Vittoz Method: an aid to interiority
The Vittoz Method, named after its founder Dr. Vittoz, one of the first psychosomaticians, is a body-mediated therapy. Although its first applications were therapeutic, today it is offered to all those seeking greater harmony, accuracy and awareness in their everyday lives. But what's even more surprising is that, in addition to improving well-being, this method - through simple exercises accessible to all - is proving to be an interesting support for prayer and meditation. Why and how can this method prepare us for a heart-to-heart encounter with God?
What is the Vittoz Method?
The Vittoz method is a psycho-corporal method designed to enable the patient to better accept reality through greater presence with oneself, one's sensations and a more accurate awareness of one's thoughts and actions.
Who is Roger Vittoz, founder of the Vittoz method?
The Vittoz method owes its name to its founder, Dr. Roger Vittoz. This Swiss doctor, born in 1863 and based in Lausanne, soon specialized in nervous disorders. For a time, he practiced hypnosis on his patients, but then stopped, noting that - since the patient remained passive and unconscious during therapy - the results were not lasting.
He therefore developed his own method, based on his own experience and neurophysiological research, which focuses on the conscious act. In this, he differed from his contemporary Sigmund Freud, who worked on the unconscious. Dr. Vittoz's aim was to help his patients develop and re-educate their cerebral control, thus enabling them to rediscover a sense of unity, to live in the present moment, and to once again take full control of their lives.
In his book Treatment of Psychoneuroses by Re-education of Cerebral Control, published in 1907, he says "My main aim is to show him, as far as I can, why he is ill and how he can cure himself".
Dr. Vittoz's intuition, today confirmed by advances in neuroscience and functional MRI in particular, is cerebral vibration. This vibration or wave emitted by the brain reflects the patient's cerebral functioning and psychic state through its movement, amplitude and rhythm .... By listening to it, dysfunctions can be perceived and worked on. "My personal experience has shown me, contrary to accepted opinion, that the hand, with a certain amount of training, (...) can give sufficiently precise indications of the patient's state of mind.) can give sufficiently precise indications of brain work"(Treatment of psychoneuroses by re-educating brain control).
The method's humanistic approach embraces the person in all his or her dimensions (psychic, mental, emotional, bodily), treats him or her as a subject (vs. object) and aims for a freer, more conscious life. It is rooted in the personality of Roger Vittoz: educated in the Protestant faith, in a family of high moral values, sensitized at an early age by his own experience to the psychic dimension of suffering, and profoundly Christian, though always discreet about his faith.
Madame Vittoz recalls "an intense inner life about which he was very discreet, but which radiated from him. He was a master of this perfect self-possession. " (source Praying with the Vittoz Method by Mireille Lecourtier, éditions Emmanuel)
What are the basics of the Vittoz method?
The Vittoz method is a phenomenological approach in that patients experience their brain functions through exercises developed by Dr. Vittoz. By repeating these simple exercises, brain control is reinforced. They can be performed easily in any context, to enhance presence, relaxation, concentration and energy.
The brain's neuroplasticity enables it to create new neural circuits or reactivate unused connections by replacing our bad habits with good ones.
The Vittoz method is based on two dimensions:
- receptivity, through psychosensory approaches to a more accurate reception of our sensations, an adherence to the present moment, a presence to what is.
- emissivity, through work on concentration and willpower, for a more accurate awareness of our actions.
A well-functioning brain is one that demonstrates good "cerebral respiration", i.e. one that balances these two functions of receptivity and emissivity.
Vittoz practitioners, in particular, welcome their patients' cerebral vibrations (which a trained Vittozian practitioner perceives with his or her hand placed on the patient's brain), hand on the patient's shoulder), can diagnose cerebral dysfunctions and suggest appropriate exercises. Initially carried out with the practitioner, they can then be practiced by the patient alone when he or she feels the need.
What are the benefits of the Vittoz method?
Although the Vittoz method was developed as a therapeutic approach, initially to help people with nervous disorders, it is now open to anyone who wishes to achieve greater harmony and unity in their lives.
"The best musician cannot play the right notes on an out-of-tune piano" (Roger Vittoz).
Because it enables deep relaxation, slows down cerebral wandering, distances us from negative thoughts and brings to light the relationship between body, mind and emotions, it is particularly suitable for people suffering from stress, anxiety, addictions or lack of concentration.
We can feel the concrete benefits in our problems of sleep, concentration, memory, sexuality, diet...
By adhering to reality, by being more aware of what's going on inside us, of our environment, of the actions we take, we become more open to life and to the way we wish to live it.
To quote Ghislaine Prouvost, Vittoz practitioner and trainer, the Vittoz method is "a way of life. There is always more life when you fully inhabit what you have to live, your relationships, yourself, and when you are willing to blossom where you are planted".
How can the Vittoz Method help me enter into my prayer or meditation?
Monseigneur Rey, Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, prefaces Mireille Lecourtier's Praying with the Vittoz Method with the following words The psychological realm, when not at peace, can be the source of a feeling of aridity in prayer. The Vittoz method, which incorporates many points of the wisdom of the Church Fathers, helps to alleviate the effects of our preoccupations."
The Vittoz Method remains a method, a tool; it is not prayer. Like any tool, it is our intention that must drive it and give it purpose. "The Vittoz method has nothing to do with magic, occultism, esotericism or anything we see in the New Age. The idea is not to replace God, but to help us meet him".
Practical help to prepare for a time of prayer
Simple exercises based on :
-breathing,
- welcoming your bodily sensations,
- your environment through your five senses,
- anchoring your body.
...
We can take the time to cut ourselves off from the hustle and bustle of our day, from the tumult of our thoughts ; to distance ourselves a little from our preoccupations, to return to the present moment, to be ready to welcome.
The Vittoz exercises help us to relax and release tensions that prevent us from being fully receptive, as well as to concentrate and act consciously, making us fully available to what we are about to experience, to this special time with God.
Taking a few minutes to prepare for prayer, especially when we feel it's a little difficult to be fully there, when we've just experienced a strong emotion or done another activity, can be a beneficial airlock to unload the overflow and make room for God.
A tool for developing an aptitude for contemplation and prayer
By improving our ability to concentrate, but also to listen and welcome what is, the Vittoz method enables us to foster a more global disposition to meditation.
In his Notes and Thoughts writes: "In order to become a mystic, we must first become receptive, open to receive". Our current society doesn't necessarily help us to work on this receptivity. Stimulation from all sides tires us and limits our capacity for attention, which is necessary for prayer.
The Vittoz exercises integrated into our daily lives help us to rediscover this sense of mind-body unity, and the self-awareness (which is not self-centeredness) that opens up an inner path to listening to God.
"To conserve one's strength in the Lord is to create unity in the whole of one's being through inner silence, to gather up all one's powers and occupy them solely in the exercise of love. A soul that argues with its ego, that occupies itself with its sensitivities, that pursues a useless idea, some desire, this soul disperses its forces, it is not entirely ordered to God (...)" (Saint Elisabeth of the Trinity)
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