Dr Steven Laureys, a father of five, an International Bestselling Author, a keynote speaker, a brain science populariser, a leading clinician and researcher in the field of consciousness and cognition, brain plasticity and neuromodulation, has joined the BeSophro team as our Head of Scientific Advisory Board.
We spoke to Dr Laureys about his Sophrology journey…
What are you hoping to achieve at BeSophro?
As a physician and neurologist, but also as a scientist, I’m very convinced that medicine today should give people a more active role. We currently need to combine the best of our knowledge and technology and hyper-specialised medicine together with the impact of our daily habits.
I see myself there as someone who builds a bridge between medical science and the added value of what I call complementary approaches. This can be a mixture of techniques from meditation, mindfulness, relaxation, visual-mental imagery, yoga, movement and breathing – all aspects of Sophrology. I think these methods are wonderful as they help us to improve both mental wellbeing and physical wellbeing.
What advice would you give to readers to help them make the time to practice Sophrology?
We all have different needs and the reality will be different if you are a student, if you’re a young parent, or if you’re furthering your career or retired. I would maybe advise not to put the bar too high and not to expect too much too quickly. I think that on your individual personal journey, you will discover a number of techniques that you can try and see for yourself what works best for you. Do what you can depending on what is possible in that moment in time.
How did you start your Sophrology journey?
Zooming out a little further than just Sophrology, as a scientist and physician, I prescribe drugs and interventions to people who are suffering from mental and physical illnesses and hope that by swallowing a pill that’s it, they’ll feel better. But from personal experience, when I found meditation during a personal crisis, I experienced for myself the impact it is truly having. Since introducing Sophrology to some of my patients, they have returned and shared with me how much it has helped them in their lives in many ways.
I am very much in favour of doing more research and controlled clinical trials to help us to understand further the impact of Sophrology. I’m happy to see my colleagues from universities in the UK, Switzerland and France continue their research so we can share more of the science-based benefits of Sophrology with more people.