P., 8 sessions over 6 months
P. has a history of chest oppression and disturbed sleep when he has to talk to an audience. After 2 sessions, he feels more relaxed for a few hours. At session 3, he practices on his own every day. The thoracic oppression disappears. After the 7th session, he recovers a restful sleep.
B., 6 sessions over 4 months
B. starts sophrology to help her stop smoking. « I came across sophrology a year ago as a technique to help me stop smoking. I am very satisfied by the results. The sophrologic techniques that I learnt at the time still help me to release my tensions for a better daily balance »
T., 6 sessions over 2 months
C. is an 8-year-old boy who has nightmares and has been wetting his bed every night since the brutal death of a relative. After three sessions, without talking about his nightmares and wetting, everything is back to normal! We do three more sessions to consolidate these achievements and prepare him for the coming family move that is worrying him.
D., 5 sessions over 6 weeks
D., a 12-year-old girl, is biting her nails and fingers. After the fourth session, there is a noticeable change: “I still do it but now I am aware of it so I can stop it”. At the fifth session, she completely stops. Additionally, she finds great help using the abdominal breathing when at school. She used to be very stressed by exams and not perform as she should. Using the abdominal breathing techniques just before the exam, helps her be more concentrated and have a clearer view of the subject.
B., 4 sessions over 4 weeks
B. is a 10 year-old boy who is dyslexic. Since being diagnosed 2 years ago, he has been suffering from thoracic and abdominal pain. Doctors’ investigations are fruitless. He wets his bed regularly. His teacher finds him stressed. E. blames dyslexia for all his problems and is not very positive about his future.
After the 1st session: “I feel more relaxed, more comfortable.”
After the 2nd session: “When I cannot do my homework, I practice Sophrology. I feel calmer.”
After the 3rd session: “My dyslexia will not disappear completely. Before, it was that high (showing with his hand at shoulder level). It is now only that high (knee level). Now I can cope with it.”
F. 3 sessions over 3 weeks
F. is a 17 year-old pupil. A week before she took exams, she felt really bad, as if she had ‘flu although she had no fever. She thinks it was stress related. She has more exams to take and an oral exam in three weeks time, which is really important to her hopes of entering a business school.
“Sophrology helps me feeling calmer. I like the technique when I project myself forward onto the day of the oral and experience that day in advance.”
She passes her exams with honours and gets a place in the business school of her choice.
At the beginning of each session, I ask the child how he/she feels, whether he/she has noticed any changes since starting sophrology. Here are a few answers I got. I received each of them as a precious gift:
9-year-old C. « I have got new friends at school. »
9-year-old A. « I fall asleep more quickly. »
10-year- old E. « If I cannot do my homework, I practice sophrology and I feel calmer.»
9-year-old J. « Thanks to sophrology, I don’t think that I am stupid anymore. »
13-year-old A. « Now, I am in good spirits when I come back from school and I can start my homework easily.»
8-year-old M. « Now I sleep better. I am not tired anymore so I can play with my friends during the breaks.»
9-year-old T. « Now, I don’t fear maths anymore.»
16-year-old H. « I do not cry as much as I used to. It helps me to fall asleep at night. I use the breathing exercises before my school tests. I don’t feel « blank » anymore.»
11-year-old C. « Mummy got angry at me the other day. I felt like crying but then realised than I did not need to. »
13-year-old C. « I used the breathing exercises before a maths test. I felt a lot calmer. Before, I use to start very quickly and make a lot of mistakes in the first few questions. Now, I take my time, I breathe slowly and I have better grades. »
9-year-old A. “Now, at school, I have three friends. At home, my brother does not bother me anymore. I mean, he still comes into my bedroom but it does not bother me anymore.”
10-year-old B. “I am not better at maths but I don’t have tummy ache before maths tests as I used to and I get better grades.”