Wayapa: Connecting to land and spirit

We live in a digital and fast-paced world, connected to each other by technology. However, we’ve become less connected to ourselves and to the planet. Wayapa meditation aims to change that.

To mark the beginning of 2016 National Reconciliation Week, AFL SportsReady invited Jamie Marloo Thomas and Sara Jones from Wayapa Wuurk to hold one of their popular Wayapa meditation sessions.

Wayapa is a form of mediation and mindfulness that, through Aboriginal eyes, combines movement with narrative and deep breathing techniques to connect to the earth to the spirit. The practice is over 80,000 years old and has the potential to provide its participants with a long list of health and well-being benefits.

In the first part of the session, Jamie offered the AFL SportsReady team an understanding of the relationship Aboriginal people have with the land and how we can all play a role in sustaining what we have.

Jamie explained the 14 fundamental elements of Wayapa which included the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain and the trees. The elements are represented in the meditation as moving poses while simultaneously telling the story of creation.

The second part of the session was the practice of Wayapa. An Indigenous soundtrack was played and Jamie guided the staff through the meditation sequence, using visualisation and slow movement to bring the 14 elements to life.

At the conclusion of the session, staff members reported feeling relaxed, with a sense of clarity and new appreciation for the earth and its elements.

The meditation also provided participants with a greater understanding of Aboriginal land and culture while inspiring everyone to make more conscious decisions in their everyday life to protect and nurture our environment.

If you would like to find out more about Wayapa meditation please visit http://www.wayapawuurrk.com/.

DATE: 23rd June 2016

IMAGE: Staff practicing Wayapa

AUTHOR:  Marissa Pagliarello