The Vittoz Method

“Give me wings to live my life…

…now, and fully.”
I. What is Vittoz?
Purpose
Uniqueness
Vittoz in Essence: How does it work?
II. Basic Tenet of the Vittoz method –
Mind Management
III. The Vittoz Method, Step-by-Step
1. Re-establishing good receptivity practices:
Living in the present moment in contact with
ones body and with the world.
2. Practicing conscious acts in daily life:
Living consciously in the here-and-now
3. Practicing control of emissive thought
processes: consideration, judgment,
emotional reaction
Developing powers of concentration.
4. Rediscovering and re-educating the Will:
the ability to make choices
 Living with freedom of choice.
5. Relaxation techniques using the five senses
and cues from the body:
Living holistically as a union of mind, body and
spirit.
6. Psychological therapeutic implications:
Living with emotions in a straightforward
fashion.
7. Physiological verification:
Vittoz, EEG’s, MRI’s and Neuroplasticity
IV. Conclusion
V. Further Reading

I. What is Vittoz?
The Vittoz (VEE-toes) Method takes its name
from its Swiss founder and creator, Dr. Roger
Vittoz (1863-1925). Dr. Vittoz studied medicine
in Lausanne, Neufchatel and Geneva, and
founded and ran several successful private
clinics.
Dr. Vittoz developed a collection of mental and
manual exercises used to enhance creative and
efficient mental function and increase the
experience of joy in life. Through body memory
and increased awareness of our senses of sight,
hearing, olfaction, taste and touch, Vittoz
exercises have been shown to remap
neurological pathways in the brain, resulting in a
heightened and simplified experience of the
world and ones place in it.

Today, Vittoz is practiced in 37 countries

throughout the world, but has remained
unknown in the United States until recently.
The American Vittoz Society was established in
2004.

Purpose
Vittoz is both a lifestyle and a therapeutic
method.

Vittoz as a lifestyle
For people who function relatively well, Vittoz
contributes to a pleasurable lifestyle.
 • Children are given a sense of themselves,
confidence and pleasure in their natural
place in life, laying the groundwork for a
healthy adulthood.

• Adults experience the pleasure of taking

control over their own thought processes,
living in the present while managing life’s
issues with intention and grace.

• Seniors receive tools which permit them to

savor the present moment rather than
regretting the past or living in the fear of
the future.

Vittoz as a therapy

Life has its rough spots from which no one is

truly immune. Folks who can benefit from Vittoz
therapeutic exercises:

• Trauma victims.
• Veterans and accident victims who have
suffered loss of limbs and/or phantom pain.
 • The elderly.
• Children who have difficulty concentrating
where no physiological source is apparent.
• Folks moving through difficult passages,
such as serious or terminal illness, death of
a loved one, divorce, chronic pain,
menopause, mid-life crisis, or sexual
dysfunction where no physiological source is
apparent.

What results can one expect in the short term?

Clients report that they enjoy their lives and the
pleasure of being alive. They become more
aware of their own individuality, rooted in the
body in which they live. They feel more awake,
more conscious of being alive and moving
through life. They witness in themselves a
calmer approach to their own emotions, and a
more relaxed and objective response to life
around them.

Vittoz is not designed as a stand-alone therapy

in cases of serious mental or physical illness.
However, physicians and psychiatrists in Europe
have found the Vittoz method useful in
facilitating the healing process by reducing
levels of stress and pain and improving the
quality of life.

Uniqueness

1. Rather than fostering dependence on the

practitioner, Vittoz empowers the client. Dr.
Vittoz was interested in offering his clients
“tools to heal themselves,” using resources
already resident in the conscious mind. A
long course of sessions with the practitioner
is unnecessary. The clients learn the
exercises and use them in their everyday
lives as they choose.
2. Vittoz is drug free.
3. Personal freedom and responsibility of the
client are central. Although general work
may evoke emotions and memories from the
past, folks may choose to investigate them
or leave them as they are.
4. Vittoz is holistic in nature. All of the
exercises aim at unifying and balancing the
person, bringing together mind, body and
spirit with consideration for the emotions
 and the conscious mind. The exercises
address the five senses as they enhance
connection to the outside world.
5. The Vittoz method is pragmatic. Vittoz wrote
no books on theory. The method is simply
made up of a large number of exercises
described intuitively and validated by the
clients themselves.
Vittoz is most effective one-on-one.
Exercises are chosen specific to each client.
6. Vittoz is uniquely adapted to the needs of
the Western world in the 21st century. Dr.
Vittoz saw that to live in the Western world,
even as early as 1880, was to
live in the fast lane. He saw his clients as
mostly living “in their heads,” processing
ideas, leaving conscious input of the five
senses behind. Their eyes “saw” but they
processed and remembered little of what
they saw. (“Where did I put my keys?”)
Their ears “heard” but they processed little
of what they heard. (“Did you speak to me?
What did you say?”)
Today, bombarded by stimuli, we place a
low priority on direct experience. We employ
 strategies to distance ourselves from this
sensory onslaught. Medical studies show that
considerable mental effort is required to
avoid processing this direct stimuli to the five
senses, giving birth to a source of the
“stress” of which we speak so frequently in
the 21st century.

The Essence of Vittoz: How does it work?

The Vittoz Method is essentially re-education for
living in the present moment. It consists of
teaching a series of repeated exercises of
modest physical movement and mental
visualization, arranged to be learned and
practiced progressively. Vittoz exercises are
simple and easy to integrate into daily life. They
are designed to rehabilitate sensorial perception
and to develop the sensation of living in the
present in our own bodies, in our life
environments and in relation with others.
The Vittoz method reconnects us with the
sensations from which, for whatever reason, we
have distanced ourselves.
II. Basic Tenet of the Vittoz Method –
Mind Management

The Concept of “Managing one’s own

mind”
Dr. Vittoz identified a common thread among all
the his clients: “the lack of proper mind
management.”
“Managing one’s own mind,” as he described it,
is the innate capacity of the human mind to
balance:
1. the influx of the nervous system to
receive sensory stimuli, called receptive thought,
and
2. the mind’s ability to process that input,
called emissive thought.
In balancing the influx of sensory stimuli
and the processing of that stimuli, humans are
in a position to manage the two as they choose.
They are no longer victims of or dependent
upon the thoughts which occur to them. They
can balance input and processing of that input,
they become healthier and happier.
To balance the two is natural.
To lose that balance is common in the
Western world.
Regaining that balance is not difficult.

Important Vocabulary: “Receptive” and

“Emissive” thought
Receptive thought is the capacity to
consciously receive the messages of the world
around us, outside stimuli received through the
five senses, (sight, smell, touch, taste and
hearing) as well as the messages sent to us by
our own bodies, physiological messages such as
pressure or heat on the skin’s surface, or on an
internal organ.
Emissive thought is the ability humans have
to constantly put thoughts together from input
from various sources, (personal history, feelings,
judgments, education,) processing this input and
coming to conclusions.
In order to regain emissive thought patterns
which are fluid, flexible, efficient and controlled
at will, folks must first be able to distinguish
what stimuli are received by the five senses and
by the body.
Healthy Mind Management
Normal people who live relatively happy and
well-adjusted lives experience mind
management automatically and spontaneously.
They take the time to experience the things they
do, to drink in the world around them. As a
result, they are able to process this information
and to function as human beings in some
harmonious fashion which suits them. They
tend to finish what they start, show flexibility in
their dealings with others, and fully experience
their various emotions without being invaded or
controlled by them. They make decisions in a
straightforward fashion without undue strain
most of the time.
On the other hand, when people fall into habits
which Vittoz called “poor mind management,”
sensory stimuli input has a tendency to be
fleeting and even to disappear. People don’t
notice what they hear or what they see as they
move through the day. This failure to
consciously process sensory input deprives folks
of the pleasure of that input, and leaves in its
place chaotic receptive thought patterns.
Sensory input in humans is meant to function as
a steering mechanism for making good
decisions: “Do I see a bus arriving on the left?
Shall I cross the street? No!” or, “Was that a
look of disgust on my friend’s face? How shall I
react?” Without conscious sensory input, folks
function without full aid of that steering
mechanism. No one’s in charge. People forget
where they parked their cars, and do not “hear”
what folks say to them.
To complicate matters, unconscious sensory
input turns around in circles in the mind,
invading the conscious mind as repetitive,
incoherent thought without end or satisfaction.
Results of the mismanaged mind
A person may, as a result, feel agitated and
stretched thin. People experiencing poor mind
management start many projects without
bringing them to term. They become
preoccupied, and may have trouble making
decisions. Constant worry about many things
can be a problem, and can lead people to
painfully and systematically deform their
interactions with others, misunderstanding the
meaning behind the statements others make to
them. That’s tiring, psychologically and
physically, and gives rise to mental space for all
the emotional troubles of the past to resurface,
recycling them again and again without the
ability to move on.
Physical symptoms may also be present : heart
palpitations, muscle spasms, circulatory system
or digestive difficulties, sexual malfunction, or
physical pain of various kinds.
Psychological troubles many times include
difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, or
constant doubt or anxiety.
The Vittoz method asserts that these symptoms
are often the consequence of the absence of
equilibrium of emissive and receptive thought
patterns.

III. The Vittoz Method, Step-by-Step

The steps in a full series of Vittoz exercises
include:
1. Re-establishing good receptivity practices:
 Living in the present moment in contact
with ones body and with the world.
2. Practicing conscious acts in daily life:
Living consciously in the here-and-now
3. Practicing control of emissive thought
processes: consideration, judgment, emotional
reaction
Developing powers of concentration.
4. Rediscovering and re-educating the Will:
the ability to make choices
Living with freedom of choice.
5. Relaxation techniques using the five senses
and cues from the body:
Living holistically as a union of mind, body
and spirit.
6. Psychological implications:
Living with emotions in a straightforward
fashion.
7. Physiological verification:
Vittoz, EEG’s, MRI’s and Neuroplasticity
 Step 1: Re-establishing good receptivity
practices:
Living in the present moment in
contact with ones body
and with the world.
The first step toward good mind management
involves re-establishing good access to receptive
thought practices, good access to the sensory
input the body receives. For those experiencing
nervous difficulties or trauma of one kind or
another, absence of the practice of receptive
thought in daily living is often a culprit.
Our whole being, all that we are, receives input
and stimuli from our five senses connecting us
to the world we live in. We also receive
sensations from our own bodies. Problems arise
when we receive most of these sensations
automatically, subconsciously, without benefit of
conscious awareness of our own existence. The
Vittoz method trains folks to actually take the
time to see what we look at, to hear what we
hear, to experience touching what we touch, to
smell what our olfactory organs pick up, to taste
what we eat, and to pick up the sensations our
bodies send us. We can receive all these stimuli
immediately, in the moment we live them,
experiencing them purely, without attaching
meaning or judgment.
For example, Vittoz would say : “I pick up a
rock or a stone and hold it in my hand. I note
its texture, its weight, its temperature against
my skin. As long as I stay in contact with the
sensations I receive, I am present to the reality
of that moment. I experience the sensation of
existing, of being alive.”
In this way a person learns to suspend, for a
second or two, and without effort, the flurry of
activity in the brain. He or she simply plunges
into the sensations coming his or her way.
To see something is to accept what you see,
without effort, without judgment, the colors and
forms of objects. We permit the imprint of the
object on the retina, just the way it appears.
Vittoz said, “Look at things the way a child does
when he wakes up in the morning.”
To hear is to receive sounds as they come to us
at the moment, without forcing our attention, or
giving in to the desire to name the sound.
“Hearing” involves simply letting the sounds into
our ears. For the space of a moment or two the
sounds of life from outside replace the rattling
on of our thoughts. These tiny moments give
the brain a recess from its constant activity of
synthesis and judgment: a moment of rest.
Touching some object « with intention » is to
feel the reality of the object; its form, its
texture, its mass, its temperature, honing in on
what is really there without applying judgments
from the past, or comparing it to something
else.
The same thing is true of the senses of taste
and smell. The odor of something enters my
nostrils. I receive it, notice it, without pulling
back, without applying judgment from the past.
I notice the taste of something, the texture of
the food I eat, inside my mouth. I notice the
movement of my jaws and mouth, the sounds of
mastication, the temperature.
In the same way, we can also learn to notice
and accept the sensations our own bodies send
us ; for example, the sensation we get when we
move our fingers slightly, or our hands or wrists.
We can notice the sensations of support at
certain points on the body when we’re not
moving at all. We can notice the natural
movement of breathing, inhaling and exhaling.
The scientific community has made great strides
in understanding how the brain and nervous
system work since Dr. Vittoz intuitively guessed
what we now know to be true: When the mind
enjoys receptive thought, it enjoys a rest, and
gathers energy for other endeavors.

2. Practicing conscious acts in daily life:

Living consciously in the here-and-now
Conscious livings as a lifestyle
The practice of enjoying moments of receptive
thought can become an approach to daily living,
applied to the most common everyday activities.
This is called in many disciplines, “Living
Mindfully.”
“To be conscious of an act (conscious of
something you are doing) doesn’t mean that you
‘think it through,’ but rather that you simply
experience it,” said Dr. Vittoz. It was his view
that applying conscious acts to living
represented a decision to leave behind acts or
actions accomplished as robots.
For example, you can take your shower and get
ready in the morning while you’re thinking about
something else, or you can decide to notice the
sound of the water as it falls, or its temperature,
or the smell of the soap you use, or the
movements of your body as you wash.
Another example – you open a window. You can
decide that it’s the gesture, the movement you
want to notice: the sensation of the handle in
your hand, the sound reaching your ears of the
window as it opens, the movements of the
muscles in your arms, the feeling of the air on
your face and chest, all the sounds of the street
on that particular morning. The window isn’t
the important thing. Thanks to the window,
though, you’re managing your attention. As a
result, a sensation of mental calm will follow.
Living consciously is, first of all,
1.) something you decide to do;
then
2.) something you actually experience;
and finally,
3.) a produced result that you can verify.
When the intention to do something is followed
by the decision to do it, and the action of
actually doing the thing – when all three agree,
people experience a sensation of oneness, of
calm, of being alive. If these results are not
present, we know that the act has not been felt
or experienced. It has been, instead, “thought
through.”
Any moment in time can be transformed into a
Conscious Act : breathing, walking, speaking,
eating, any simple moment of the day. In this
way, any part of life can become a Vittoz
exercise.
In living consciously and in the present moment
with Conscious Acts, people learn to live in the
present moment as a way of life.
Results of living in the present moment
Living in the present moment brings a sense of
tranquility and security, and can improve the
state of mind of persons with various kinds of
nervous disorders. Neurotic persons stop
constantly returning to the past. People with
an obsessive bent live with more confidence and
less doubt. Typically anxious folks live with a
less exaggerated fear of the future.
In periods of particular stress where such folks
again become unstable, a return to the practice
of the Conscious Acts that had been most
beneficial can stabilize the situation. It’s like
riding a bicycle: You never forget. You can ride
again anytime you want to.

Step 3. Practicing control of emissive

thought (consideration, judgment,
emotional reactions)
Developing powers of concentration.

Mastery of good concentration habits is the next

step
Re-education in receptive thought permits
better use of the five senses. Once this is
accomplished, Concentration exercises establish
a good groundwork for healthier emissive
thought practices, or “thinking things through”
in an orderly and energetic manner.
Dr. Vittoz said, « Concentration is the ability to
fix one’s thoughts on a given point or idea and
follow through on its development without
becoming distracted.” Folks with good
concentration skills can intentionally devote
themselves to the task at hand in a focused
manner.
It’s difficult to concentrate on a project when
your thoughts wander. Vittoz called this
“vagabonding.” “Vagabonding” allows the mind
to continually skip from one image, one idea, or
one interest, to another. When wandering
thoughts are habitual, monumental effort is
necessary to try to concentrate on one idea for
any length of time.
There are three kinds of concentration
exercises:
1. Sensory concentration directed to certain
parts of the body, fixing attention there without
being distracted, for instance a concentration
exercise designed to zero in on one’s breathing.
(Concentrating on breathing often opens the
door to relaxation. The Vittoz method proposes
breathing exercises tailored to the needs and
desires of the person.)
Or, one might learn a concentration exercise
focusing on the feet, one at a time. (An
 added bonus: if poor circulation is an issue,
concentration exercises will improve
circulation, and warm the feet.)

2. Concentration on simple drawings and

forms. Concentration on drawing certain
simple but precise figures, like circles,
squares, or triangles followed by concentration
on these figures as mental images is an efficient
way to improve the ability to concentrate. Other
forms and figures, drawn carefully with a pencil
or pen, and then retraced in the imagination,
are also effective, such as the mathematical sign
of “Infinity,” or spirals drawn toward a center
point or toward an outside point, or the vertical
line of the number “1” are used as concentration
exercises. Over and above the capacity to
concentrate which develops through these
exercises, their cross-cultural and supra-cultural
symbolism constitutes universal human
connections concerning how we function. These
exercises sometimes give insight into an
individual’s potential for personal growth.
3. Concentration on certain ideas[concept,
notion, point of view, state of being, state of
mind, experience?]. For Dr. Vittoz, concentration
on an idea was only useful if it was considered
in its entirety; that is, evaluated as it was felt in
the body as well as mentally and emotionally, in
reference to the body, mind and spirit.
In these exercises where one concentrates on
certain ideas or a state of being, one is asked to
recall, for example, a prior experience of
peacefulness until able to relive or replay it in
ones body. A brief sensation of the calm of that
moment will return.
Concentration on memories of a moment of
great energy will produce a sensation of greater
energy. These types of exercises permit you to
benefit from the calm or the energy of that
moment, again and again. In French they’re
called “appels d’état,” or, literally, “calling forth
of a state of being.”

Step 4. Rediscovering and re-educating

the Will:
Living with freedom of choice.
Dr. Vittoz commented that “the Will, or the
ability to make choices, is akin to free-will, an
intelligent energy that blossoms under certain
conditions.” It’s not a question of struggling or
of tightening up. It’s like volunteering. Struggle
actually diminishes the capacity to apply free-
will in decision-making. When tension is
present, we’re required to deploy excessive
energy to accomplish a task which may actually
require very little. The exercise of free-will
permits us to break old habits and exercise our
capacity to make decisions outside the confines
of obligation or guilt.
The desired action (for example, “I’ll call my
mother tomorrow”) or the decision to be made
(“I’ll learn Spanish”) is first clarified by three
questions :
Question No. 1: “Have I clearly stated what I
want to do?”
Question No. 2: “Is what I want to do clearly
within the realm of possibility ?”
Question No. 3: “Is what I want to do really a
sincere desire? Is it what I really want to do?
(or am I just mouthing the desire, without really
wanting it wholeheartedly?)”
If the answer to all three questions is, “yes,”
then the exercise of visualizing the act
successfully accomplished produces a surprising
and effective result.
Master athletes have employed this technique
successfully for many years.
As a result of this exercise, folks experience first
hand the energy of the free-will they already
possess, and the calm and satisfaction that
follows a clear-cut decision.
There are many Vittoz exercises which permit
people to hone in on what they themselves
would like to do and to make better decisions as
a result.
Too, the capacity to make calm, precise
decisions with less energy improves self esteem
and self confidence. Folks discover that they
can depend on their own judgment. By
practicing these exercises regularly and
sincerely, they become increasingly responsible
for their own thoughts and actions, and no
longer blame others for their disappointments
and failures.

Step 5. Relaxation techniques using the

five senses and cues from the body:
 Living as a union of mind, body and
spirit.
The word, « relaxation » was first used in 1930,
5 years after the death of Dr. Vittoz. He didn’t,
then speak of “relaxation,” but of “rest.” The
VITTOZ organization has developed relaxation
techniques using the five senses and cues from
the body which employ the principles of the
Vittoz method. They offer a synthesis, providing
experiences of alternating receptive and
emissive thought patterns. The goal of these
exercises is not specifically “rest,” but rather of
being present to what repose feels like, with its
accompanying lack of tension. Noticing cues
from ones own body in an immobile state leads
to muscular and respiratory relaxation, and to a
calmer mental state.
The goals of Vittozien relaxation exercises are:
1. To reduce excessive tightness in the
muscles, which in turn has an effect on the
Neuro-vegetative System, bringing it back
into balance by profiting from the natural
antagonism between the physiological
characteristics of relaxation and those of the
states of stress and anxiety.
 2. To bring the person to a conscious place of
awareness of how his or her body really is,
at that moment in time (tired? tense?
weary? painful?) Awareness of how we are
brings us in contact with ourselves and our
surroundings. We then might ask ourselves
important questions, like, “How am I living?”
and “Why am I living this way?”
Relaxation encourages us to communicate
intimately with ourselves without self-judgment,
permitting us access to a tranquil, inner space.
Contrast the experience of being entirely alone
and empty versus the experience of relaxation:
The former may lead to depression, co-
dependency or addiction to certain substances
to “get away from it all,” or to “fill the void.”
The latter experience is a positive form of
narcissism which encourages and actually
develops our capacity to be alone, fully present
to oneself and to the world!

6. Psychological therapeutic implications:

Living with one’s emotions in a
calm and straightforward fashion
Mind Management techniques which develop
and balance receptive and emissive thought
patterns produce a secure base from which
people experience more intimate contact with
themselves and with their past history. The
psychological exercises offered in Vittoz
therapeutic sessions deepen and develop one’s
capacity to manage a sane and straightforward
emotional life.

Mental Management cultivates consciousness of

the physical senses free of parasitical thoughts
and produces a certain calm and intentional
management of receptive and emissive thought.
From there, folks can, if they wish, examine the
personal associations they sometimes make as a
result of buried emotional turmoil.
As it turns out, Vittoz sensorial exercises,
whether directed at the five senses or the
sensorial input given by the body itself, always
reveal a symbolic side dimension. This symbolic
dimension, it is believed, evokes an echo in the
subconscious mind, sometimes providing an
opening for further self-exploration. Sometimes
memories “rise” to the conscious mind when
associated with the experience of physical
sensations.
It’s possible at such point to work on these
emotional memories which rise to the surface in
the mind. Dr. Vittoz called these experiences
which rise to the through the memory in the
conscious mind, “clichés.” They trigger the
same reactions and attitudes every time they’re
encountered.
For example, a client may notice a certain
sadness associated with the scent of lavender,
again and again, without knowing why. One
day, the memory may come forward: the grief
of the death of a beloved grandmother, who
scented her clothing with lavender. From that
moment, the client is freed from the reaction of
sadness at the scent of lavender, or at least,
understands it. The reaction no longer controls
the client. Rather, the client controls the
reaction.
Once it is consciously recognized at the moment
of springing into the memory of the conscious
mind, the association can be managed. In
difficult situations and with the support of a
relationship with a certified therapist, serious
emotional damage may become apparent. From
there, it can be discussed in a setting conducive
to healing.
This may take time, and discussion is necessary,
always interspersed with concrete and sensorial
Vittoz exercises. Continued exercises give
weight to the conversation with the therapist,
and anchor these beneficial sensorial
experiences in body memory.
This dynamic situation may becomes a point of
departure for a remobilization and
reorganization of the Self, which leads to
individual autonomy, each client at his or her
own pace and rhythm.

7.) Vittoz, EEGs, MRIs, and Neuroplasticity

The term “neuroplasticity” refers to the brain’s
recently discovered ability to change its
structure and function by expanding or
strengthening circuits that are used and by
shrinking or weakening those that are rarely
engaged.
Dr. Vittoz posited that the brain gives off
different kinds of energy, depending on the kind
of work it is performing. He presented the idea
that humans can intentionally modify the
amount of energy they expend.
Today, EEG examinations measure the kinds of
cognitive activity of which he spoke. Centers of
activity in the brain can be mapped, measured
and documented. Extensive studies have
confirmed that subjects were able to modify the
amount and kind of energy expended in various
situations.
MRI examination measures the location of “hot
spots” active in any given brain activity.
Behavioral modification studies show that we
can indeed modify how our minds respond to
the world around us, and to the stimuli of our
senses and our bodies’ physical states.
Vittoz knew nothing of the process of
“neuroplasticity,” the brain’s capacity to revamp
its own neurological pathways, but upon this
reality, the Vittoz method is built. He posited
that constant emissive thought was wasteful,
tiring and over time, destructive, and that a
proper balance between normal receptive
thought and emissive thought produced
harmony, creativity, productivity and pleasure.
As Vittoz exercises are practiced over a short
period (say, three months) the brain remaps
circuitous nervous system routes into more
direct ones.

Conclusion
In today’s hectic world, most people can benefit
from Vittoz. The Vittoz method is both a
teaching tool for a lifestyle and a therapeutic
method. Its exercises offer restorative benefit,
no matter what the depth of the request of the
client.

When folks encounter a rough spot in life,

whether acute or chronic in nature, or face
some difficult ordeal in life, perhaps alone, Vittoz
exercises provide balance for their lives and
their thinking as well as a time to catch their
breath and to cope with the reality of the
situation in a reasonable and coherent fashion.
These exercises aim at unifying the person,
mind, body and spirit, and bring to folks realistic
pleasurable contact with the Self and with the
world around them. Vittoz provides full access
to the pleasure of life and the experience of
being really alive. In this way, the Vittoz
Method may be characterized as a Lifestyle.
-- Using some of the same exercises and
stressing the echo they may provoke in the
unconscious mind, there may arise the occasion
for serious therapy. Pivotal but long-forgotten
memories may spring into the conscious mind.
In concert with a skilled practitioner, some
exercises may permit folks to tie up loose ends
of their own history and find peace.
Vittoz is classified as a corporal mediation
therapy. Its specificity lies in the consciousness
of the body, which has its emphasis on the
here-and-now. This body consciousness is first
used in its simplest form to anchor the reality of
existing as a unified being: mind, body and
spirit. The Vittoz method insists on this unity,
on the sensations themselves. These sensations
are, after all, the only things which can bring to
us consciousness of the reality of the present
moment.
Vittoz practice does not endorse the ego-
destructive tactics of other methods of probing
the self. It’s an approach which builds up rather
than tearing down, which zeros in on the inner
security of the client, on his or her natural
adaptation, subsequently increasing energy
levels and taking advantage of the client’s sense
of being in charge, facilitating ones taking
charge of ones own life as it exists at any given
moment.
Vittoz belongs to the humanist school of
therapies with a resolute orientation on
phenomena, focused on and clinging to the
experience of the present moment in all its
facets.
Further reading :
BRUSTON Rosie (Docteur), Petit manuel de
rééducation psychosensorielle en psychothérapie
Vittoz, EPI rééd., 1990 - Éd. Desclée de
Brouwer, 1999.
BRUSTON Rosie (Docteur), La
Psychothérapie Vittoz : une démarche de
libération, Éd. Desclée de Brouwer, 1994 et
1999.
BUSSILLET Michelle, Habiter son corps -
Découvrir son être, Chronique Sociale, Lyon,
Octobre 2005.
CHAUCHARD J. et P., Apprendre à vivre et à
penser avec le Dr Vittoz, Lire Ecouter, 1996.
DEDET Suzanne, Relaxation psychosensorielle
dans la psychothérapie Vittoz. EPI, rééd.1986,
Éd. Desclee de Brouwer. Réédition Vittoz-IRDC
1999.
d’ESPINEY Pierre (Docteur),La
psychothérapie du Docteur Vittoz - Comment
combattre l’anxiété par le contrôle de soi,
Ed.Tequi, 1965, 1992.
DONATI Christiane, Le stress intelligent, Les
Éditions Demos, Février 2002.
GROC de SALMIECH Charles, Fini le stress
grâce à la méthode Vittoz, Ed. De Vecchi, 1990.
KATZ Soly (Docteur), La méthode Vittoz :
techniques, indications, In Bulletin de la Société
de Recherches Psychothérapiques de langue
française, Cahier N° 3, 1963.
LAURENT-KAEPPELIN G., Qu’est-ce que la
méthode Vittoz ? Un art de vivre, Ed. Tequi,
1983.
VITTOZ Roger (Docteur), Traitement des
Psychonévroses par la rééducation du contrôle
cérébral, 1ère édition 1910, Éd. Tequi. Rééd.
1992.
VITTOZ Roger (Docteur), Notes et pensées -
in Angoisse ou Contrôle - choix de textes par le
Docteur d’Espiney, Éd. Du Levain, 1976. Tequi,
1992.
VITTOZ-IRDC - collectif, Oser la vie Vittoz -
100 praticiens pour témoigner, Éditions
Delachaux et Niestlé, Paris, 1991.
VITTOZ-IRDC - Vittoz
collectif, et
Pédagogie : une méthode pour réussir
ensemble, enseignants - élèves, Chronique
Sociale, Lyon, 1996.
VITTOZ-IRDC - collectif, Face aux ruptures
de vie, la méthode Vittoz, une réponse possible,
Chronique sociale, Lyon, Décembre 2000.