Neurographica is healing the island’s traumas

Based on art and science, the hurts of the past can be overcome. ALIX NORMAN speaks to a Cyprus expert in neurographic art

In the 1940s, art therapy was first pioneered to help veterans, prisoners and those suffering from mental disorders to tap into their inner thoughts and feelings. Yet it’s only in the last decade that studies have proven the true power of creative expression: recent research in Harvard Health, for instance, suggests that creating art can relieve stress, increase self-worth, aid communication and even help arrest cognitive decline.

But in the last eight years, art therapy has gone one step further. Now, claim exponents of neurographica, art can be used to completely rejig your subconscious!

Developed in 2014 by Doctor of Psychology Pavel Piskarev, neurographica combines art and psychology to repair both chronic and acute trauma. It’s a process, he maintains, that links the conscious with the subconscious; a creative method of transforming our inner world that activates the cells of the central nervous system and turns stress into calm.

It’s a method so simple, so easy, that you can give it a try it at home. Or, if that sounds a little daunting, you could take a class with Cyprus’ own expert in neurographica, Diana Gencheva.

A Transformational Coach, 41-year-old Diana is Bulgarian by birth but has been based in Limassol for over a decade. Less than a year or so ago, she was the general manager of a global fast food chain. But, in December 2021, when she graduated as a neurographica instructor, she quit her managerial role to begin sharing her true passion with the world…

“As far as I know, I’m the only active teacher of neurographica in Cyprus,” Diana reveals. “I was taught by the originator of the method himself, Pavel Piskarev, and found myself hooked from the very start. It’s an incredibly easy, simple method of creating personal transformation: a method that utilises both science and art to do everything from healing long-held trauma to mending a broken heart!”

Far from being crystals and incense stuff, neurographica seems to fall into the same vein as EMDR, somatic experiencing and mindfulness meditation: emerging therapies that have a basis in our developing understanding of our own central nervous system. Once upon a time, biologists believed the brain was formed and fixed at an early age. Now, we know about neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to form and reorganise synaptic connections. And this new knowledge has led to a host of healing therapies, such as neurographica.

“Neurographica uses art to access and transform neural patterns,” Diana explains. “It’s a simple way to get our bodies and subconscious mind back in touch, harmonise internal conflict, and transform ourselves from the inside out.”

If you study neurobiology, she adds, you’ll find that neurons connect in groups over time. They form the well-worn pathways of our repeated thoughts and behaviours – the ability to tie our shoelaces without thinking, or the automatic sense of panic that accompanies a late-night phone call. As we age, our brains consolidate these pathways. And, taken to the extreme, these fixed pathways can create conditions such as debilitating neuropathic pain or long-held physical tensions.

“But by creating neurographic art, we’re using specific, psycho-biological techniques to break negative neural patterns,” explains Diana. “And we’re rebuilding new, better neural connections that transform our thoughts, emotions and behaviours.”

There’s a great deal more science to the subject than this. Diana explains the importance of the nine ‘neurographic algorithms’, the creation of the ‘neuroline’, and the significance of ‘rounding’ and colour. But the upshot seems to be that this discipline allows exponents (even those with no artistic talent whatsoever!) to access and heal their central nervous system at a very deep level.

“When you watch a scary movie, you feel stressed and anxious,” Diana adds. “And that manifests in the body as tension – a tension that soon wears off. But long-held or deeper hurts create chronic tension and problems, both mental and physical. Creating this specific type of art brings those tensions to the surface, allowing them to dissipate at the same time as building new, better connections.

“A good instructor will constantly check in with how you feel, what you’re thinking as you draw,” she continues. “They’ll help you focus on the specific issue you need to solve and tackle the emotions that arise; they’ll help you understand what you need.”

Diana herself has seen participants achieve miraculous results. “I taught a woman who, for a decade, had spent most of her life in clinics with chronic back pain; since she started neurographica, she hasn’t had to visit the hospital even once!”

She’s also seen huge personality changes. “Another lady was known for being incredibly controlling and exacting. Now, she’s lost the anxiety and fear that forced her perfectionism; both she and her family are much happier for it.”

There’s even been the odd manifestation of abundance: “Exponents who’ve been strapped for cash, and then suddenly found a lucrative new job,” says Diana. “This isn’t the universe suddenly letting you in a secret – it’s more neurographica helping the brain get out of its own way and allowing you to see new opportunities.”

So passionate is Diana about neurographica that, in addition to her paid tutelage, she’s also uploaded a number of free workshops on YouTube for anyone to access. “If you want to experience the benefits of neurographica at home, this is where to begin,” she acknowledges. “Or, you could simply sit down at the end of the day with a blank sheet of A4 and a Sharpie, and draw yourself 40 intersecting circles across the page…

“Find the places where these circles overlap, and carefully round each sharp corner, each edge. You’ll find, by the time you’ve finished, that much of the day’s tension has left your body. If you don’t believe neurographica has anything to offer, just try it!”

For more information, visit the Facebook page ‘Diana Gencheva – Transformation Coach’ or try Diana’s simple videos on the YouTube channel Diana Gencheva