Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 0e530d86d82ee91f40d11b1e127f896f9f28f469e333a19e83219a2ccccd679a

# Island of Healing Circle

Participants visualize a personal place of calm or safety while standing around a rope perimeter, then physically step inside the circle together. The group completes the exercise with brief voluntary reflections on the shift in atmosphere.

**Time:** 10 minutes. UWT suggested duration based on a 10-minute mindfulness and reflection band
**People:** 4 to 24. Single circle around a rope boundary

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Allow participants to transition into a shared meeting space using private mental imagery and a deliberate physical step.
**Use it when:** Use at the start of an intense retreat, reflective debrief, or wellness workshop when people need to pause and settle their attention.
**Skip it when:** Skip if the team requires active analytical debate immediately or if participants object to mindfulness and guided imagery exercises.

## Materials and tools

- One 30-foot to 50-foot length of rope tied into a closed loop

## Before participants arrive

1. Clear a central floor area large enough for the full group to stand outside and inside the loop.
2. Lay the tied rope loop flat in an open circular shape on the floor.

## Say this to open

We will take the next few minutes to pause and bring our focus into the room. Please gather around the outside of this rope circle, leaving a little space between yourself and your neighbors. You will not need to share anything private.

## How to run it

### 1. Gather at the perimeter (2 minutes)

Invite participants to stand outside the rope loop, facing inward. Facilitator speaks the opening script and asks everyone to take an upright, relaxed stance with feet grounded.

### 2. Guide private visualization (3 minutes)

Invite participants to close their eyes or soften their gaze toward the floor. Offer neutral prompts: 'Think of a place where you feel calm and at ease. Notice what that place looks like, what sounds might be there, and what the air feels like around you.' Maintain silence for 60 seconds.

### 3. Step into the island (2 minutes)

Invite participants to open their eyes. Instruct them: 'When you are ready, bring that feeling of calm with you and take one deliberate step across the rope into the center.' Allow everyone to step in at their own pace until all standing inside the rope share the space in silence for 30 seconds.

### 4. Optional closing reflection (3 minutes)

Facilitator offers two debrief questions. Invite up to three volunteers to share a one-sentence observation about entering the circle. Close the activity.


## Debrief questions

- What shifted for you physically or mentally when you stepped across the rope?
- What quality from your calm place do you want to keep present in our work today?

**Finished output:** The entire group gathered together inside the central circle, prepared for the next agenda item.

## Remote

Ask participants to mark a visible boundary on their own floor using a string, scarf, or belt. Guide the visualization over audio while cameras remain optional. On your cue, everyone steps over their physical line into their home circle and types one word describing their present focus into the meeting chat.

## Hybrid

In-person participants gather around the physical rope loop while a room camera shows the circle. Remote participants lay their own small loop beside their desk. Remote and in-person participants step across their respective boundaries simultaneously. Take one reflection from the room and one from the chat.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may sit comfortably just outside the perimeter and roll or shift forward across the line.
- Closing eyes is completely optional; looking softly at the ground is encouraged.
- Sharing during the reflection step is voluntary; participants may remain silent without giving a reason.

## If the session gets stuck

**A participant feels uncomfortable closing their eyes or visualizing.**

Remind the group before beginning that keeping eyes open and focusing on a fixed spot on the floor is completely fine.

**The rope circle is too crowded for the group size.**

Expand the rope loop before starting so everyone has at least half an arm length of personal space once inside.


## Terms used here

- Perimeter: The outer boundary formed by the rope on the floor.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playmeo documentation, which attributes the activity to Richard Maizell.

Retained the core mechanic from Playmeo and Richard Maizell (forming a rope circle, standing on the perimeter, guiding a safe place visualization, and stepping inside). Added specific group size limits, timing breakdown, a structured script, explicit opt-outs for closed eyes and personal disclosure, and remote and hybrid adaptations.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/health-wellbeing/island-of-healing-circle)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/health-wellbeing/island-of-healing-circle/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/mindful-well-being-activity-for-groups-island-of-healing-circle/