Feriel Berraies : « It is necessary to favor calming activities »

How to release stress and stay calm during lockdown? Feriel Berraies, a Tunisian expert in hypnotherapy, sophrology and naturopathy, shares some advice in this interview.

What is sophrology?

It is a psycho-corporal technique which allows, through dynamic relaxation exercises of conscious breathing and positive visualization, to bring a balance to the person under stress or ill-being. It is a mixture of oriental therapies like zen, zazen and yoga and western therapies like hypnosis, phenomenology etc… It can be applied to all audiences from 7 to 77 years and in all contexts : within the company, individually or in a group. It is also a way of seeing life and the relationship with oneself and the world. Nothing to do with gym or yoga, even if in a session, we have a part of dynamic exercises and a static part.

In this period of lockdown, how to stay calm?

My advice is holistic. You have to build a routine : few TVs and television news (not more than an hour a day), playing sports in or around your room while respecting barrier measures, eating healthy, listening to music, reading. Cultivate positive thoughts and have sun exposure to boost your immune system with vitamin D. You must also break the anxiety of isolation by staying in touch with your loved ones through virtual means.

Some techniques to help children during this period of lockdown?

Children can practice the same exercises as their parents, simply the language will have to be more colorful and fun to make understanding possible. They must have the impression that it is a role-playing game and that they are the heroes of a story « superman in lockdown mode » where he/she fights against their nervousness.

You should also avoid beating or yelling at children or resorting to physical corrections. Rather make them go out an hour a day while protecting them.

How to sleep well ?

Playing sports is important. Endorphin is the hormone of happiness. You have to remove stimulants and blue screens after 9 p.m. to focus only on reading, family discussions, music. Priority should be given to calming activities, even for children : reading a story, reinventing the world, playing board games that stimulate them intellectually, taking herbal teas and infusions. Believers can also practice spirituality.

Some exercises recommended by Feriel Berraies

To release muscle and mental tension, as well as fear or oppression

Stand upright, two arms crossed behind your head (sequence to do three times), breathe in through your nose, then block your breathing and contract your whole body to mobilize all the tension. Count up to 5 and block your breathing. Blow to evacuate it from your mouth and resume your natural breathing. Then close your eyes and welcome your feeling of evacuation of stray thoughts. It is necessary to repeat the sequence twice.

Controlled and conscious breathing

This exercise helps regulate the heartbeat and canalize the person if he/she is claustrophobic. Breathe in deeply through the nose, block your breathing, to store it in the belly, the ribs and the chest, count up to 5. Then, exhale and breathe gently, long and durably as if you were blowing in a straw. Then, take a natural breath while imagining and visualizing in your head, all the toxic that comes out of your breathing. You can then feel your heart rate calm.

The “Prana”

This exercise helps to restore calm and spread it throughout the body: stand up, raise your two arms horizontally, inhale through your nose and block your breathing. Contract both arms and with both hands, act as if you seize calm in yourself. Imagine bringing a sheet of calm to your chest with both your hands. Once the hands touch the chest, release them at the same time as you breathe out gently to spread the sheet of calm all over your body. This expiration of calm allows you to imbibe serenity. Then close your eyes and listen to your body calm down in contact with this sheet of calm and welcome the pleasant feelings.