Être zen pour mieux apprendre: a book by Juliette Grollimund-Depoorter (EDHEC 1998)

Industrial action, winter fatigue, the Christmas rush … It’s not always easy for parents and children alike to channel their inner peace at this time of year! So we felt it would be useful to share this little gem written recently by Juliette Grollimund-Depoorter (EDHEC 1998).

From the marshmallow strategy to the tightrope walk, from the soap bubble or the punching ball to the magic wand, Juliette teaches physical relaxation techniques and is an author working from the Rennes region. Her latest book Être zen pour mieux apprendre, published in September by Hatier, offers a few tips on how to improve concentration and memory, reduce stress and fatigue levels, and make it easier for children under the age of 10 to manage their emotions!

Containing around 70 practical ready-to-use files, which the reader can use without the need for equipment, seated or standing, alone, in pairs or in small groups and in short sessions, this book will enable you to put in place bodily relaxation techniques, whether in class or at home. 

An unusual career full of discovery and the urge to share 

“I was part of the class of ’97 and did a one-year internship followed by an exchange programme in Montréal, so I left with my diploma in 1998 not having seen many of my contacts for some time. Having majored in international business, I did my final-year internship in corporate patronage, which is what I wrote my final dissertation on, quite an unusual choice back then. I worked for a few years in that sector and helped Olivier Classiot set up Tribu Développement in Paris for the EDHEC Alumni network at a time when there wasn’t much talk of the social and solidarity economy. After a few jobs in consultancy firms and communication agencies, I worked freelance, mostly in publishing. Very quickly, I fell into the “other” category in the alumni statistics :-)"

Training has always been part of Juliette’s life. During her years as a freelancer in Paris, she also secured a few contracts teaching in communication, journalism and business schools. For 15 years she had been fascinated by massages and various approaches to treating the body, so during her free time she underwent some training and obtained qualifications in 2001.

It was in 2008 that Juliette began to follow a radically different path, leaving Paris and setting up in Brittany where she founded KerAnanda in order to devote all her time to wellness massage sessions and training. She became a certified Toucher-massage® facilitator and instructor and joined Joël Savatofski’s (IFJS) team of instructors, serving as the lead representative in Brittany for nearly 10 years. She ran initiation workshops, professional training for clients interested in becoming practitioners, specialized modules on massages for pregnant women, babies and children, and regularly worked in hospitals to train medical staff how to use the Toucher-massage® approach. 

Since 2013 she has been living in Rennes where she shares a surgery with an osteopath, receiving adults, pregnant women, teenagers, children and babies for individual sessions. She also continues to run training sessions and initiation workshops on relaxation techniques all year round. She has been working as an in-school massage instructor (Misa France) since 2014 and has set up her own training course on bodily relaxation techniques for children: Anim’Kids. 

With so much experience, she wanted to share the fruit of all the workshops she had run with children, the many applications and benefits of relaxation techniques implemented in schools, as well as the fascinating discussions she had had with teachers keen to acquire new tools. And so she set about writing her first book, Être zen pour mieux apprendre, published by Hatier.

Why did you write this book? 

“I wrote it based on a threefold observation: 

• the dominant discourse on the difficulties children have concentrating and remembering things ... and which I also noticed to a lesser extent in workshops,
• the exhaustion that sometimes leads to burnout among teachers, some of whom come to see me for individual sessions,
• and the obstacles that prevent teachers from introducing new practices in class, "having received no formal training " and the very understandable logistical difficulties involved in moving an entire class into a motor skills learning space … to relax the pupils. 

I wanted to give teachers, educators, school assistants and of course families access to practical files that would help them “dare” to take the plunge and run relaxation and wellness activities without undergoing any specific training, and in that way create a kind of virtuous circle in which pupils feel better – and their teachers too." 

How is this book relevant to others from EDHEC?  

Être zen pour mieux apprendre is a book designed for primary school children aged 5 to 10. It is as much for teachers as it is for parents, grandparents and anyone else that comes into contact with children or is interested in learning mechanisms and neuroscience and the way they contribute to education (there are four chapters on “theory” before the practical files are introduced). Anyone curious about their own relaxation and well-being will also find something in this book.
The book is available on the publisher’s website: https://urlz.fr/ay8u as well as in bookshops (orders only) and on the usual online retail platforms (Amazon, Fnac, etc.).
Retail price: €23.90

Calling all EDHEC network members: feel free to share the info about the publication of Juliette Grollimund’s book with those around you and perhaps even consider it as a Christmas gift! 

To contact Juliette Grollimund: contact@kerananda.com – +33 (0)6 14 89 62 33