Read Dominique Antiglio’s latest interview with Live Well London on Sophrology and how it differs from mindfulness and meditation. Read it here

The Life-Changing Power of Sophrology launched in the US, almost exactly a year since its UK debut in 2018. So much has been happening and it has been an exciting journey talking about Sophrology to new audiences.

The book has been so well received in the United States and it is absolutely thrilling to be able to share the power of Sophrology with many more people so that they will enjoy its benefits. It has also been so humbling that my personal story resonates with others, who can relate with the struggles of adolescence and the challenges of balancing work and family life in adult years. Modern life is so hectic and we may not always have time for reflection but thanks to Sophrology we can all carve out a few minutes from our busy schedules to regroup, relax and start to choose what we want to get out of our lives.

Sophrology Set to Be the Biggest Well-being Trend in the US

For time-poor Americans finding an effective way to manage stress can be a lifesaver. Chronic stress has been linked to a number of degenerative diseases from heart failure to cancer. Work-related stress can be one of the main sources of anxiety, and studies have found that stressful jobs can cause health complaints. It is therefore important to find ways to manage stress naturally and effectively, especially because federal surveys found that a large number of Americans rely on tranquillisers, and there have been many cases of people becoming addicted to them. In 2016 it was discovered in a federal survey that almost 120 millions of Americans take prescribed painkillers, tranquillisers and sedatives.

Mindfulness and meditation are well known in the US to help manage stress, but there is always scope for more techniques to improve mental health and overall wellness. Sophrology is well-positioned to offer support to those who experience anxiety and are looking for natural ways to reduce tension.

Most of us feel stressed and/or irritable, and it’s a sign that the body is telling us that something is out of balance and we should take a step back. Sophrology offers a choice of exercises to help release tension by acknowledging and processing your emotions and deciding to let them go through breathing work.

I was absolutely delighted to talk to a number of American podcast and radio hosts who are so knowledgeable about mindfulness and relaxation techniques and understand the importance of self-development. They understood how Sophrology is unique and can be useful in stressful situations and how anyone can do it, including children. You can listen to a few of the interviews with US hosts where I talk about Sophrology and how people can benefit from it; for example my interview on Thrive with Morella, All About Healing on HealthyLife.net Radio or my interview with Monique Chapman on Get Over It! podcast.

How Sophrology Works

Sophrology helps you tune into your inner strength, your body’s energy and resilience. It’s a method that allows you to apply mindfulness techniques to build self-awareness and reconnect with body and mind. With Sophrology you learn to pay attention to the body and its subtle signals, and to live every experience in both mind and body. If you lack confidence or feel stuck in your life you may benefit from doing Sophrology body awareness exercises, guiding you to listen to your body and understand what has been happening in your life to facilitate healing. A lack of body awareness means that we are experiencing a disconnection between mind and body, which brings us to ignore physical pain or not understand where it is coming from.

Practising Sophrology on a regular basis can help shift some energy blockages that can result in physical symptoms. For example, when I was a teenager I had some unexplained illnesses and was prone to fatigue, infections and irregular blood pressure. It was only when my doctor recommended I try Sophrology that I started to feel better, as I discovered that emotional stress was the main cause of my fatigue. The Sophrology exercises helped me reconnect with the sensations in my body through my breath, easing each and every body part into a sense of relaxation. I had been carrying so much tension in my body and I didn’t realise it until I started practising Sophrology!

Sophrology gives you a toolset that includes processes and exercises to do on a daily basis.

It’s not about following a strict routine but about making the time in the day when you can to squeeze in a little practice, because our lives can be very busy! It doesn’t have to be the same time each day or commit to a whole hour of exercises. You can even be walking outside or be sitting on a train, and still be able to do your Sophrology practice.

Why Try Sophrology?

We can all benefit from quieting our minds and release the tension from our bodies for a few minutes a day. Sophrology uses breathing to induce a sense of relaxation: breathing is universal and shared across different techniques, but it’s the way Sophrology harness the power of breathing that is unmatched. The uniqueness of Sophrology lies in its progressive journey over 12 levels, although you don’t have to go through all of them to enjoy its benefits. It’s about connecting positively with your body and find more confidence and positivity by grounding yourself in your body. It’s about realising your mind’s potential, its resourcefulness. Another unique aspect of Sophrology is the focus on values, your contribution to the world, what makes you live your life with intention and using all your talents so you can share them with others.

Get a copy of The Life-Changing Power of Sophrology and find out how this simple technique can make a huge positive impact on your life.

I was 15 when I stepped out of my doctor’s office, with a “prescription” to try Sophrology. “Soph-what?” I thought, not knowing it would become a very familiar word in my vocabulary.

After months of unexplained fatigue and feeling run down, and fainting episodes, I was ready to try anything to help me get better. Sophrology was already a popular practice in Switzerland, where I lived, particularly among athletes to improve their sporting performance. You can read more about my story and my experience with Sophrology in my book The Life-Changing Power of Sophrology.

What I found so beneficial about using Sophrology at a young age was its effectiveness and how gentle it was in restoring balance within my mind and body. It didn’t require learning complicated techniques and I felt the practitioner really listened to me and understood what I was experiencing and then tailoring the practice to my age and needs.

Over the years, Sophrology has been my companion: it helped me overcome health issues in my early life, stay calm and focused during exams at school and at university, it kept me grounded during my solo travels in Asia, it gave me resilience when I moved from Switzerland to London and started my business and prepared my body and mind for the birth of my beautiful son. The list, of course, goes on, but this is simply to show you how powerful this practice is and how you can apply it in any area of your life.

Sophrology Any Time, Anywhere

Sometimes we make plans to attend evening classes, maybe we make New Year’s resolutions to learn a new skill but we simply run out of time and out of steam. Finding the time to do things we enjoy doing can be a challenge, but thanks to technology we can access so much information, even learn a new language from an app.

It may seem strange to use technology to learn how to relax when so many of us need to go on a “digital detox” to become less addicted to our smartphones. However, the main difference here is how we use technology and putting very precise limitations around it.

Using an online course means you will only need to be connected for half an hour, and the sessions are conducted mostly with your eyes closed while your mind will be focused on following the rhythm of your breathing, the awareness of your body and creating new images on your inner screen. It’s more of an inner journey rather than being a passive spectator like when you watch TV.

In other words, and as I describe it in my book, Sophrology makes you feel that you are in the driving seat of your life instead of feeling like you are the victim of your circumstances.

BeSophro Online Course

Sophrology gives you a set of simple tools that you can use when you need a boost: for example, to face a challenging situation, improve your sleep or to re-energise when you feel tired.

We all have unlimited and untapped potential within ourselves: we can access it when we reach a relaxed state that we call the “Sophroliminal state”. That’s where our consciousness is and we can tap into it to get the inner resources we need.

Sophrology gives you the ability to look at a problem that has been troubling you from a different perspective, and sometimes this can help you find a solution or, at least, stop fretting about it.

The BeSophro online Sophrology course is structured over five sessions of 30 minutes each. All the sessions include a guided Sophrology practice. Its aim is to give you simple Sophrology tools to overcome stress and create the life you want to live with no self-doubt and more confidence, and being open to opportunities.

The course will take you on a journey starting from working with your breath and Sophrology body scans, then showing you how you can easily let go of tension in your mind using body awareness. You will learn how to tap into the positive and endless potential of your consciousness to start transforming your daily life notably using visualisation. The course will show you that you are much more than your stress and how to tap into your true potential and find the clarity you need to move forward in a positive way. During the whole course, you will also be encouraged to write about your experience in each session. You may notice a difference in the way you feel, the way you look at the world around you, the way you embrace each day. Any change, big or small, will equip you with vital information about the progress you are making.

We all experience difficulties from time to time, but having a simple tool to access strength and a positive mind-set can make a difference to our quality of life.

Ultimately the aim of a Sophrology practice is to support you in your daily life and make your life more enjoyable. Sophrology helps to us to feel happy, relaxed and fulfilled.

So, don’t delay – sign up for the BeSophro online course and become the best version of yourself!

Listen to Dominique’s interview with Head Talks about Sophrology and the power of the mind-body connection. Thank you Head Talks and Katie Phillips.