Why center?
Hi friends,
Rising authoritarianism, ongoing genocides and daily waves of devastating news are designed to knock us off center and flood our nervous systems.
Flooding can easily lead to numbing, which is a perfectly resonable response. The thing is, numbing means severing from our own bodies, from other people, and from our own agency. A numbed-out person won’t be able to reach out and take their neighbors hand so they can take action together. A numbed-out white person likely can’t see how our anti-Blackness might creep in unconsciously. Obviously lots of us may be choosing to numb out from time to time; but let’s be real that numbing out is typically more beneficial for the people who benefit from authoritarianism than for those resisting it.
But when we practice centering, we reclaim our ability to feel and we can choose whether or not to numb out or stay present.When we feel what we feel—anger, grief, even joy—we increase the likelihood that we can act from discernment and purpose rather than just reacting in the way we always do to an external pressure.
The choice to pause, discern, and make intentional choices is what makes embodiment political. That’s why somatics is such an important tool for organizers.
A foundational practice in the lineage of somatics I learned from my teachers at the Strozzi Institute for Somatics and generative somatics is Centering, and it comes from Wendy Palmer. Centering is a lifeline because in order to do it we have to slow down enough to actually feel ourselves, and make choices about how to act. A person who knows their value, connection to their past and is clearly moving toward a liberatory vision is full of power. And a community of people feeling all of that and moving together? They’re a force to be reckoned with.
Centering is a daily practice that helps us claim our power and become an irresistible invitation to a world beyond whiteness.
Click her to practice centering with me.
Somatic teacher Kai Cheng Thom reminds us: we don’t center to feel calm or find some kind of homeostasis, we center so we can take action. Feeling is an act of rebellion. Attention is a resource. And in the midst the horror of this time, being able to feel delight and joy is not frivolous—it’s necessary for resilience, sustainability and for moving against the systems that demand our disconnection to keep going.
In the coming weeks, I’ll share more about how these practices can sustain us in movement work. For now, I’d love to hear: how are you finding center, or re-finding it, in this moment?
With care and solidarity,
Dara
