The first Caycedian Sophrology Conference in London took place on Thursday 2nd February 2006 at University College London. The feedback from the participants was extremely positive and encouraging, and many were interested in following the seminars and courses. This small event has great significance. Caycedian Sophrology has, at last, crossed the Channel and at the same time crossed the language barrier from French into English.
I personally discovered Sophrology after moving from London to Switzerland in 1988. I was so excited about living abroad, skiing, speaking French and eating lovely food. I was confident that I could help my husband and 2 daughters settle in, welcome and look after all the friends that we had invited, and run my fashion business from Geneva.
Things were not as easy as I had thought. My husband worked long hours and traveled extensively, the children needed extra time settling in a strange school. Every tiny thing, from deciphering the labels on house-hold products to understanding the banking system, took hours of intensive study. As the supportive partner or trailing spouse I did not have an office of employees handling all these day to day tasks for me. Gradually with the added strain (and joy), of having many, many friends to stay, I ended up in Burn Out. My head was shaking continuously and I was sleeping almost round the clock, only getting out of bed to take the children to school, do a bit of shopping, collect the children in the evening and make dinner.
In a quiet moment one of my French friends mentioned that I might like to do Sophrology. I asked ‘What is that?’. I was told, ‘It’s really difficult to explain so just go along and find out - I am sure you will benefit from it.’ I trusted her, so agreed to go along. She arranged a class for me and two weeks later I met my Sophrology teacher, Pascal Mottet.
Every week I went for my 1hr15mins class and every afternoon I did my 15 mins Sophrology practice. After four weeks I could already feel the difference. I felt like going for short walks, I was smiling again and my head was shaking less frequently.
During one of the lessons I enquired whether Sophrology was taught in English as I imagined I was not the only person who had found the transition to Geneva more difficult than expected. The answer was to set the direction of the rest of my life and result in the closure of my fashion business and the opening of my Personal Development business. I translated the Sophrology training programme into English, did the trainer training and started teaching Sophrology in English.
That was in 1990. Since then I have run Change and Transition workshops for the ex-pat community using Sophrology as the basis. I have run Sophrology for stress seminars in companies, Sophrology for exam preparation in schools, Sophrology and Intuition, Concentration and Energy Management seminars for the general public and run my own Sophro-Coaching practice.
Now that my daughters are both leading their own lives, I have more time to concentrate on my dream of training hundreds of English speaking Sophrology trainers to the high standards required by the World Federation of Caycedian Sophrologists, thus giving the opportunity to as many people as possible to reap the benefits of this extraordinary method.
Through my own journey in the world of self-development and energy dynamics, I have discovered that knowledge of myself, the way I operate in the world, the way I view the world and experience the world are of major importance to my well-being and the well-being of those around me.
I have studied many disciplines and I am always curious, wondering, learning, revising and updating. I encourage my students to question everything – ‘don’t believe what I say, try it out to see if it works for you.’
Personal and professional experience has taught me that for true potential to emerge and fully shine in the world many fears and imagined limitations need courage, determination and perseverance to overcome.
One of my greatest enjoyments is accompanying others on their personal journeys, to walk with them through their fears and imagined limitations and to be present as they gradually become aware of who they really are and begin to shine.
Dorna
