When I was getting ready to head to Mexico City to visit my friend who was on Spring Break from studying Spanish at the university (UNAM), one of my yoga classmates at Shakti Shala in Antigua, Guatemala suggested I visit Safe Space, a free, daily meditation space. The week and a half I spent that first time in CDMX was filled with tacos, yoga, romance, and Shakira, so I never made it out there.
Now that I have returned to Mexico City, this has been, well, my safe space. Attending meditation today inspired me to write this post. Whenever I visualize my most peaceful state, I am always brought back to areas enveloped in trees and near a body of water. I often find places to escape to retreat, to find peace and stillness within, but this place is doing the work of bringing retreat, peace, and stillness to an environment that needs it— a bustling city.
It is a sanctuary in the city within the sanctuary that is the Proyecto Público Prim building.
Arriving to Safe Space
After walking toward the center of the building, there is an opening to the left through which you enter and follow the wide stairs on the left up. My first time here was after my tibial plateau fracture, so I was on crutches and felt safe going up the stairs. Everyone was very kind and conscious and offered to help me too. I feel many people around the city have been this kind too.
You are greeted with water, hot chai, and occasionally fruits. This is also where check-in happens. Since it can sometimes get full, and you'd need to give your name anyway, you should make an account and pre-register/reserve your spot here. The sessions alternate between Spanish (Monday, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays) and English (Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays) at 9am. The 8am English option opens up for you if you've attended more than 10 sessions.
The Three Principles of Safe Space
The session begins in the greeting room where the three pillars of Safe Space are debriefed. These are my takeaways from the principles which generate positive changes in our everyday lives.
- Disconnection— We as a society have become dependent on smartphones, social media, multiple screens, etc. to stay "connected." Taking this time to disconnect from our devices, we are able to tune into the present moment and have actual connection with people.
- Reconnection— We connect to ourselves and our Spirit through chanting sounds of Kototama. It realigns our body's energy and restores balance.
- Expression— Words are powerful and shape our realities and environment. Through writing, we are able to manifest our thoughts and visualizations from our meditation. Safe Space offers pens and printed paper with prompts offered in English and Spanish and includes the 3 principles.
Meditation
So far, from the few sessions I've attended, the Spring meditation has focused on growth and creativity. This, I feel, has been aligning with my life recently because I am healing and rebuilding strength in my left leg after an auto-accident and working through this visibility wound by simply putting my thoughts and work out there.
I've only chanted Om and a few mantras like the Gayatri mantra, my favorite being from Deva Premal, and others sung in saunas for some reason, so I've never tuned Kototama sounds prior to this. It sounds like vowels! The energy I feel in a room engulfed by others chanting resonates deep in my womb and always gives me goosebumps. Now there is a piece of mystery here since I can't bring you into the meditation room or share how it looks inside, so you have just gotta see it for yourself!
The work we do in yoga is so that we can become better not only for ourselves, but for others. One of my yoga teachers says, "We do yoga so we aren't a pain in the ass to be around." So my intentions with meditation, breathwork, yoga, nidra, etc. are not only to become a clearer vessel and channel for my creative energy from Source to bring ideas to fruition in this life, but to also hopefully be a conscious and kinder human being.