Dear listener,
Welcome.
I am Sophia van der Putten,
A movement teacher,
Coach and dance artist.
Today I invite you to explore weight in your body.
This will help you to become grounded.
You can do this meditation either standing or sitting on a chair.
Find a place where you feel comfortable.
Place your feet slightly apart in line with your hips.
If you are seated,
Make sure to sit upright and feel your sit bones in contact with the chair.
Let's dive in.
Feel the length of your spine.
33 vertebrae arranged like a wavy slide.
From your neck,
Upper back to your lower back,
Sacrum and tailbone.
There are cushions between your vertebrae.
Imagine that these are filled with water.
Feel your vertebrae floating one above the other.
Feel the distance between each of them.
Feel the length of your whole spine.
Now bring your attention to your feet.
Imagine there are also water cushions under your feet.
Under your big toe,
Your heel,
The sides of your feet.
Everywhere your feet touch the floor are soft pillows.
Slowly start moving your weight over these pillows.
Move from left to right and from right to left.
Now move from front to back.
From your toes to your heels and from your heels to your toes.
Do this again in your own time.
Take it slowly.
Feel every change that is happening in your feet.
Where does the weight travel?
Where do these pillows touch the floor?
You can keep changing directions.
From left to right,
From your heels to your toes.
Find your own way,
Your own path with these pillows.
While you're doing this,
Feel what is happening in the rest of your body.
What happens to your shoulders,
To your head,
To your knees,
Your sit bones.
Feel the effect of shifting your weight.
Now come back to the center of your feet.
Lift just the toes from the floor and put them down again.
Once more,
Lift just the toes and down again.
Now lift your heels and down.
One more time.
Lift your heels and put them down.
Lift the outsides of your feet up and down.
And lift the insides of your feet up and down.
At your own pace,
Continue lifting different parts of your feet off the floor.
Take your time.
With each change,
Notice which pillows carry your weight.
Feel the water moving under your feet.
Come back to the center of your feet.
Lift your right toes off the floor and your left heel.
Put both down and switch.
Left toes,
Right heel.
Put them down.
Now lift the right side of both your feet and put it down.
Now lift the left side of both your feet up and down.
Find out what happens when you make these combinations.
Experiment different ways of distributing your weight.
Alternate and feel what happens to the rest of your body.
Maybe your spine rotates.
Maybe your shoulders move in different directions.
Discover what happens in your own body.
And try to change faster and faster.
Let's go faster.
See what happens.
Surprise yourself.
From the contact with the floor,
Massage those pads under the soles of your feet.
Let that water slide and slosh.
Remember that the water is not only under your feet or between your vertebrae,
But that it flows through your whole body.
From your feet,
The water flows through your whole body.
So your legs,
Your hips,
Your stomach,
Chest,
Back,
Shoulders,
Arms and neck are all filled with water.
Imagine that with every push of the floor,
You slosh this water back and forth.
Keep shifting your weight.
Every push creates a tidal wave through your body.
Allow the waves of movement to reach other parts of your body.
Let them move your shoulders,
Your fingers and tailbone.
Listen to where the movement wants to go.
Let your whole being move along.
Reach,
Melt,
Shake,
Wave up and down,
Side to side.
Enjoy this energy traveling through you.
This is your journey with your own body,
Your own movement.
Create your path and experiment.
Enjoy the discovery.
The wave of movement turns into a calm stream.
Take your time to slow down your movement.
Slower and slower.
Let the movement become smaller.
Smaller and slower,
Until you only feel the movement continue inside your body.
Feel this inner activity,
Your inner drive and power that is always present,
Always supporting you.
Bring your attention to your feet.
Feel the soft pillows under your soles.
Under the front of your feet,
The sides,
The heels and under each of your toes.
Let your weight sink into these pillows.
But at the same time,
Let them support you to stand tall and strong.
Notice the base that your feet give you.
Feel how they connect you to the earth and ground you.
Take a few deep breaths.
On days that you feel stuck in your thoughts,
Feel stressed or deal with anxiety,
Let your weight drop down into your feet.
Notice the support of the ground and the softness of your soles.
It might help you to release tension from your body and to become present in your body.
Thank you for moving with me and for gifting yourself this moment of your time.
I wish you a wonderful day.
