emotionally bruised, intentional mindfulness is the secret to recentering yourself and embracing a calmer mind. Intentional mindfulness is the practice of being at ease with what is. Try the Name Game when your emotions are spiraling — name 3 things you can hear, two things you can see, and one sensation you feel — to increase your awareness of your body and your environment. Or recenter yourself with exercise like stretch, yoga, or tai chi, that focuses on your body and breath. You can recenter yourself by creating a gratitude list, naming 10 things you are grateful for at the end of each day. If you’re feeling jittery, recenter yourself by practicing a foot grounding exercise. Place your feet flat on the floor, whether sitting or standing, breathe in for 4 seconds then count out for 4 seconds. Repeat 3-5 times. Another effective recentering mindfulness technique is “earthing” where you walk barefoot in the grass.

6. Commit to Being Present

The very essence of being present is becoming centered. Committing to being present means being actively present in your experience, using your five senses to engage in what’s around you to get out of your head and concentrate on your body. Focus on the moment you find yourself in, and note what you see, hear, touch, smell, and taste. As random thoughts intrude, acknowledge them, and let them go. Don’t judge your thoughts or yourself. Committing to being present allows you to find peace and joy in a singular moment by recentering you in the “now,” and shutting out regrets about the past or worries about the future.

Learn How to Stop the Emotional Spiraling with a Wellness Retreat

If you’ve been feeling emotional lately, you’re not alone. Becoming overwhelmed by emotions is normal for all adults. Fortunately, there are easy ways to recenter yourself and stop the emotional spiraling — from prioritizing self-care and incorporating healing rituals into your day, to practicing intentional mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, and committing to being present. Recentering yourself is a skill. Once you know how to center yourself, you can bring yourself back to the present at any time, to feel alive, alert, present, and resourceful. The best way to learn these centering techniques is to attend a holistic healing treat at OHI. We’ll give you the tools you need to recenter and stop the extreme swings in emotions and mood. Recenter yourself and restart your life with a healing retreat at OHI today.

Recenter yourself at OHI and set yourself on a newly enlightened path in your holistic health journey. Book your next visit to OHI today, and help your mind heal your body for a lifetime of optimal wellness!

Call OHI at (800) 588-0809 to learn more about our holistic approach to health and wellness.