Affection and gentleness - Strength rests in silence
4 Exercises on level 2, duration 12 minutes, with pause and possible rest.

With the eurythmic EI exercises (EI pronounced as in I) you learn to perceive yourself and become mindfully present. You give and receive nurturing, become aware of your hidden needs and gently awaken your inner strength to grow. The texts to the exercises may be found at the bottom of this page.

Introductory videos

• Eurythmy gesture for the Moon
• The A from above
• Basic gesture of I
• Sympathy - Antipathy Part 1

Questions to the eurythmy exercises

A2    Streaming in from the periphery - Seed formation

• When testing the surroundings in the space between the back and front
• Do you experience a space or a surface?
• Do you experience it with your body or with your soul?
• Do you experience it as light-filled, warm & wide or which qualities do you experience? Is it the same every day?
• Can you pay attention to the following when practicing:
• The movement in the arms when going out, turning and returning.
• You are in the surrounding space from the beginning and make contact to it with the hands.
• The most important part of the exercise consists of coming in and arriving.
• What do you do with your body that enables you to have the feeling of bringing something along when coming in?
• Do you manage to perceive into the inner space in your hands?
• Do you notice that you unwittingly feel a roundness when feeling into the hands?
• What do you do to avoid this?
• How does this affect your inner calm?

B2    Connecting A-E-I to AI

• In forming the three sounds A-E-I you are active with three very different types of movement which could be described as: Receiving – Crossing – Stretching.
• How strongly do you experience these qualities inwardly when doing the movement?
• Can you experience these qualities individually?
• … and the continuous process simultaneously?
• Is the quality of receiving from the start still present when stretching? If so, in what way?
• How do you experience the movement changes? Do you do them dreamily or do you have a strong perception?
• What do you notice when paying attention to the force fields in the body? When does which region feel addressed?
• When do countercurrents arise? Does a feeling of enlivening result? How does your breathing react?
• When paying attention to the resonance after practicing, are there feelings, thoughts, images or other after effects?

C2    A-E-I in the arms and legs

• How does it feel doing a sound-gesture with the arms and legs simultaneously? Do they complement one another?
• Can you describe the structuring force of the A, the E and the I in the legs, as you experience it?
• What experiences do you have when you try to avoid guiding the legs with the arms but rather guide the arms with the force of the legs? Do you manage this just as well?
• With your legs, you are connected to the space below. The arms may unfold themselves in different zones and make gestures below, in the middle, and above.

How does this influence the interplay of legs and arms? Have you experimented with this?

Exercise texts

A2    Coming in from the periphery, Seed formation

Feel into the surroundings. Slowly stream in from the periphery. The hands mirror this process and form two hollows which you can feel from within. Repeat the process and arrive at a deeper layer of yourself each time.

Video: Eurythmy gesture for the Moon 

B2    Connecting A – E – I to AI

In streaming down on the left and right, experience the quality of the A in crossing the quality of the E and, in continuing further down and up, that of I.

Videos: Basic gesture of I  and  The A from above

C2    A-E-I in the arms and legs

Form an A in the legs and in the arms. Pay attention that the arms lead the leg and experience the structuring force of the sound in your body. Do the same with E and I.

D2    Sympathy - Antipathy, expressed through legs and body

Stand on your left leg. The right foot can move freely. Very, very slowly stroke the floor forward with the right foot without putting weight on it. Come back to the center very, very slowly. Stand relaxed on both feet and wait until both legs feel equal again. Now do the same stroking backwards and returning. Stand relaxed on both feet and wait until both legs feel equal again. Repeat the exercise.

Videos: Sympathy - Antipathy Part 1