Shiatsu and sophrology are special techniques for purifying emotional health. The latter technique is used in psychotherapy to achieve emotional balance. The mechanism of sophrology is used to relieve pain, to manage states of anxiety, fear and depression. The technique has also proved effective in preparing people mentally for exams, sports competitions and insomnia.
This technique includes a range of physical and mental exercises, from breathing exercises, mental activation strategies and body movements. Shiatsu massage is more than just a relaxation massage. This type of massage involves the stimulation of acupressure points, which brings numerous benefits to the body.
Summary:
- Sophrology, the art of protecting your emotional health
- Shiatsu and sophrology improve connection with the body’s needs
1. Sophrology, the art of protecting your emotional health
The incidence of stress in our lives is inevitable. When stress hormone levels are too high, our bodies send out harmful signals such as high blood pressure, increased heart rate, accelerated blood flow and respiratory blockages.
The science called sophrology helps us to become aware of our emotions and use our negative ones in a new direction. It can be about improving concentration power, performance, optimising creativity, achieving sports performance, etc. Sports champions believe that the merits of success are dedicated to mental training to a greater extent than physical training. In other words, a well-trained athlete could be beaten by an opponent who is less well trained but who has been able to overcome stress and tension and stay focused on winning.
It should be noted that sophrology does not replace drug treatment, but rather acts as an alternative therapy to improve emotional health. This technique can be carried out in the presence of a therapist, but some people prefer to try it individually.
Exercises are used to create a connection with different areas of the body. These are correlated with movements to tense and relax muscles. Whether you have a stressful lifestyle or suffer from sleep disorders, sophrology can help you ward off the effects of stressors, focus on the things that really matter and achieve an overall state of contentment.
If you choose to experience sophrology in private, then tackle a series of exercises designed to mentally prepare you for better sleep. Start with something simple. Lie in bed and begin to become aware of every sensation in your body. It can be the contact of your skin with the fabric of your clothes, the points of contact between your body parts and your mattress. You can easily combine sophrology exercises with deep tissue massage which removes deep muscle stress. A heated massage chair works on the most sensitive areas, where the stress accumulated over the day turns into pain, namely the legs and shoulder blades.
Once you’re out of the massage chair, you can return to your relaxation exercises. Lie down in bed, close your eyes, detach yourself from the day’s accumulated emotions and focus on your breathing. Breathe from your abdomen, relax your shoulders and facial muscles and hold it for a few minutes. When you feel relaxed, start moving your fingers, limbs, stretch your muscles and only at the end open your eyes.
The sophrological mechanism focuses on other areas of the body, ignoring the painful ones. This would be one of the differentiators from conventional therapies. Sophrological reasoning is based on the idea that when our body hurts, our psyche automatically suffers too. So we need to apply exercises to help us stay connected to our body’s vital functions (breathing, heartbeat) to protect our emotional state.
2. Shiatsu and sophrology improve connection with the body’s needs
This massage is said to be an ancient technique that releases the flow of chi or energy force in the body. This Massage gives an excellent general state of being that can last for several days. Shiatsu massage primarily focuses on the meridians of the human body. By stimulating these energy points which are connected to various organs in the body, the latter are strengthened to effectively combat illness by eliminating toxins.
One of the major benefits of Shiatsu and sophrology is to reduce hypertension, as well as combat blood flow blockages. This massage presses on those energy points that communicate directly with various organs in your body. Stimulation of these points removes toxins from the blood, muscular stress, circulatory blockages and nervousness associated with these physical discomforts.
During sleep, the body replenishes energy sources, regulates body functions and focuses on the immune system’s defence function. In this sense, the 7-8 hours of sleep are essential to keep both a common cold and more serious illnesses at bay.
Insufficient sleep alters levels of leptin and ghrelin, hormones that regulate appetite. That’s why when we’re tired we feel the need to compensate for low energy by eating sugar, fast food, fried foods and fats. In conclusion, lack of sleep not only makes us weaker in the face of disease, but also affects eating habits that promote overweight. Sleep deprivation weakens pain tolerance and the body’s protective barrier against disease. People with a poor sleep schedule are at high risk of obesity and autoimmune diseases.
Conclusion
If you’re having trouble falling asleep or waking up for no reason during the night, your body is most likely trying to tell you something. It could be a medical condition, poor nutrition, poor stress management and the list goes on. Try shiatsu and sophrology to prepare your mind for rest. If the problem of insomnia persists, then it’s best to seek specialist advice.
