Dear listener,
Welcome.
I am Sophia van der Putten,
A movement teacher,
Coach and dance artist.
Today I invite you to explore balance.
This active meditation provides relaxation and increases your physical awareness.
Find a place where you feel comfortable and where you can perform this meditation undisturbed.
You can either stand or sit on a chair.
Place your feet slightly apart in line with your hips.
Take a moment to feel your body.
Let this moment,
This attention,
Inform you about yourself.
Do you notice any tension in your body?
Is there unrest in your mind?
Perhaps you feel good,
But you are in need of a deeper connection to your body.
Register what is currently present in you.
Everything you feel is okay.
Let it exist.
Raise your palms in front of your chest and rub them together.
Feel the heat you generate between your hands.
Keep rubbing them together.
Now brush your hands over the rest of your body.
Go back and forth over your arms and shoulders.
Spread the heat over your chest,
Over your stomach,
Your back.
Pay extra attention to your hips.
We often hold a lot of tension in our pelvis.
Spread the heat.
Move to your thighs,
The front,
Back and inside of your legs,
Your lower legs.
Rub your feet,
Your toes and heels.
Now come to a standing or sitting position.
Take a few deep breaths in your own time.
Become aware of the long line running through your body,
From your crown,
Through your chest,
Through your pelvis,
Towards the floor.
What happens in your body if you deviate from this line?
When you put your chin forward,
When you create a hollow back.
Feel how your body adjusts to maintain balance.
Find your center line.
Breathe in and out.
Breathe in and out.
Find your own breathing.
Every exhalation makes your body softer.
Every exhalation releases tension.
Relax your jaw.
Let your lips part.
Feel your heels sink into the ground.
Your body keeps itself in that long line.
You don't have to do anything for that.
Now slowly shift your weight to your left.
If you are standing,
Keep both feet connected to the ground.
If you are seated,
Keep both sit bones connected to the chair.
Now slowly shift your weight to the right.
Shift to the left and to the right.
Come to the center and feel that long vertical line through your body.
Shift your weight a little bit forward.
Notice what changes in your balance.
Now shift your weight to the back.
Which muscles have to activate to keep you balanced?
Come to the center.
Explore how far you can shift your weight while maintaining your balance.
Can you shift your weight to one foot if you are standing or to one sit bone if you are seated?
Follow your own tempo and keep shifting.
Imagine you are a tumbling toy.
The lower half of your body is round.
You can tumble in all directions but you are never centered.
You are always passing through,
Always moving.
Let your spine be soft.
Let it wave along like an anemone in water.
Take your time to let the movement become smaller and smaller.
Let it slowly fade out until you come to a stillness.
Your head is above your chest.
Your chest is above your pelvis.
Your pelvis is above your heels which are connected to the ground.
Feel your inhalation.
Feel your exhalation.
Feel your inhalation and exhalation as one breath.
Feel the hardness of your bones and teeth.
Feel the softness of your muscles,
Organs and skin.
Feel the softness of your organs,
Muscles and skin.
Feel the hardness and softness of your body at the same time.
Feel the softness of your muscles and skin.
Now feel a heaviness in your body and in your mind.
Feel lightness in your body and mind.
Feel heaviness and lightness at the same time.
Feel heaviness and lightness in your whole being at the same time.
You do not consist of one structure or one form.
You don't have a single feeling or a single sensation.
You are multiple and sometimes it can be a challenge to find balance.
But I invite you to cherish these multiple forms that you have.
Thank you for moving with me and for gifting yourself this moment of your time.
I wish you a wonderful day.
