Since March 202, Santé publique France has launched a survey called CoviPrev which makes it possible to monitor changes in the behavior and mental health of the French population during this pandemic period. The latest results show that in early February, thenumber of people suffering from an anxiety state remains at a high level (19.5% of respondents). Concerns about the economic situation, concerns about the arrival of new variants of Covid-19 … to tame this anxiety, sophrologist Carole Serrat offers visualization exercises and a breathing exercise inspired by yoga.
We breathe like a bee
From yoga, this breathing consists of exhale through your nose making a sound similar to the buzzing of a bee.
This exercise calms the mind and nervous system, and reduces stress.
- In a seated position, cover your ears with your index fingers, elbows raised, for 3 minutes.
- Inhale deeply through your nose.
- Breathe out through the nose and imitate the bee’s “bzzzz”: the sound comes from the back of the throat, the mouth is closed, the jaws are loosened, the lips are stretched and the corners of the neck are slightly raised.
- Feel the sound vibration resonating in the skull and focus on the point between the eyebrows, “the third eye”, which is the center of our inner vision and our discernment.
- This bee buzzing will help chase away anxiety and promote emotional calm by listening to sound and vibration.
We alleviate our worries
This visualization exercise called “the hassle bag” allows you to alleviate all the problems of the day and refrain from rehashing them before sleeping.
- Imagine a large bag in front of you, with a zipper and handles. Our name is on it. This bag belongs to us. We put all the fatigue, the worries of the day …
- When you’re done, pull up the zipper to close the bag, then hang its handles on a large balloon.
- The wind begins to blow and the balloon carries the bag far, far away … It becomes a tiny little point, then it disappears …
- And this is how we can put a – very large – distance between the problems of the day and ourselves!
We chase away the negative
This exercise uses the “sophro-displacement of the negative” (SDN), a key technique in sophrology. It consists in exteriorizing all the unpleasant or painful sensations, physical as well as mental, by expelling them by the breath after a contraction followed by a muscular relaxation.
- In a seated position, comfortably installed, eyes closed:
- First time : breathe in deeply then, while holding the air, visualize an area of the body in which you feel tension, pain: the neck or back, for example.
- Second step: while exhaling, exert a light pressure of the hands on the lower abdomen, while evacuating this negative away from us.
- Third step: Inspire.
- Fourth step: on the exhale, imagine that one frees oneself from the residues of these negative elements.
- To do for three parts of the body. Head, stomach and back, for example.
- Take an integration break: standing, eyes closed, become aware of what we have released in our body and in our mind, by asking ourselves: “What are the messages sent by my body?”.
Our expert: Carole Serrat, life coach, sophrologist at Bichat hospital.
Read also :
- 6 exercises to cultivate the positive in your day
- 3 exercises to chase away fatigue in winter
- 3 morning rituals to boost morale
