As anyone who has tried their hand at wheel throwing can tell you, it’s a technical craft involving a delicate dance with physics. As the potter’s wheel spins, centering is the first and most critical skill required to turn a lump of mud into something useful and beautiful—a vessel with purpose.

Learning to center is primarily a kinetic, rather than academic, exercise. You must do it, feel it, fail, and try again until, gradually, the body learns to sense alignment. Once it knows the feeling of centering, it holds onto that awareness, ever honing it with practice. The knowledge becomes embodied.