Vanessa is a mother of two grown daughters and a passionate entrepreneur. Initially trained in accounting, she followed a path of personal transformation that led her to sophrology and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).
Since 2005, she has been coaching individuals and companies, helping everyone to achieve their full potential. Vanessa tells us about her career, her transition to professional coaching, the benefits of sophrology and her future projects, including her brand "Ma SophroBox" for coaching professionals.
Meet a woman dedicated to helping others find life balance and fulfillment.
-Can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your background?
I am Vanessa, a woman first and foremost, a mother of two grown-up girls and an entrepreneur at heart. I have always wanted to do things differently, stand out, dare to do crazy things, create and launch projects, and above all allow others to achieve their potential and not miss out on their lives!
For too long, I adapted, what am I saying over-adapted, to please and not disappoint. I am very empathetic and checking that I am appreciated, loved, was fundamental for me but I did not know it yet.
I wanted to be an artist at first, then I moved towards psychology, but as it wasn't the right path, I did accounting and management in order to join the family group.
I believe that our path is not drawn by chance and I think that even if the one I took at the time did not really suit me, it is nevertheless thanks to him that I have become the person I am today.
So I have 10 years of experience in business where I have progressed to different positions, I learned a lot in this very masculine world to join general management and after a certain time realize that it did not suit me.
At that time I was married and my daughters were young, I had to manage everything, my job, my relationship, my children... and then my body started to express symptoms that made me understand quite quickly that I was no longer in harmony with myself.
That's when I started a personal development journey to get to know myself better, to know who I really was and what I really wanted. I could have sunk but a strength in me, which characterizes me, is this ability to bounce back that has never left me.
I experience my emotions very intensely and sometimes it is confusing.
Following this journey of introspection, I discovered sophrology and NLP – Neuro Linguistic Programming. I expressed and healed my wounds, then I trained in these methods which literally changed my way of seeing life.
I now know what I want: "To help others be themselves and achieve their potential". I started in 2005, I began to support individuals and companies and very quickly my schedule was full. I know that I made the right choice and that I am in the right place!
And for more than 18 years, I have been supporting individuals, entrepreneurs and companies in individual coaching and team coaching, I develop tailor-made training courses based on the needs of my clients.
My favorite themes are personal and professional leadership (this is not reserved for business), emotional intelligence, support for all types of change (change of company, change of life, etc.), self-realization, defining your life project, developing self-esteem and confidence, assertiveness, launching projects and developing your business, etc.
Finding a balance in life, whether we are a man or a woman, in our entirety, is what drives me every day.
-When did you get this vocation as a professional coach?
When I started my business, I was not yet a professional coach, I was trained and certified in Sophrology and NLP and I heard a lot about coaching but I was not convinced. A somewhat strange term that at the time was mainly used for sports coaches.
It was only later that I said to myself, but in fact I already do coaching with the tools I had and so I looked for a methodology and certification to legitimize my practice.
Coaching is a somewhat overused term today and anyone can call themselves a coach, except that it doesn't really happen like that.
One of my key values is professionalism and this involves questioning and ongoing personal and professional development, supervision, adhering to a code of ethics and conduct. This prevents a lot of deviation.
What was important to me was to support these men and women in their questioning and their reassessment.
-What is sophrology according to you and what are the effects?
Sophrology is above all a method that allows you to become aware of yourself and develop your level of consciousness in general. Being conscious means being fully in the present moment, and in what we are doing.
Sophrology is often compared to relaxation but it goes much further. It helps you to know yourself better, to identify your deep needs and to fully develop yourself. It is indeed based on relaxation techniques, yoga, hypnosis, Japanese Zen meditation.
The benefits are multiple: better management and regulation of your stress, your emotions, perspective, self-confidence, self-development, etc.
It is training and repetition that will make it work. Sophrology is not a magic wand but a real discipline that requires practice and training. The more you train, the more you will see and feel the benefits in your daily life.
This does not mean that life is a long, quiet river, but it allows us to strengthen our resources, our capacities, our skills and will therefore allow us to approach obstacles and life events differently.
-What is your approach with herbal medicine?
I deeply believe in multidisciplinary support and the complementarity of different methods. I have adopted a caring approach by integrating herbal medicine into my wellness routine. During this transitional period of menopause, I have found in herbal medicine a natural source of support.
It is a gentle but effective alternative, harmoniously integrated into my daily habits.
-What are your future plans?
- Continue to do what I do with love and meaning.
- Contribute to the development of each person who meets me and trusts me.
- To make known my method which allows you to ask yourself the right questions at the right time in order to be able to progress in a secure environment and to be fully yourself.
- I am currently working on training courses to offer to as many people as possible, always with the aim of truly meeting each other and daring to achieve. They will soon see the light of day!
- Keep creating because I love it…
Putting creativity into my accompaniments.
And continue the development of my brand "Ma SophroBox": games and "turnkey" training materials for support professionals but also managers and companies to offer differentiating activities during seminars, workshops, interviews, etc. You can discover the products on the online sales site https://masophrobox.com
