Mindful Sophrology

Wouldn't it be nice to give your mind a break and put it on pause? Forcing yourself not to think is almost impossible. According to research by Dr. Fred Luskin of Stanford University, a human being can have around 60,000 thoughts per day—and 90% of these are repetitive. And 70% to 80% of those are negative! Here's a short guided exercise to stop the chatter.

Are you dreading the new work week? Having dealt with the Sunday scaries, have you fallen straight into the Monday blues? Here's what you need to start the week with an energy boost to help you through the upcoming week!

The phrase "Monday Blues" is a common expression used to describe the feelings of stress or sadness that some people experience at the beginning of the workweek. But even if you are not stressed or sad, there are several reasons why our energy levels might drop on a Monday:

• Weekend habits: On weekends, we often stay up late and indulge in activities that can disrupt our sleep schedules. As a result, we may wake up feeling groggy and tired on Monday.
• Work-related stress: Stress and anxiety related to our job can manifest as physical fatigue.
• Lack of exercise: If you are less active on the weekends (sleeping in, binge-watching series, etc), your body may have a harder time starting up again on Monday.
• Poor nutrition: We may be more likely to indulge in junk food or alcohol, which can lead to sluggishness and fatigue
• Change in routine: Going back to work or school after a weekend can be a jarring change in routine, which can take a toll on energy levels.

Not everyone experiences a drop in energy levels on Mondays, and the reasons for fatigue can vary from person to person. Some people may enjoy the structure and routine of the workweek, or may simply not experience the same negative emotions associated with Mondays.

Making healthy lifestyle choices, such as getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, taking breaks, relaxing the mind, and eating a balanced diet, can help combat fatigue regardless of the day of the week.

#synchronizedbreathing #sophrology #mindfulness #mindfulmonday #mondayblues #sundayscaries #stressrelease #rechargefortheweek #energymeditation #visualizationexercise

We are not made to be "on" 24/7. Tight deadlines at work, commuting home in heavy traffic, screaming children... wouldn't it be great if we could retreat and escape when the pressure starts to build up?

This guided mindful Sophrology practice for self-protection and inner peace called The Protective Bubble is a visualisation technique for when you're feeling exhausted or overwhelmed, when you feel influenced by negativity coming from others, or when your inner critic doesn't leave your mind at rest. Or you can use this technique to simply take a moment for yourself, and retreat from the stress of daily life, weighing you down.

It can also be used as a tool for #emotionalregulation by giving you time to think before you react, to manage energy levels in #burnoutprevention or healing, for #settinghealthyboundaries in relation to the outside world, to reinforce #resilience, and to fall asleep.

The practice starts at 3:40'

#creatingcalm #mindfulness #sophrology #anxiety #retreat #visualization #positivepsychology

Performance anxiety can be absolutely crippling. It has nothing to do with how smart or well-prepared we are, it is all about feeling vulnerable and stressed about having to prove yourself to others, and being afraid to fail.

Anxiety is a feeling, secondary to the emotion of fear. A feeling is an emotion, to which we have attached a meaning, a thought, and a belief. I am #anxious because I am afraid (#emotion) that I will fail or not obtain my goal (#negativethought) because I am not good or smart enough (#limitingbelief).

This kind of self-induced pressure (the « I have to slay this or else ») makes our "fight-or-flight" mechanism kick in, resulting in physical symptoms like sweating, stomach pains, trembling, a fast pounding heart, rapid breathing,  etc.

In this podcast, you will find a guided anxiety relaxation meditation (starting at 7'45 ), to help you back to calm.

There are many different ways in which #Sophrology, #CBT, and #Mindfulness can help us with #performanceanxiety. You are very welcome to connect if you'd like to find out more.

Knowing that 60% of resolutions don't even make it through the first month and only 9 % of people successfully keep their resolutions, why not do things differently this year?

Instead of forcing ourselves to completely change ourselves to become better, let's first try letting go of what's getting in our way to live a satisfied and fulfilled life.

Meet the person you would like to be, with the qualities and capabilities that fit your values. And then set an intention, to become that person, one baby step at a time, by finding the right tools and the support you need to do that.

In this guided practice, combining mindfulness and sophrology I will help you release what no longer serves you and visualize a future self that feels authentic.

#authenticself #lettinggo #releasinganxiety #newbeginnings #intentionsetting #peerpressure #sophrology #mindfulness #hotairballoon #lâcherprise

Emotions shape our lives in powerful ways, they give us the ability to feel and experience the world around us. They influence us on many different levels and are closely linked to our thoughts, behaviors, and overall mental health.

With everything that has been going on in the world and in our lives lately, emotions can spin out of control. Whether provoked by an argument, feelings of professional or personal failure, or concerns, about our financial situation, our loved ones, or our future, our emotions can lead us to do or say things in the heat of the moment that we may later regret. 

Emotional regulation is the ability to manage our emotional responses. It is a skill we can learn and improve with practice. In this podcast, I'll guide you through the first step. 

Managing our emotions is not a let's make life easier for the people in our environment kind of thing, most of the benefits are for us.

Strong emotional intelligence, awareness and regulation skills will improve your long-term wellbeing, boost your confidence, enrich your personal relationships, give you better coping strategies, increase work performance, enhance your resilience and distress tolerance and lead to better overall health.

#emotionregulation #emotionmanagement #distresstolerance #mentalhealth #workplacewellbeing #wellnessatwork #sophrology #emotionalawareness #CBT #DBT #resilience #selfesteem #selfawareness #consciousliving 

Studies show a direct correlation between authenticity and mental health. Authenticity is linked to lower levels of anxiety, depression, and loss of behavioral and emotional control. People who cannot live from a true place of authenticity, have higher stress levels created in their minds and bodies. Being our true self leads to higher levels of happiness and fulfillment.

I have seen from personal experience how detrimental not being able to live an authentic life can be. "Just be you" may seem simple, but for a lot of people, it is not.  That's why you will find a guided meditation to reconnect with your Authentic Self, starting at 5.25. 

{ 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘴 ; 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 }

#authenticity #healthyboundaries #depression #emotionalregulation #mentalhealth #anxiety #stress #trueself #diversity #inclusivity 

Going back to school after the holidays is not always easy, especially when the whole world is still in turmoil. Children face numerous daily stressors that can negatively affect their learning and development. Unlike many of the colleagues in my area, I love working with children (and adolescents). They are just tiny humans, pretty much suffering from the same basic fears, doubts, and stressors as we do.  

And even though the form of those fears and stressors may be different, the way they are able to describe their expression in the body is no different from the way adults describe accumulated tension; heart palpitations, pressure on the chest, stomach aches, tummy upsets. 

Performing this mindfulness practice together, in an unforced, casual, fun way, will help them connect with their body, discover where negative emotions and feelings are stored, and relax from head to toe. Multiple studies have shown that practicing mindfulness (to increase self- and body awareness) improves children's attention span, motor skills, resilience to stress, self-esteem, and well-being. 

This practice only takes 10 to 15 minutes, and it is a great family bonding experience.  

#mindfulness #bodyscan #mindfulnessforkids #sophrology #backtoschool #emotionmanagementforkids #stressreduction #familytime 

When I first started meditating over 15 years ago, I had the hardest time not having all kinds of thoughts running through my mind. The harder I tried to stop the distracting thoughts the louder their voices became.

The same thing happens when we are stressed and try to repress our worries, we fall into the trap of rumination. It is one of the issues that my clients mention all the time - how can I stop my (negative) thinking?

There are many tools and practices available in Mindfulness, Sophrology, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help us with automatic negative thoughts.

In this podcast, I offer a guided meditation and a tool at the same time to help you observe your thoughts, distance yourself from them, and let them go.

#rumination #lettinggo #calmyourmind #pause #negativethoughts #automaticpilot #observe #meditationpractice

When we breathe normally, we don't use our lungs to their full capacity. With Breathwork having become so popular, let's discuss one of the most important, basic, and maybe even the most simple breathing technique there is, Diaphragmatic breathing, which allows us to use our lungs at 100%. Easy to learn and quick to implement. 

It has a ton of benefits and is proven to play an important role in recovering respiratory function in chronic pulmonary diseases. And you can do it in just 5 minutes a day and almost everywhere. This one is recorded on my home veranda, so enjoy the birds singing as well. 

Our bodies are very aware of seasonal changes, even if we don't realize it. Our head, our hair, our hormones all respond to spring's return.

Another change that happens in Spring is moving the clocks an hour forward into the artificially constructed Daylight Savings Time. A shift that has a bigger effect than we may realize.

Researchers found that Daylight saving time goes against our body’s circadian rhythm, deregulates our sleep-wake cycle, and can pose serious health risks, such as stroke and heart attack, especially in the week following the time change.

It’s important to recognize how seasonal changes and time changes, affect our bodies. While we can’t escape these changes, we can pay closer attention to our body's needs. That is why I have recorded this special guided “Feel Good” mindfulness meditation, to help you reconnect to your body and resource.

Today we are going to profoundly relax our bodies and our minds.

Our physical health and our emotional health are intimately intertwined in what is known as the mind-body connection. In Sophrology we make use of this connection and the way our body responds to stress by increasing our present body awareness. Where does, what affects you on a daily basis, physically, mentally, or emotionally, express itself in your body?

One way to improve the mind-body connection is by meditating. Mindfulness meditation techniques are incorporated in Sophrology, the science of consciousness in harmony, developed by neuropsychiatrist Alphonso Caycedo.

Using the five senses — sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch —  in sophrology practice helps us to observe, slow down and live in the moment.

That placing our attention on our five senses helps us ease mental anxiety and muscle tension is a well-known principle also used in float tank therapy. The isolation tank was developed in the fifties by John C. Lilly, a medical practitioner and also a neuropsychiatrist.

We used to call it the "sensory deprivation" tank, but nowadays we prefer the term "flotation-REST" (reduced environmental stimulation therapy) because floating in an isolation tank actually enhances sensory input from the body ( like cardiorespiratory sensations).

This inspired me to create a guided meditation called “The body of water” that I have used during group relaxation work. You are very welcome to share this meditation provided that you mention where it came from.

{  "𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔  𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉  𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚  𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅  𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒚. 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕  𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒚, 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎.  𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒚  𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖."— 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝑫𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒎𝒂 }

It's World Kindness Day today. The purpose of this day is to help everyone understand that compassion for others is what binds us all together. In my humble opinion, we can strive for kindness and compassion in our hearts each and every day.

Kindness,  compassion, non-judgment, wishing for peace and harmony...these are all the common denominators of my daily practices; Mindfulness,  Meditation, and Sophrology. This pandemic may have polarized the world and societies on many levels but polarization is not a new phenomenon.

Labeling people by their behavior and characteristics is dangerous because it can lead to dehumanization. It categorizes people,  it is a tool we use to comprehend the complexity that is humans and everything we perceive.

Labels are related to judgments, they create stereotypes, hearsay, bias,  fears, stigma, and the inability to separate a person from the label  itself. We start to regard differing viewpoints in demeaning ways.

It  is possible to dislike a certain kind of behavior without dismissing the person. Although it’s always challenging to show kindness to those  we disagree with, accepting someone as a person in kindness is not the same thing as agreeing. Appreciate the good things about them, and do  not try to change them for your convenience or needs. This works both ways, by the way.

Today I recorded a “Just Like Me” Compassion Practice podcast. You'll listen to a mindfulness practice for increasing compassion. This guided visualization invites you to look at how we are similar in important ways, which will help us to remember what we share as human beings. This practice can be done alone or with a  partner.

#mindfulness #sophrology  #worldkindnessday #compassion #innerpeace #kindness #forgiveness  #healthyrelationships #harmoniousliving

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆. – 𝑨𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝑬𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒊𝒏
I am not alone in putting adaptability and flexibility at the number 1 position on my "overcoming challenges" "life-saving" skills set.

Cognitive flexibility – a skill that enables us to switch between different concepts, or to adapt behavior to achieve goals in a novel or changing environment - is essential for society to flourish. It can help maximize the potential of individuals.

You are welcome to connect with me! 

✩ Instagram - http://instagram.com/positivepresence.eu

✩ Facebook - http://facebook.com/positivepresence.eu 

✩ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/carinvanbuuren/  

#lifesavingskills #adaptandadjust #changemanagement #sophrology  #mindfulness #adaptability #wellbeing #cognitivebehavioraltherapy  #workplacehealth #stresssolutions #cognitivocomportamental #mentalhealth  #changemanagement #consciouschange #sophrology #MiCBT #adaptingtochange  #cognitiveflexibility #neuroscience #synapticpruning #adaptandthrive  #brainscience #neuroplasticity

With over a year of Covid, there are lots of reasons to take some time to look back and reflect.   

Life is never boring, filled with curveballs, major "bouncing back" moments after hefty disappointments, and we regularly have to reinvent ourselves. In short, it is a learning adventure. And change is a constant.

The life-saving traits that I have learned over the years and that have helped me the most to stay sane in the midst of adversity are: 

⭐ Adaptability and Flexibility 

⭐ Resilience 

⭐ Having a Sense of Self and my Values 

⭐ Being able to set Boundaries 

⭐ Awareness of my Inner and my Outer World  

Over the upcoming weeks, I will dive a little bit deeper into each of the above. This episode is about adaptability and our resistance to change.  What are your "lifesavers"?   

#balancedliving #adaptandthrive #mentalhealth #adaptandadjust #conscientawareness #boundaries #resilience #senseofself #bouncebackbetter #adaptandovercome

Like with positive visualization affirmations can be used to reprogram the subconscious mind. The word affirmation comes from the Latin affirmare, originally meaning "to make steady, strengthen." Affirmations also have the ability to rewire our brains. Much like exercise, they raise the level of feel-good hormones and push our brains to form new clusters of  “positive thought” neurons.

In this audio, you will hear 22 healing affirmations. I made the audio to support the many friends that fell ill this year. You are very welcome to share it with whoever may need this. 

In this audio, you'll be guided through a simple Multisensory Imagery practice from #Mindfulness to practice #visualization. Visualization is incredibly powerful. If practiced daily, it can help in all aspects of your life, from accomplishing your goals, being more productive, growing positively as a person, to reducing pain and stress, and much more.

When we are using "visualization" and "picturing" something in our “mind’s eye” we activate the same neural pathways in the brain as if we're actually experiencing whatever it is that we’re visualizing in real life.

This means, each time you visualize yourself living a gratifying or pleasant moment, or achieving a goal, you are programming the mind. In particular, you are programming the subconscious mind to believe that you can and will live out these moments.

Tips for practicing:

⭐Try Not to Overthink the Technique

⭐ Make Sure You're Creating Time without Distractions.

⭐ Use All Your Senses (#multisensoryimagery)

⭐ Have a Regular Visualization Practice.

⭐ Connect with the Emotion of Visualization.

⭐ Visualize with a Sense of Knowing (start with a common object).

#sophrology #mindset #neuroscience #braintraining #futureforward #stress #mentalprepping #subconsciousprogramming #mentalimage #mentalrehearsal #consciousness

It is important to relax our body and our mind, even for a short while during a busy day. If this is your day off, put on comfy clothes, remove yourself from distractions and listen to my voice 🙏

If you are at work, close the door, put on your headphones and take a 10-minute break. 

Enjoy 💫

Do you feel trapped at the moment, because of this pandemic ? Recently a lot of people have told me that they feel limited and kind of trapped, either because of being in lockdown or having to wear a mask.

Now I could say that it is all in our head, which, as long as we are not actually "bound and gagged", it kind of is.

Feeling trapped or stuck is nothing new. Even before this pandemic and outside times of crisis people regularly feel this way because of a situation that they are in, or a relationship that is not working out, a job they don't like or constricting family ties.

To help you get out of your thinking brain and give you some headspace I recorded a calming visualization that will guide you to imagine floating on a cloud. It will be available on the Mindful Sophrology podcast channels as of tonight. A little escape from the incertain times we live in. Changing your internal world can change your entire perspective and broaden your horizon on many levels. If you'd like to find out more about Sophrology and what it can bring to your life, do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

#sophrology #changeyourperspective #feelingtrapped #stuckinyourmind #broadenyourhorizon #fromtheinsideout #headspace #mindfulsophrology #cloudfloating

Day 6 of our Week of Wellness is special. I have family and friends who are ill with Covid-19 and I promised we would do specific exercises to help them breathe, to increase lung capacity and clear the lower lobes of the lungs of mucus.

In this episode, we are going to do some more Lung Expansion Breathwork. This can help us train and strengthen our lungs before we get a respiratory disease, and in the case that we do it will support our lungs functioning and fighting the respiratory infection.

When we practice breathing, we strengthen our lungs while our chest becomes more elastic, the muscles needed for breathing become more trained and flexible and thus our breathing becomes more effec­tive. It becomes more economical which minimizes the amount of oxygen required for breathing. The oxygen saved can then be used elsewhere in the body where there is more need for it, such as to combat inflammation and other conditions.

#exhale #breathingtechnique #lunghealth #breathwork #covid19 #lungcapacity #smokerslungs #respiratoryhealth #lungexercises #emphysema #holistichealing #lungexpansion #copd

On day 5 of your Week of Wellness, we are going to do the Walking Meditation also known as Kin Hin. This practice is meant to train us to integrate meditative awareness into ordinary life and the most mundane activities, to anchor us and quiet our mind.

It is a simple practice that gives us all the benefits of seated meditation: increased energy, equanimity, and awareness.

There are numerous health benefits to walking meditation. Walking peacefully, with intention, regulates and reduces the level of the stress hormone cortisol. It is linked to decreases in depression, increases in bone development, and neuronal regeneration.

In #Sophrology we incorporate the KinHin in techniques to reinforce the unity of body and mind.

The most important thing is to walk mindfully, in silence, just calming the mind and becoming present. This exercise takes less than 10 minutes. Less than 10 minutes a day to dedicate to yourself, how hard can that be?

#wellbeing #holistichealth #osteoporosis #kinhin #walkingmeditation #mindfulness #quietyourmind #silence #meditation #wellness #weekofwellness #timeout #depression #stressreduction #equanimity

What can we do to keep our lungs as healthy as possible? Now more than ever it is important to know how to breathe correctly and train our lung function and lung capacity so we will be better equipped to fight respiratory infections if we do catch something.

I researched lung exercises given by specialized nurses and doctors for COPD, emphysema, asthma and other respiratory diseases and I was pleasantly surprised to find a huge overlap with the movements used in Sophrology to activate the upper body region.

In this podcast, I'll guide you through lung exercises to open up our chest and expand our lungs. We'll also strengthen the muscles of the chest wall like you would train any other muscle group if you want to increase capacity.

If you want to see the exercises performed on video, you can go to the IGTV channel of @positivepresence.eu. And there will be a complete repeat of the Week of Wellness on the Mindful Sophrology YouTube Channel starting next Monday.

#sophrology #breathwork #lunghealth #holistichealth #healinghotels #wellness #lungcapactiy #stressreduction #wellbeing #stressprevention #breathingexercise #consciouscontrol #breathtechnique #respiratoryhealth #covidstress #lungtraining #copd

On day 3 of your Week of Wellness, we calm our minds. It is National Stress Awareness Day which I find very appropriate with many of us in lockdown and most of us anxiously awaiting the US election results.

I often get the remark: I can't seem to stop my mind, from thinking, from racing. I do not want you to believe this. You can stop your mind. And it is not that complicated.

Through Sophrology and Mindfulness Practices we can learn how to calm our minds, how to stop worrying, to think more clearly, and to help us focus.  If life is a circus, become a ringmaster. It's your life!

You can guide and direct your mind to where you want it to go. I will show you two extremely easy (yes, again, easy) but effective techniques to stop the hamster running and the monkey swinging. And the good thing is, as I said, you can do them any time and anywhere you want.

This starfish technique is also very suitable for children.

#wellnesswork #sophrology #wellbeing #zoombies #workplacewellness #caregiverstress #stressreduction #holistichealth #mindfulness #starfish #mindfulness #bebalanced #stressprevention #monkeymind #nationalstressawarenessday #conciousawareness #weekofwellness #mentalhealth

On day 2 of our Week of Wellness, we are going to discover our natural breathing pattern, how and where we breathe and make a start on learning how to work with it. It always surprises me how little people know about their own natural breathing patterns. How can we even want to perform different breathing techniques if we are not in touch with our natural breathing first?

Today we'll be doing the most basic Sophrology exercise, almost the "before Sophrology" exercise, Paused Diaphragmatic Breathing.

Although breathing comes to us naturally, when we start to think about it too much our breath often goes up in our chest.  Sophrology uses synchronized breathing and this exercise lies at the basis of almost any type of breathwork and is extremely powerful and beneficial.  Many of us still underestimate the power of breathwork whilst it is the one part of our autonomic nervous system that we can consciously control to make our parasympathetic nervous system kick in.

Diaphragmatic breathing is a deep breathing technique worldwide known to improve lung capacity, for its ability to reduce stress levels and to make sure that our body's hormonal response goes back to a state of calm.

The practice starts at 4.30' and takes 10 minutes. 

#sophrology #breathwork #mindfulness #diaphragmaticbreathing #holistichealth #healinghotels #welness #bellybreathing #stressreduction #wellbeing #stressprevention #breathingexercise #consciouscontrol #breathtechnique

This week I am offering you a Week of Wellness exercises. It is my opinion that we have a responsibility towards ourselves but right this moment towards all the health care workers and our fellow humans as well, to be or become as healthy as we can be. To boost our immune system and create as much physical and mental resilience as we can. 

Today we start easy-peasy with the Arm Swing Exercise, a traditional Chinese exercise that improves lung function, reduces blood pressure, increases dynamic body balance, improves circulation, oxygenation, and lymphatic drainage. We are up in our minds a lot, this is some nice movement, preferably done outdoors. Have some fun with it, too!

The rest of the week I will take you through Sophrology practices including breathwork and the Kin-hin (walking meditation), a Mindfulness Breathing exercise, and some Lung Capacity exercises.

#wellnesswork #sophrology #wellbeing #zoombies #workplacewellness #caregiverstress #stressreduction #holistichealth #mindfulness #armswinging #chinesemedicine #restore #bodybalance #lungexercises #immunebooster #zoombies

Social distancing is very unnatural for humans, this is why we see so much resistance against the restrictions worldwide. We crave human connection. Human connection is essential for our mental health. Research has shown that feeling socially connected increases our level of happiness, reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, and improves our self-worth and confidence.

Me personally, what I miss the most is human warmth and touch, because I'm a hugger. It's a well-known fact that a good hug is the fastest way for us to get oxytocin flowing in our bodies.

Today we are going to give ourselves care through physical touch. Our hands can give comfort and encouragement. This soothing touch meditation is an easy way to support ourselves when we’re feeling a little bit out of touch and it is something we can offer to comfort ourselves. We are going to give ourselves a really big hug, mentally and physically. (The guided meditation starts at 4'). 

#guidedmeditation #mindfulness #anxietyrelief #stressreduction #hugyourself #socialconnection #freemeditation #freehugs #socialdistancing #covidstress #lockdowntip #mentalhealth #immunitybooster #sophrology #touchyourself #selfcare #supportyou

Who has not heard of the expression: what we resist persists? This is an abbreviation of psychologist Carl Jung's viewpoint that “what you resist not only persists but will grow in size.” 

Persisting thoughts are actually perfect teachers, and signals from our body  trying to alert us that ‘an important something’ is needing our attention and we can no longer continue the way we have been doing. Pushing these thoughts down will only temporarily bury them. It's our responsibility to investigate and acknowledge them so we can then generate more effective coping strategies.

Life is all about balance especially in times of contrast, no light without dark. Sometimes we have to be the change, and sometimes we have to accept what we cannot change and move positively and balanced forward within the framework when the framework is not budging. Pick your battles wisely, it may be better to stop fighting, trying to crush the obstacle, and create flow within and around the obstacle instead.

In this basic Attention and Accepting Mindfulness practice (starting at '3.25), we are going to connect with ourselves, relax, and create mind space. It's the first step to recognize the signals, allowing an opportunity to choose change.

Hello lovely listener! In this episode, I guide you through a Mindfulness Meditation to release whatever kind of unnecessary tensions are present in your body, whether it is physical, psychological, or emotional tension. This time not by releasing them through the exhale, as we do in Sophrology, but by visualizing our tensions disappearing from our body and seeping into the earth.

#mindfulness #stressreduction #releasetension #relaxationexercise #identifytensions #grounding #bebetter #wellnesswork

Sophrology is a method that is not only helpful for stress. It is also extremely beneficial for people suffering from chronic pain, fibromyalgia, discomfort from muscle contractions in Parkinson's, and so on. It provides you with your own set of personalized power tools to reduce the impact of your circumstances on your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

It is very comforting, satisfying, and empowering to know that we can consciously counteract our pain by influencing our perception of pain.

There are four ways to do so, all of which are used within Sophrology.

1. Reduction

2. Mindset

3. Distraction

4. Relaxation

In this podcast I will discuss how pain works and what we can do to reduce our pain levels.

#sophrology #painperception #chronicpain #fibromyalgia #painreduction #musclecontractions #gatecontroltheory #neuroscience #mindset #overcomingpain #holistichealth #mentalhealth #wellnesswork #mindmedicine #positivepsychology #healthymind #homeostasis #parkinson #sophrologie #painmanagement

This episode I will guide you through a 15-minute Mindfulness Meditation called "Affectionate Breathing".  With everything that is going on, we could all use a little kindness at the moment.

Kindness is an interpersonal skill and being kind often requires courage and strength. Darwin argued that sympathy and caring for others is instinctual and he did not associate our basic instinct to survive ("survival of the fittest") with selfishness. He actually believed that we are a profoundly social and caring species.

There are numerous studies showing that practicing kindness is an important factor for lasting well-being, successful relationships, stability in life, and success. This includes being kind to yourself. Do you treat yourself kindly?

𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝑮𝒊𝒇𝒕, 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆

#affectionatekindness #bekind #survivalinstinct #successfactor #mindfulnessmeditation #mindfulness #meditation

𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒚? 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 - Shakespeare Sonnet 18 

Comparison is the thief of Joy, Possibilities and Progress! 

In this podcast episode, we discuss courage, confidence and that what holds us back regularly, “Comparisonitis”. A coaching client of mine wanted some clarity before making a major change in his life and not owning his self-worth was holding him back. I want you to value what you have to offer. Nothing compares to You!   

#selfworth #comparisonitis #sophrology #mindfulness #selfconscious #doubtsandfears  #mindfulsophrology #value #youareunique  #selfdoubt

In this episode we practice the Sophrology exercise we usually start with. Sophrology uses synchronized breathing and although breathing comes to us naturally, when we start to think about it too much our breath often goes up in our chest. Many of us still underestimate the power of breathwork whilst it is the one part of our autonomic nervous system that we can consciously control to get back to calm. I hope you'll enjoy the exercise. It starts at 4.44! You can do this for as long as you want to if needed. It is a practice that is very well known to improve lung capacity, for its ability to reduce stress levels and to make sure that our body hormonal response goes back to a state of calm. 

I like practical hands-on techniques that I can pull out of my hat the moment I need them. Because we never know when we might become triggered and our nerves hit. A deceptively simple but highly effective breathwork exercise that can guide us through moments of stress and anxiety is "Breathing through our Feet". It lessens the grip of our emotions on us, it allows us a little headspace and gives us a sense of being more grounded and centered. There is a reason why breathwork has become so popular. Our breath is powerful. Through it, we have the potential to 
re-energize, heal, ease, and empower ourselves. Let's practice together!

#anxietyattack #anxietytips #stressrelief #breathwork #groundingexercise #headspace #mentalhealth #breathingexercises #emotionaltriggers #empowerment

Welcome to a podcast that uniquely combines "mindset medicine" from both Mindfulness and Sophrology. My name is Carin van Buuren and I am a Sophrologist and a Master Mindfulness Practitioner. Most people already know what Mindfulness is but I get a lot of questions about Sophrology. In this episode, I will tell you all about this transformational holistic health method, in my opinion, one of the best-kept secrets to empower us to tackle daily life, no matter what hit us.