What is dynamic relaxation?

  • Dynamic Relaxation

    Is a Guided practice that contains a set of simple physical and mental exercises, combining breathing and relaxation techniques, gentle movement, creative visualisation, meditation and mindfulness.

  • Based on

    The Eastern Philosophies of Yoga, Tibetan Buddhist meditation and Japanese Zen meditation and the Western Sciences of phenomenology, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, psychology, neurology and hypnosis.

  • Promoting

    Self-development and well-being by developing more awareness of ourselves and of the world around us.

what can it help with?

  • Being more present in daily life

  • Clarity and grounding

  • Concentration

  • Emotions

  • Harmony in the body and mind

  • Health and well-being

  • Positivity and mood lifting

  • Performance in sports, education and vocation

  • Preparing for important life events

  • Self-awareness

  • Self-development

  • Self-esteem and self-confidence

  • Sleep

  • Stress, anxiety and burnout

  • Tensions in the body and mind

WHere or how has it been used?

Sports Performance

Athletes coached by Raymond Abrezol, one of the early pioneers of the practice, have won over 200 Olympic and World Championship medals between 1967 and early 2000s.

It has been used by the Swiss Clay Pigeon Shooting champions to train for the 2012 European Championships.

It has reportedly been used by the French Rugby team as part of their training for improved focus and performance.

Stress management

It has been used as a stress management technique by persons ranging from professional athletes to students in schools.

How is dynamic relaxation different? The practice brings out our relaxation response by combining one or more relaxation techniques as part of each exercise. The relaxation techniques used include breath focus, body scans, muscle relaxation, guided imagery, mindfulness and meditation.

Alternative to Meditation

It can be used as an alternative to meditation, especially by people that find it difficult to sit still.

What are the benefits of meditation? By activating the parasympathetic nervous system the benefits can include: reduced stress and anxiety, improved attention and memory, enhanced self-awareness, improved sleep, increased imagination and creativity, increased patience, improved regulation of emotion, improved digestion, reduced blood pressure and heart rate.

What are the benefits of mindfulness and meditation? A study using magnetic resonance images taken before and after an 8-week mindfulness meditation program, where participants practiced daily mindfulness exercises, showed measurable changes in different brain regions with an increase in grey-matter density in the brain region associated with learning, memory, self-awareness and compassion and a decrease in grey-matter density in the brain region associated with stress and anxiety.

schools, Health Insurance, police force training

In Switzerland and France - it is offered to students in schools to help with exam preparation and exam stress, it is covered by most health insurance companies, and reportedly even part of the training for the Geneva police force.

who created the practice ?

The practice was created by neuropsychiatrist Alfonso Caycedo between 1960 and 2001 and is well established in Switzerland and France under the name Sophrology. It has been described as "a method, a practice and a philosophy" and Caycedo described it as "learning to live".

The blending of Eastern Philosophies and Western Sciences resulted in gentle physical and mental exercises, that work together to strengthen the mind-body connection with the aim of making us more conscious in daily life.

The practice was originally created by Caycedo as an alternative and gentler form of treatment for war veteran patients suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was initially kept within the medical field until Raymond Abrezol started using it as part of sports training in 1967.