SOPHRO BALANCE for Wellbeing

A beautifully shaped ‘rosette’ flower that comes in a rainbow of many colours: orange, yellow, white, pink, peach, lavender and even blue…and it has a heady, scent of spring about it but, despite its beauty it is bold in stature, standing tall and proud in the garden warning you not to get too close or it will prick your finger with its sharp, pointed thorns and let you know it’s not to be messed with…get the gardening gloves on you might need them!!

Roses, one of my favourite types of flower because they are multifaceted and the rose scent or flavour is widely used across the globe in a variety of different ways that appeal to most of our senses: taste, smell, touch & sight! It is used for the skin in the form of essential oils, creams, lotions, bath salts, perfume and massage oils. The oil creates a wonderful sense of relaxed wellbeing that can increase feelings of vitality, great for reducing stress! It can be found in foods such as Turkish Delight, rose water and even chocolate, and we may gently lay a handful of delicate petals on the pillow or bed as a romantic gesture…and who doesn’t love the idea of ‘a dozen red Roses’ on Valentines Day…I mean come on!

Did you know that there is a certain way to smell a rose that was published in 1880’s by French rosarian, Dr Raoul Blondel, who described the best way to smell a rose in his thesis ‘odiferous products of roses’ where he explains it as follows:

• Take a rose and smell it slowly, taking care not to crush any scent glands in its stem or stalk
• Gently draw the rose fragrances into your nostrils in short sniffs mixing it with pure air so as not to overwhelm the smell receptors
• This will give you the absolute and impactful scent of the rose
• Continue smelling the rose until you receive a second note which is less easy to define such as a hint of clover or a fruity smell
• After this you will notice only a vague sensation of freshness as you have exhausted your smell receptors

In Sophrology we use the five senses throughout each of the four levels of Sophro Balance but the breath is the first and most important one because we focus deeply on the air going in and the air going out through our nostrils, paying particular attention to how the air brushes gently over the area above our top lip which really focuses the mind enabling you to concentrate more fully on the moment which is incredibly powerful!

We have to take time out of our busy lives to ‘Stop and smell the roses’ as it encourages us to be more mindful and take notice of the world around us, gain clarity in life by being grateful, and enjoy our surroundings…

Remember to “Smell the Roses and…breathe!”

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