How to protect your most sensitive parts this holiday season

Avoid all the booby-traps and triggers by establishing these boundaries based on your undefined centers in human design

You can’t explore the the topic of boundaries through the lens of human design, without talking about undefined centers.

Your undefined centers are the energy centers in your chart that are not colored in (aka white).

If you’re new to human design, you can look up your chart HERE. If you want a refresher on what each center represents, use this cheat sheet.

A lack of definition means that you don’t have a fixed, reliable way of experiencing the world (or expressing yourself) in this particular area of the body (or life). It means that you’re intentionally designed to be influenced by your environment (and the people in it). And therefore, by definition, you’re designed to be inconsistent.

• For example, if you have an undefined solar plexus (emotional center), you’re designed to feel other people’s emotions more clearly and readily than your own. As a result, you can feel happy as a clam one moment…and utterly devastated the next — simply because someone enters the room who happens to be going through something difficult.

• Or, if you have an undefined throat center, it may feel easier for you to speak up on behalf of others and articulate their thoughts or feelings with ease, while you struggle to put your own into words. Your tone of voice and the language you use will also naturally vary from one person or environment to the next.

In other words, our undefined centers are the areas in our chart where we’re the most exposed and sensitive to external influence, because we’re not anchored in our own fixed point of view or experience.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. (In fact, these are often the areas where we become the wisest and have the greatest capacity for objectivity). However, undefined centers are the most prone to conditioning — i.e., the places you’re most likely to compromise on your truth because of the pressure to conform or absorb other’s “stuff”.

I have good and bad news…

The bad news is that there is no way to change which centers are defined or not in your chart. Your chart is your chart for life.

The good news is that you don’t have to let your undefined centers define you.

And this is where boundaries come in.

Setting boundaries is essential to protecting your energy from being compromised. It’s the ultimate form of self-respect because it signals to your body that you are not going to allow your environment to pressure you into situations that aren’t aligned.

This time of year presents the perfect opportunity to experiment with boundaries because of all the potential pressures we face — whether you’re feeling burned out at work due to several big end-of-year deadlines, or triggered by a particular family member.

So, I wanted to go through each of the energy centers and offer some practical examples of boundaries you can set to support yourself this holiday season.

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With an undefined root…

…you’re especially sensitive to external stressors. High-pressure environments and highly strung people can send you into a tailspin where everything feels “urgent” all at once.

Examples of supportive boundaries if you have an undefined root:

• Establish a hybrid work schedule that allows you to work from home several days a week.

• Limit the time you spend with friends who are always “busy”.

• Set a deadline for yourself to get all your holiday shopping done by December 15th to avoid the last minute rush.

• Put an auto-responder on your email over the weekend or holidays so you don’t feel pressure to respond immediately.

• Use the “do not disturb” function on your phone between 8pm and 8am.

With an undefined sacral…

…you’re especially sensitive to external pressure to be productive and consistent. If you’re not careful, you can fall into the trap of measuring your worth based on your the quantity output instead of the quality.

Examples of supportive boundaries if you have an undefined sacral:

• Limit your work hours to 4-6 hours a day or 3-4 days a week.

• Establish a personal policy that you do not schedule back-to-back meetings.

• Establish a personal policy of ONE social event per weekend.

• Sleep with your phone outside of the bedroom.

• Commit to getting into bed at a specific time each night (i.e., 9pm).

With an undefined solar plexus…

…you’re especially sensitive to other people’s emotions. You’re highly empathetic which can lead you to carry the weight of other people’s feelings and make it difficult to discern where you end and they begin.

Examples of supportive boundaries if you have an undefined solar plexus:

• Commit to an “emptying out” ritual every night before you go to bed — i.e., a shower, an Epsom salt bath, breath work, sauna, a long walk, meditation, a dance party.

• When you feel a marked shift in your emotional state, remove yourself from the source (person or situation) so you can re-ground in your own aura.

• Avoid any movies with plot lines or themes that are especially triggering for you.

• Craft a few one-liners you can use when you notice yourself taking responsibility for other people’s emotions: “I am so sorry you’re going through that right now. I don’t have the skill set / energy / capacity to support you in the way you need right now, but what I can offer is….”

With an undefined spleen…

…you’re especially sensitive to other people’s fears and anxieties. 9 out of the 10 times you experience a fear or limiting belief, it’s not actually yours — but because the source is outside of you, there’s no way to resolve the fear other than simply “letting go”.

Examples of supportive boundaries if you have an undefined spleen:

• Unfollow anyone on social media who makes you question yourself or increases your anxiety levels.

• Limit your exposure to the people in your life who tend to be highly fearful or anxious.

• Don’t allow yourself to fixate on hypothetical future scenarios. Any time you notice yourself picturing or dwelling on a “what if…” scenario, take a few deep breaths to come back to the present and refocus on what is true for you in this moment (focus on fact vs. story).

With an undefined ego…

…you’re especially sensitive to external pressure to prove yourself and your worth. While your worth is indisputable and inherent, you can’t help but look outside of yourself for validation.

Examples of supportive boundaries if you have an undefined ego:

• Avoid anyone who makes you feel pressure to push yourself beyond your energetic capacity or skill set to “prove” something. Instead, surround yourself with people who make you feel confident and secure.

• Unfollow anyone on social media who lures you into a comparison trap or makes you feel like you’re not enough.

With an undefined g-center…

…you’re especially sensitive to external pressure to define who you are, what you value, and where you’re going in life. It’s incredibly important that you feel comfortable in your environment, so you can embrace your chameleonic nature without compromising on your inner authority.

Examples of supportive boundaries if you have an undefined g-center:

• Only RSVP “yes” to holiday parties where you know you’ll feel comfortable, instead of forced to present as something you’re not.

• When asked about future plans or goals, respond with “I’m not sure. I’m just enjoying being where I am right now.” or “I’m not sure, but I’m excited to find out.”

• Instead of setting new year’s goals or resolutions this year, choose one word or theme you want to embody instead.

With an undefined throat…

…you’re especially sensitive to external pressure to speak up — even when you have nothing to say. You’re designed to speak spontaneously – without overthinking your words or the message – but the pressure to answer or assert yourself can often lead you to say whatever you think others want to hear instead of what’s truly in your heart or on your mind.

Examples of supportive boundaries if you have an undefined throat:

• RSVP “no” to events where you anticipate feeling too much pressure to speak inauthentically.

• Surround yourself with people who either inspire you to speak spontaneously OR allow there to be comfortable silence.

• Spend most of the day leading up to an event in silence and in your own aura.

• Role play a few simple responses when you don’t feel like speaking or answering questions: i.e., “I don’t have an answer right now, but let me think about it.”

With an undefined ajna…

…you’re especially sensitive to other people’s opinions and may feel pressure to make up your mind or make up answers, when all you really have is more questions.

Examples of supportive boundaries if you have an undefined ajna:

• Don’t allow yourself to feign certainty. Instead, practice responding with a confident “I don’t know.”

• Request to be seated next to people who value your open mind at a holiday dinner, instead of people who put pressure on you to have an opinion about everything.

• Establish a daily ritual to ground into your body and get out of your head. You are not designed to “make up your mind”, but rather to “make up your body.”

With an undefined crown…

…you’re easily influenced by other people’s doubts or uncertainties, which can lead you to become consumed by things that don’t really matter to you.

Examples of supportive boundaries if you have an undefined crown:

• Embrace the “not knowing” and remain curious instead of getting consumed by the need for certainty. When you experience mental pressure, consider: What would it look like to let go of the need to be certain?

• If you notice your mind becoming consumed by something, use your authority as a filter to determine which questions genuinely matter to you and which don’t.

• Commit to daily morning pages in order to “empty out” your mind and clear the space that is being taken up by other people’s concerns.

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