A Centering Practice

"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts."

Thoreau, Walden

Your classroom is, and always has been, a heart-centered classroom. The trick, if you want to call it that, is to see the truth of your own precious self and value your own self-care in the same ways you plan for the care of your students. 

Imagine yourself seated comfortably in a chair at the front of your classroom. Feel the chair supporting your back, the seat supporting your sitting bones and thighs, the floor pressing firmly under your feet. Allow your arms to rest comfortably in your lap. Take a deep, cleansing breath and relax into the chair for a moment. If you are comfortable, close your eyes and focus your attention on your breathing. Thoughts will occur naturally. Watch them pass through your mind like clouds without judgment. Reconnect to your breath and give yourself time to feel fully present in your body.

Slowly, when you are ready, remember that you are seated in the teaching fulcrum of your classroom. At your own pace direct your mind’s eye to roam clockwise about the walls of the room without judgment. Observe the door, the clock, the boards, the ledge of the boards that hold markers or chalk and other tools. Linger over your favorite bulletin board displaying student work and continue to slowly circle the room drinking up every physical detail. Find a motivational poster, the flag, the windows, the HVAC unit. See your desk, storage cabinets and shelves filled with books and instructional materials, filing cabinet, computer workstation, smart board. Allow yourself time to feel fully present in your classroom.

Now allow your gaze to make a serpentine path among the empty desks. Notice the condition of the desks and tables without judgment, their organization in rows or groups. Take time to feel the energy of the students who have passed through your classroom over the years. Keep this sensation general and avoid imagining specific students. Bring your focus back to your own breath, your own body centered in the space of your classroom.

When you are comfortable, allow your consciousness to expand, contain, and fill every molecule of your teaching space. Feel your own energy, your compassionate presence, filling your entire classroom. Your loving kindness emanates from the center of your body, contains you and fills every crevice of the classroom. Yours is the fuel that feeds this energy field. You are the source of kindness, compassion and love that pours into the room and coats the surface of the doors, walls, desks, boards, floor, and bookshelves. Take time to recognize how much care you have poured into this space. Now, perhaps for the first time, relax and take time to see yourself as the lantern of your classroom. Truly stop.

Now you are ready to slowly bring students into the space that you have dedicated for learning and teaching. Imagine last year’s favorite class or a group of your most beloved filing slowly, silently, in through the door to take their seats. The students are quiet as they sit, hands folded, focused on themselves, connected and sensitive to your gaze. Close your eyes and let go of all desires and expectations. Take time to feel the profound connections without judgment or sentimentalism. Notice your own significant, quiet presence among the students. Notice your incredible capacity to contain every student in your heart.

Breathe.Take time here to feel gratitude for your incredible capacity to love and care for every child who enters your classroom. This is your true nature. This is who you truly are. You are the gentle, loving presence who opens your door to welcome, nurture, heal, value, teach, and learn with each child who life sends into your space. Take as much time as you like to replenish, recover, heal yourself in your own expansive, benevolent presence.