Hey,
Thanks for joining me here.
I'm Andre Small and for over a decade I've been devoted to a plant-based living and optimising personal health through an integrated mind-body-spirit approach.
With certifications as a health coach and personal trainer,
I strive to embody my learnings and share them with my clients.
Throughout this from-the-roots-up five-day experience,
You'll be guided through mindfulness practices blended with the resilient truths carried down through the African diaspora.
We'll explore nourishing the physical form,
Cultivating intentional mindsets,
Metabolising all emotional energies and ultimately integrated as an empowered,
Bodied force of consciousness.
My role is to hold a grounded space of renewal as you dedicate yourself to this transformative journey of holistic wellness.
Before we dive in,
I invite you to make yourself comfortable.
Straighten your spine but keep your body relaxed.
You may want to close your eyes and just notice the air entering and leaving your body with each breath.
Bring your awareness to the bottoms of your feet,
Visualising roots beginning to extend down from them into the earth below you.
With each exhale,
Imagine these roots growing thicker and stronger,
Burrowing deeper through the layers of soil.
As the roots reach farther underground,
You can feel them making contact with the roots of an ancient tree.
This tree representing your ancestral lineage and all the wisdom that has been passed down through generations before you.
Sense these ancestral roots intertwining with your own and draw grounding life force upwards that has been nurtured over centuries.
You are firmly rooted into this reciprocal network,
Giving and receiving nourishment continually.
With each inhale,
Breathe in the strength and resilience of your ancestors who persevered through immense trials and tribulations.
Feel that unshakable spirit within you as your inhales extend down towards the earth's core and with each exhale release any energies of stress,
Anxiety or restlessness that keep you disconnected from your roots.
Surrender into the unconditional support of the ancestors and mother earth beneath you.
As you continue this grounding breath cycle,
You may receive visions or messages that arise from your deepest places of rootedness and belonging on this earth.
Wisdom about your true path,
Insights into self-empowerment,
Revelations on thriving with unwavering call.
Allow that which most needs to take root within you during this meditation,
Revealing itself through subtle signs,
Sounds,
Images or bodily sensations.
Trust that by grounding into the ancestors teachings,
You realign with your highest self.
Whenever you're ready,
Begin slowly creating movement from this rooted space,
Wiggling fingers and toes,
Deepening your breath and gently opening your eyes.
While carrying this renewed centred presence out into the world,
Remain firmly rooted with the ancestors blessings moving through you.
As we emerge from that meditation,
I'm reminded of the West African concept of coolness.
I assume this concept is cast across the world,
That ability to remain steady,
Unhurried,
Unshakable in the face of challenges and almost stoic resilience passed down for generations.
When we're rooted in our ancestors wisdom,
We too can embody that spirit of controlled chaos.
See you tomorrow for day two,
Nourishing the temple of the body.
