The body in relaxation

     Thinking about the body often comes down to thinking about matter, a biological, physiological body, a body that allows us to move around and that we allow ourselves to forget the rest of the time. Yet in the beginning was the body. The body is the first place of expression, it is by and through his body that the baby will learn to communicate, it is by and through the experiences of the body that language will be able to be supported. At the beginning was therefore sensoriality, motor skills, “corporeality*”, an attunement between bodies.

In a profitable society where time is of the essence, the body is often abused, exploited and normalized. We end up forgetting him, until he remembers us because one morning, when he wakes up, he makes too much noise. It then becomes the privileged cradle of tensions, those that the psyche does not always hear. There are also situations where the only way to allow yourself to stop is if one morning the body stops functioning, this is the case for example with certain burn-outs. Far from a divide between body and psyche, the term corporeality then takes on its full meaning. The body is not only matter, it is also sensation, emotion, place of incrustation of thoughts.

In the light of this link between body and psyche, the relaxation then becomes a privileged tool for working on these residual tensions. There relaxation aims to obtain psychological calm. It allows a reduction in psychological and bodily tensions, a reduction in stress and promotes a feeling of well-being. Indeed, it is the work on lowering bodily tensions which will allow psychological relaxation. Beyond the feeling of relaxation, the relaxation is not a way to disconnect from the outside world but to reconnect with your body, towards a more refined listening to it, to its sensations, to its emotions anchored in the body.

Although in our collective imagination the relaxation is often assimilated to an immobilization of the body, there are numerous methods, some of which can be categorized as active. This is the case of the Jacobson's method which invites you to voluntarily create tension in the body to feel its release. Other methods will thus promote the visualization or the to touch. There are many methods of relaxation which will allow the practitioner to adapt according to demand and needs. The duration of the sessions varies, it can be practiced in a group or individually.

During periods of stress it is recommended to do several sessions.

We offer different relaxation programs/workshops at the Pensées Center. Tell us about it!

* Michel Benard, The body