Safe Space and Play Time: community, body and consciousness in motion
In a world where hyperconnectivity is the norm and digital fatigue a constant, Safe Space, an initiative of Public Projects, emerges as a refuge. This is our free guided meditation experience, open 365 days a year, designed by a community that values pause, inner connection and emotional expression as transformative tools.
The proposal is simple but powerful: every day, through breathing and the sound of our voice, a state of deep relaxation and self-knowledge is cultivated. The ancient Japanese practice of Kototama - a meditative form focused on the primary sounds of the vowels - allows the vibration of every cell in the body to harmonize, unblocking tensions and restoring our inner energy. It is, in essence, a way of returning to oneself, in stillness and safety.
One of our goals this year has been to open spaces of coexistence beyond meditative practice. Thus was born Play Time, a workshop created by dancer and yoga teacher Pascale Ussel, which takes movement and play as forms of communication, inclusion and community, and the first in a series that will shape the program of activities.
Play Time: the first workshop for the Safe Space community
The idea for Play Time was born during the pandemic as a response to concerns about our relationship to the body and movement. "We have to remember that we have the capacity to have an available, intuitive and skillful body when we allow it. Playing opens us to these new possibilities, surprises us and allows us to find ourselves in a fluid dialogue in moments of challenge and complete harmony. Play Time for me is a meeting point where we know we can trust, challenge, enjoy and together develop solutions." Share, Pascale.
The result was an experience accessible to all ages, bodies, abilities and languages. "The experience was deeply meaningful. Beyond the meditation, the value of creating community among people with shared interests in personal, physical and spiritual development was something very special. Barriers were broken, there was laughter, human contact and a very luminous energy guiding the encounter. It was a space to connect from the genuine and the human." - Participant's testimony.
In this first workshop, the three fundamental principles of Safe Space were put into practice. Safe Spacedisconnection, reconnection and expression. Using the body as a language, as a bridge with oneself and with others, generated a space of openness and closeness that resulted in a more united, committed and lively community.
"Something was activated. People left wanting to come back, to meditate more, to be part of it. And that, without losing the most important thing: that it is still free. A gift from the people for the people."
- Agusta Odova, co-host of Safe Space.
In a present where wellness is often sold as just another product, proposals such as Safe Space and Play Time recover what is essential: the human encounter, the power of the body, and the capacity to transform our lives from the simplest things. Breathing. To move. To listen to ourselves.
