Sophrology and art

Sophrology museum
Sophrology and art

Sophrology aims to achieve better self-knowledge. It is a search for well-being which promotes the conditions for mental balance in the service of a process of awakening and personal development.

It shares with art therapy the emergence of a new consciousness.

Sophrology appeared in the 1960s and continues to grow.

Its first principle is self-kindness.
Its objective is to help people live.

It can relieve stress and many other annoyances in our current societies.

Sophrology is practiced in sessions prepared with the patient.
Positive visualization is at the heart of the care process.
From sos (harmonious), phrenos (consciousness) and logos (organizing reason), sophrology could be translated as: “the experience of harmonious consciousness”.

This discipline is at the crossroads of two conceptions, one Western, with hypnosis and relaxation techniques, and the other Eastern, with meditation and yoga.

Photo by Craig Adderley

 

The origin of sophrology

In the sixties, Alfonso Caycedo was a Colombian psychiatrist living and working in Madrid. During a trip to India, he trained in oriental relaxation techniques. He met the Dalai Lama and it was upon returning from this journey that he had the idea of ​​a new westernized therapeutic approach.

Sophrology was born and its goal would be full awareness outside of religious considerations and other beliefs. In 1988, Alfonso Caycedo extended his technique with a more spiritual aim, creating Caycedian sophrology .

Quickly, other methods will be associated such as:

The Coué method (positive thinking) which can be associated with positive visualization. ( Émile Coué , 1857 – 1926)

Progressive relaxation (invented by Dr. Edmund Jacobson in the early 1920s)” (method of releasing muscle tension)

“Schultz autogenic training ” (self-relaxation through suggestion) (Doctor Schultz was a psychiatrist between 1910 and 1932). He developed a physical and mental relaxation technique, which is still used today in sports medicine and stress management.

Phenomenology (learning non-judgment),

Yoga (stimulation of breathing and muscle relaxation)

Zen (meditation practice).

Philosophical aspects

The demand for self-knowledge is at the origin of the thought of Socrates and Plato. Self-consciousness in Aristotle has the meaning of knowledge of one's own state of consciousness. The awareness of feeling, thinking and living is inextricably linked to the very act of feeling, thinking and living.

The Stoics focused on awareness of oneself as a rational or moral being (consientia in Seneca).

For Plotinus, the content of consciousness and self-knowledge coincide in the coherent image of the mind or reason. In his analysis of human self-reflection, Augustine asserts that all knowledge of objects external to oneself is uncertain. However, what we experience, perceive and want is very real. Augustine's “cogito” is the knowledge of oneself as acting.

Thomas Aquinas thinks that man can only be aware of his existence indirectly, through the work of the intellect. Although self-awareness was an important internal phenomenon in ancient and medieval times, in modern philosophy it has come to be seen as a necessary principle, even a prerequisite for human freedom.

For René Descartes, one of the essential characteristics of consciousness is that if you are aware of a fact, then you are also aware of what you think. From this follows the thesis of the transparency of consciousness, that is to say that consciousness is fully and perfectly aware of its content.

In Kant's transcendental philosophy, self-awareness across time was a necessary condition for all knowledge. Indeed, consciousness of an object (as well as of oneself) appears as a synthesis of sensory impressions which always exist in a temporal order. Hegel rejects the idea of ​​a pure and immediately given self-consciousness. He believes that self-awareness is the result of reflection. This so-called “reflexive” model of consciousness played an important role in the 1800s and 1900s. Husserl also rejected the pure Kantian Self in his early writings. But, in his latest work, he moved closer to Descartes.

In Heidegger and Wittgenstein, the relationship between the self and the exterior is a practical, moral relationship, as in Kierkegaard.

Principle of sophrology

See your life as it is with kindness and lucidity; this is the ambition that we can aim for with sophrology. It allows us to understand an objective reality of ourselves in our relationships with the world around us.

Consciousness enables self-knowledge

Consciousness is man's ability to think about what he experiences, and therefore to think about himself. We can thus admit that being aware of oneself is equivalent to self-knowledge. However, while consciousness undoubtedly allows us to know that we exist, it does not necessarily allow us to know what we are.

Everyone wants to know who he is. If you don't have self-awareness, you risk getting lost and getting involved in projects that don't suit you. Also to say words that you will regret later. Not knowing yourself and having illusions about your abilities and nature, and this inevitably leads to failure.

Social conditioning of consciousness

There is a link between one's awareness of oneself and one's living conditions.

  • The first value that allows introspection is education. A child left to his own devices without educational support is incapable of taking care of himself later. We are social beings and our identity comes from this.
  • The second value concerns our material conditions of existence. If we are from morning until evening caught in a gear of subsistence which does not leave the possibility of looking at ourselves, it is very difficult to think properly about ourselves.
  • The third essential value for knowing yourself better is obviously being able to think properly. Mental illness remains an incompatibility.

As we all know, our perception of the outside world fluctuates depending on our mental state. This is not a problem if this perception has little negative impact on our health and morale. Losing sleep or even being in a bad mood is, however, a daily handicap. Sophrology can help us.

But how ?

Through the discovery and practice of an awareness of our body and our mind seen as a single entity. The goal is to regain harmony between mind and body to potentially develop a positive relationship with the outside world.

There are two main trends in sophrology today:

A sophrology faithful to the original principles, which we consider as a therapy.

A form of well-being pedagogy called Caycedian Sophrology , from the name derived from its inventor (Caycedo). It is defined as an aid to existence.

Three levels of practice:

  • Improving concentration and perception of one's body;
  • Strengthening self-image;
  • Meditation.

Sophrology for what objectives?

Sophrology can relieve a large number of problems. Some are functional, and others, psychological in origin.

Let us distinguish two approaches:

One is therapeutic, which improves the management of phobias, such as motion sickness, but also addictions or pain. Controlling the intensity of pain is as physiological as it is psychological. It is undoubtedly one of the greatest successes of sophrology to be particularly effective in supporting heavy treatments (cancer, orphan diseases, etc.). Its action also addresses symptoms linked to stress, such as insomnia, digestion problems, back pain, etc.

The other aims for personal change. Sophrology helps you relax and release accumulated tension. It encourages us to adopt a better state of consciousness in the face of stress generated in particular by the world of work, the constraints of daily life or life in general. During a significant change such as an emotional breakup or the loss of a loved one, sophrology encourages and helps to reconnect with one's existence. In addition, it is also very beneficial for caregivers who often forget themselves in the turmoil that surrounds them. From a lighter perspective, the discipline helps to obtain better concentration for athletes and students during exam periods. Through its breathing techniques, it can also play an important role during childbirth.

Sophrology and sleep

Sophrology is a gentle and natural method to better manage your nights. It offers an interesting response to sleep disorders.

Rediscovering breathing allows for rapid and lasting relief. Certain physical exercises help relax the body and mind. Positive visualization helps the brain sleep better.

Sophrology sessions invite you to become aware of your body and your emotions through mental images. People who suffer from insomnia need to remember that they focus too much on their thoughts. And the more they think about it, the harder it is to fall asleep. Stress and ruminations are frequently the causes of sleep problems. It is therefore important to relieve this stress. Sophrology can help you learn to manage the stress of the day that causes insomnia.

Sophrology during pregnancy, why not?

Sophrology allows you to experience your pregnancy better on a psychological level with better acceptance of the physical changes of the future mother. (weight gain, fatigue, back pain, etc.) In addition, positive anticipation of birth makes parents calmer on the day of delivery by removing worries and recalling the happiness of the arrival of a child. The birth will be more peaceful.

A better delivery experience

Sophrology you to relax. This allows you to recover peacefully between each contraction .

Through self-knowledge at the bodily level, awareness of one's capabilities also ensures good oxygenation and promotes natural growth. The work phases will be facilitated. When you are more relaxed, the fabrics stretch, with less risk of tearing.

The practice of sophrology

The sessions generally take place as follows.

    • An introduction through a dialogue in order to clarify the objectives at the end of the session.
    •  Then come the “dynamic relaxation” exercises with breathing and positive visualization instructions in particular. The patient must free himself from his tensions in order to listen to his sensations and precisely to what the body sends back to him. He must approach the situation that concerns him with a new awareness in order to de-dramatize it and be able to handle it more effectively.
    •  Finally, a debriefing time is planned at the end of the session. It is a moment which facilitates the analysis of feelings and which prepares the rest of the treatment. Future goals are identified. Sometimes the therapist gives the person exercises to do at home.

Sophrology and art therapy

Less known, art plays an increasingly significant role alongside sophrology. The amalgamation of the two disciplines makes sophrology more complete and effective.

Art therapy stimulates creative capacity. The sophrologist, who attaches essential importance to dialogue, finds with this method a new field of expression. Stimulating creative potential is one of the bases of sophrology. Indeed, some people express themselves more easily with a pencil or a brush than with words. Sophrology and art therapy then combine perfectly and allow the patient to achieve an expressive substitution beyond words.

These two disciplines practiced together are likely to channel internal tensions. All exercise with pleasure, which encourages letting go, and provides a feeling of well-being.

Sophrology offers a multitude of techniques that act on our state of mind and our desire for discovery. She offers us tools to be present to ourselves. This discipline makes us more receptive to the world of art.

What is positive visualization?

The way our brain works is such that it makes no difference between what we actually experience and what we imagine. Who among us has never woken up with a start, truly believing we are living our dream? Now, we know, the same brain regions are in action when we experience a situation or when we imagine it. In both cases, the motor areas of the cortex are activated. According to the latest studies carried out in neuroscience, the areas activated in the brain during visualization are the same as those activated when faced with a real stimulus.

It is possible to condition yourself in a positive way through mental images. Visualization is the mental ability to represent an object, a landscape, a sound, a smell, a situation, even an emotion or a sensation. This representation triggers the same physiological effects as during a concretely experienced event.

Visualization stimulates the right hemisphere of the brain and sends nerve messages from the cortex to the autonomic nervous system. The aim of visualization during sophrology sessions is therefore to “trick” the brain. We present him with positive situations that he will believe in. Neuroimaging research confirms this: seeing and imagining activate the same areas of the brain.

Imagining pleasant places or events has a positive effect on our mind. With the use of positive visualization , sophrology has seized this powerful psychic lever. It is now part of his treatment arsenal along with breathing and relaxation techniques.

The sophrologist offers positive visualization exercises in his therapeutic method. It allows the patient to feel the emotions of a previously decided scenario. A walk in the countryside or on a beach by the ocean. Discoveries in brain imaging have demonstrated that for the brain, there is no difference between what is experienced and what is imagined.

Sophrology is a very widespread practice throughout the world. It has acquired a prominent place as a well-being discipline, like yoga.

Although it is difficult to affirm or deny its effectiveness on a scientific level, sophrology has accompanied the daily lives of many people around the world for sixty years.

It is now part of alternative care practices in multiple countries.

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