Sophrology in English

WHAT IS SOPHROLOGY?

Sophrology is a structured method of personal development designed to reduce stress and promote mental and physical well-being. This is achieved through easy-to-do physical movements and mental visualisations that, when practised regularly, lead to a healthy, relaxed body and a calm, alert mind. The movements are called dynamic relaxation (relaxation in movement) and can be done any time, anywhere.

The word Sophrology comes from ancient Greek:

• SOS = serenity, harmony
• PHREN = spirit, consciousness
• LOGOS = science, study

Sophrology can be described as the study of  harmony within the consciousness. Difficult life situations like traumas, bad health, professional frustrations – to mention but a few – can bring us into a state of unrest and disharmony. Sophrology’s goal is to bring us back closer to a state of healthy balance in both the body and the mind.  It is a surprizingly pragmatic tool that can help us face a vast scope of different difficulties that we can encounter (some of which are listed below) and it functions often by simply helping us to get past our habitual judgments, negative thought patterns and our false or limiting beliefs. One of the natural and welcome consequences of training oneself in the techniques of sophrology is offering onself the chance to either discover or confirm one’s deepest existential values. What matters most to me in life? What am I doing with my life? Where am I going with this lifestyle?

Such questions and many more may come to the surface and through a relaxed and positive approach, the answers start to come…

The first benefits people generally notice are: more restful sleep, improved concentration, fewer worries, increased self-confidence, and a feeling of inner calm. 

PRINCIPLES, TECHNIQUES AND BENEFITS

Three fundamental principles

• To bring the person into present time, HERE and NOW
• To reinforce positive action, in order to develop the positive elements of the present, the future and the past rather than focusing on the negative
• To develop an objective reality, to learn how to see the things more as they are rather than how we think they are.

Techniques and methods

• Specific techniques and exercises (sophronisations): practised especially in individual sessions, they are numerous and selected according to level, needs and relevance (concentration on an internal stimulus, positive projection into the future or the past, etc.) with immediate or short-term objectives.
• Dynamic Relaxation: A term used to describe the exercises designed to promote relaxation and focus in everyday life.

Benefits

Sophrology is made up of a training programme of practices aimed at improving physical and psychological health and well-being known as Sophrology Training. The mental and physical exercises are based on the concept of dynamic relaxation (relaxation in movement) used in everyday life situations. Their benefits:

• Lower stress levels
• Improve sleep
• Manage emotions
• Improve concentration
• Increase energy levels
• Overcome phobias
• Manage pain
• Improve relationship with oneself and others
• Improve self-esteem and self confidence
• Harmony between one’s mind, body and soul

Sophrology assists each person to rediscover their self-confidence and hidden potential. Group classes bring improvements in one’s communication skills and inter-personal relations. Students have stronger resistance to stressful situations, whether mental or physical. Since they have many more choices of how to act and react, it is easier to break out of old habitual patterns into more successful ways of operating.

The practice also leads to inner and outer awareness, leading to lucid moments of “being as one, being in the flow, living in the now.”

We live in a more demanding and tougher society, where it is a challenge to find one’s own space everyday. Therefore, it has become essential to get to know oneself , deep inside who we are, and reach balance and harmony in our body and mind.

I am a qualified sophrologist and my ambition is to bring this wonderful method to you, who live in France and speak English, and who is eager to step back, let go and enjoy life in the world with others. I believe in people and values, in the unity of body and mind, and in our own power. Sophrology is about being relaxed and happy in our daily lives – something we all aspire to. Let us open our mind and recover the pleasure and simplicity of being Here and Now.