How lack of confidence can affect your life*  

Not having the confidence to confront issues at work or with your family can have a negative effect on your health and well-being. We don’t want to dwell on the negative, but these are some factors that we need to consider when we don’t feel confident in our lives:

  • we may not ask for what we want (a job promotion, a pay rise, a new relationship, divorce)
  • we don’t use our inner resources and don’t achieve our true potential
  • we don’t perform well at major events (job interviews, important speeches and presentations, exams)
  • as mothers we don’t feel prepared for or fear giving birth
  • as parents we feel daunted by the responsibilities
  • we might not be able to deal with our emotions
  • we might feel insecure about our body image

We want to be in the driving seat in our lives and to do so we need to block out the noise of the outside world and reconnect with our selves, with our own centre.

To reach our goals or dreams we need to define what we want out of life.

What is Sophrology and how it can help to build confidence

Sophrology was created by neuro-psychiatrist Professor Alfonso Caycedo in Madrid in 1960. Professor Caycedo wanted to help psychiatric patients with other forms of therapies to improve their quality of life. The foundation of Sophrology lies in his studies of consciousness and how to achieve more balance. Sophrology uses different tools from visualisation, body awareness exercises to breathing to reach a sense of well-being.

Professor Caycedo studied yoga, meditation and Japanese Zen as well as relaxation techniques, phenomenology and psychology. Some of these principles are an integral part of the 12 levels of Sophrology also called Caycedian Dynamic Relaxation. Sophrology aims to develop your consciousness and your inner resources while helping you create more inner strength and abilities. 

Let’s look at how Sophrology works to help build your confidence:

Learn to be in the driving seat

When you lack in confidence you lose your inner centre when facing challenging situations; in other words, you tend to give too much importance to what other people think, how they react, how they judge you. The outside world overtakes your inner world and you may end up feeling overwhelmed. However, these are feelings and our interpretations of events; we might create worst case scenarios in our heads and lose a sense of perspective.

Sophrology allows you to be more present within yourself and through repetition of your Sophrology practice you can become more aware of your body, and feel more in control of your reactions to events and perceptions. A regular Sophrology practice can help you drown out the noise and understand which thoughts belong to you and which thoughts belong to others; you learn to take responsibility for your thoughts and actions while learning to deal with stress.

Transform fear into motivation

Fear can stop us from being truly happy. It is a strong emotion, so why not harness its energy to create a positive challenge within ourselves? We can learn to grow our awareness and presence and learn to dare more. It all starts with acting as you are confident. You can dare failing and you can dare learning.

With Sophrology you can prepare for specific events using powerful visualisations, allowing the brain to envisage a positive outcome. Dare to open up to more opportunities in your future.

Confidence is not only in the mind but also in developing better body awareness. The mind affects the body and vice versa.

Using Sophrology exercises, and notably through our breath we can learn to identify what causes stress in the body and deal with it.

Through a regular Sophrology practice we can program the body to access its inner resources so that we are prepared when we confront a specific situation or event. We also learn to accept the body as it is.

Accept what is:

Non-judgement

Over time we may become stuck with our old beliefs and inherited behaviors.

The way to move forward from there is to start from the here and now. Through breathing and dynamic relaxation exercises, we learn to focus on the present and drown our inner critical voice.

Be in the moment

Being in the moment is about presence, creating balance in mind, body and emotions. We tend to live too much in our heads, imagining situations, fearing events, being concerned by what other people say.

Learning to be more present in our bodies, listening to it and connecting with it allows us to shed the remnants of our past that may slow us down or limit us.

Knowing yourself and working on your values will ultimately create a sense of inner confidence, because once you become aware of your core values it will become easier to make decision.

This is how Sophrology can help you. It is a structured and practical approach to self-development. The exercises are simple and deep. Sophrology is for everyone, no matter your age, physical capacities or background.

For more information or to book a Sophrology session with Dominique, please call the clinic on 0203 659 2711 or email info@highgateholisticclinic.com.

*Excerpt from http://www.be-sophro.co.uk/how-sophrology-can-help-increase-confidence/ – used with permission