Many new clients and students wonder at first how they should stand for dynamic relaxation. What we call “dynamic relaxation” in Sophrology are simple movements, most of them done standing. And they wonder how they should stand, place their body, their feet, they ask if they are doing the right thing, if they need to unlock their knees, etc.
Well, in Sophrology there is no one answer to this. Of course, we could say that there is an anatomically correct way to stand. But correct for whom? Because we are all different. Sophrology here gives us an answer that I find both simple and wonderful: stand as you like, in any way that feels most comfortable to you today.
The idea is that in Sophrology, we do not decide for others what suit them. You decide what is right for you and find your own way, taking into account how you feel and what is right for you in the moment.
What is appropriate for someone feeling fine may not be for someone suffering from a back ache, for the professional dancer whose lower body feels more comfortable feet facing outwards or for the person in a wheelchair.
Sophrology is a structured method but within that structure, respecting how you feel is key. You learn to use the exercises by yourself, you make them yours, you own them.
You are also free to feel whatever it is you are feeling. We always spend some time at the end of each exercise listening to how we feel. The aim is not necessarily to feel “good” or relaxed. Whatever you are feeling is right, there is no “should” or “must”. You first notice how you feel, then you can decide what you do with it. The most important thing is to reconnect to your body, your thoughts, your sensations and emotions. Even if only for a moment, during the exercise. You learn or you rediscover what it is to listen in, to truly feel, with no expectations and no judgement, no filters from the outside world either.
Sophrology adapts to the person, the situation, the need, the context. There is not one way of doing things. If one technique does not work for you, there will be another one that will.
I often tell my clients and students: in Sophrology, we are in a space of freedom. In this time and place, you are free to feel whatever it is you are feeling and to adapt the method to it.
In fact, freedom to be yourself starts here simply with the freedom to place your feet exactly how you like!
Florence Parot
Founding Director of The Sophrology Academy
Former President of FEPS (Federation of Sophrology Professional Schools)