Body before story.
We start with how you feel, not with explaining yourself. You never have to retell your week or earn your place here. The session begins in the body.
Guided one-to-one play sessions, 60 minutes, online, for adults
"I can't relax just by deciding to relax."That's exactly what these sessions are for.
Sixty minutes of guided play, movement, voice and imagination, one-to-one with Charbel, so there's never an audience.
Start with a free intro call
Sessions from €120 · the 15-minute intro call is free.
A conversation, not a sales call: nothing to prepare, nothing to commit to.
No improv or performance experience needed.If this is you
You don't need to tick every box. If a few of these sound familiar, you're in the right place.
"My shoulders live somewhere up around my ears."
"I overthink everything, including relaxing."
"Meditation and long baths don't reach whatever this is."
"I'm scared of looking foolish, even alone in my living room."
"I don't want therapy. I also don't want a performance class. I want something else."
"I find it hard to show myself, to speak up, be seen, say what I actually feel."
None of this means something is wrong with you. It usually means you've been carrying a lot, with nowhere to put it down. That's what this session is for.
In their words
What stayed
after the hour.
I really enjoyed the first session!!! The fun and the laughter, I really enjoyed it. I did feel disconnected but from the world, I was engaging my brain and my body in the exercises. I noticed a shift in my energy. A session full of exercises that engage the creativity and the body where we can let go of overthinking.Pam
Thank you from my heart for sharing this experience with me. I kept laughing for a while, remembering some of the details. What I believe is that treating any illness, inner or outer, starts with laughter, and that's what caught my attention: the details that need follow-up show up here. Then I paused at the balance exercise, since I felt my memory had been slipping away from me gradually, and I hadn't been giving that any importance. And another thing, I usually have a deep, wide-ranging imagination, and I felt like I'd lost touch with it. I told Pam my experience was different; I didn't tell her the details, but I told her that whatever she goes through will help her with her young students, or with her own children later on. Thank you, and I'm looking forward to the second session.Cozy
The 1:1 session with Charbel was a real delight. My inner child woke up and was very happy to play, be creative, be in the moment, invent! I was amazed how quickly I could swop my emotions and states and I left the session with a lot of lightness, happiness and positive energy!Sabine · Life Coach
I really enjoyed my coaching session with Charbel. From the very beginning, he made me feel at ease and safe. His gentle and soft approach allowed me to build trust and let go of my need for control. I especially appreciated how the session was both playful and deep, creating a space where I could explore freely. I left feeling more relaxed, lighter, and genuinely good. I would definitely recommend Charbel to anyone looking for a warm, supportive, and insightful coaching experience.Matteo
“From Tension to Play” was such a refreshing and enjoyable experience. I walked into the session carrying some of the usual tension and stress of everyday life, and I left feeling lighter, happier, and more present. I genuinely enjoyed every single activity, and the session brought back a lot of my love and memories of theatre. It was a great reminder of how much freedom, spontaneity, and joy can come from simply playing and being in the moment. Thank you, Charbel, for creating such a welcoming and playful space. I highly recommend this experience to anyone who wants to reconnect with themselves, release some daily tension, and simply have fun through theatre.Ziad G. N.
NovaI just had a session with Charbel, and it was such a unique experience.
It was fun, exciting, creative, slightly challenging in a really good way, and it helped me understand my current situation on a much deeper level. It also reminded me of what I truly need right now.
Towards the end of the session, I could feel tears coming up as an important realization landed deeply within me.
I walked away with so much more clarity and a better understanding of where I am in my life right now and what I need moving forward.
I can warmly recommend Charbel and his sessions to anyone who feels curious about exploring themselves and their current situation in a new and creative way.
What a session
actually looks like
One hour. One-to-one. Online. The session is structured but gentle, and it starts in your body, not in your story.
What follows is the shape of a real hour, an example of what to expect, drawn from an actual session plan. No two hours are identical: we improvise, we change an exercise when something else is more alive. Your session won't follow it to the minute, the structure stays flexible and follows what feels alive, but this is honest territory: you arrive, you breathe and move, you play, you create, and you leave with something. It's also practice ground for showing yourself: being present, speaking up, and giving what you feel a voice, gently, at your own pace.
1. Arriving : about 8 minutes
We say hello. You don't have to explain your week or justify why you're here. You're invited to arrive without rushing to fix or change anything.
The check-in is a few open questions, and your answers set the energy for everything that follows. The one that captures it best:
"What would you like to create more space for today?"
2. Breath and movement : about 7 minutes
A first, simple experiment. Three slow breaths: in for five seconds, and on each exhale your body makes one spontaneous movement, nothing planned. After the third breath you hold the final position like a statue, we copy each other's statues, and then gradually bring them to life.
The idea behind it, in the facilitator's own words:
"We will not force an emotion. We will become curious about what changes."
3. Playing : about 25 minutes
The heart of the session. Guided play using movement, voice and imagination, always an invitation, never an instruction. Two real examples of what an hour can hold:
Creating a playful character. You discover a character through your body, without planning it in your head first. The character walks a certain way, dances, sings, has a name, is wonderful at something, completely ridiculous at something, and wants something today. The facilitator plays alongside you throughout, so you never feel watched or tested.
Glorious mistakes. In play, a mistake is not a failure: it's material. We practice celebrating them: what the stumble offers, how the wrong note becomes the best line, and how that same move changes things outside the session. Getting it wrong, on purpose and together, is part of the fun.
The Emotional Remote Control. An imaginary remote control changes your character's physical state, one press at a time: talk in slow motion; be curious about everything; "your feet have just discovered music", and a few more we keep for the room. Each change is given time to reach the whole body. Then the remote changes hands, and you're the one directing.
4. Creating : about 15 minutes
“Allow the song to be strange, funny or imperfect.”
Play often turns into making something, often a song or a story. It begins with a simple rhythm, tapped out with hands, feet or on the table, and grows one line at a time: the character introduces themselves, says what they want, what has been holding them back, and what they choose now. The facilitator carries the weight. You only ever add your piece. No writing experience, no musical skill, no performance. Just expression:
"Allow the song to be strange, funny or imperfect."
5. Closing : about 6 minutes
We slow right down and notice what's different in your body compared with when we started. Then you choose one movement from today that represents the state you want to carry into your week, and give yourself one sentence to carry with it:
"If you could give yourself one sentence to carry through this week, what would it be?"
We repeat your chosen movement together once, and that's the hour. You leave with a movement and a sentence that are yours.
The promises
Choice before challenge.
Every invitation is exactly that: an invitation. Pause, pass, adapt, any time. You stay in charge of your own session, from the first minute to the last.
Connection before performance.
There's no audience and nothing to impress. I'm not watching you. I'm with you. That's the point of doing this one-to-one.
Play before perfection.
There's no way to get it right, because there is no right. Getting it wrong is most of the fun, and nobody is keeping score.
Who is
Charbel
I grew up in a war zone. Nobody teaches a child how to live with that, so the body learns on its own: stay alert, stay ready, stay tight. I carried it with me for years: the tension, the restlessness, a mind that never stopped scanning, and a running commentary of self-judgment on top of it all.
I assumed relaxation was something you could think your way into. It isn't. What finally moved something in me was unexpected: playful improvisation. Movement. Voice. Making things up and getting them gloriously wrong. For the first time in a long time I was simply present, in my body, in the moment, not braced, not performing.
From Tension to Play comes straight from that experience. I'm not a therapist and I don't pretend to be one. What I offer is the method that helped me: a private space where, for an hour, you can move, sound, imagine and play your way out of your own head. I'd be glad to share it with you.
Charbel
A focused four-session programme
Keep reacting
the same way?
Guided play sessions offer space to unwind and express yourself. If you want to explore a familiar reaction in more depth, there's Pattern Shift: From Reaction to Choice.
Four private online sessions with Charbel to notice a pattern, explore what is happening, and practise more intentional responses through reflection, movement and guided play. Includes simple exercises to practise at home.
Four sessions · €400 total
Explore Pattern ShiftWays to work with Charbel
Private sessions.
A focused journey.
Start with one session, explore a pattern over four, or make play a regular practice. Begin with a free intro call.
One session
€120
One complete hour
Complete in itself. You leave with something real.
Pattern Shift
€400
Total for four private online sessions
From Reaction to Choice. Notice a familiar pattern, explore its story and practise different responses, with simple exercises to take home.
Explore the programmeA season of ten
€900
€90 a session
A practice, not a program. For when you want this to become part of how you live.
Questions
people ask
Do I need improv or acting experience?
Not one bit. This isn't an improv class: improv is just one of the tools. There's no stage, no audience and no technique to learn. The invitations are things anyone can already do: breathe and let the body move, talk in slow motion, be curious about everything for a minute. If you can accept a simple invitation, you can do this.
What if I feel silly?
You probably will, at least for a few minutes, almost everyone does. That's not a sign it's going wrong; here, it's part of the design. The characters we play with are wonderful at something and completely ridiculous at something else, and I play alongside you the whole time, so you're never the one being watched. You can name it, laugh at it, slow down, or skip the exercise entirely. Silly usually fades into fun.
Do we create things like songs?
Sometimes, yes, it depends on the session and on you. One hour might create a character with a name, a walk and a ridiculous talent. Another might turn that character into a song, built one line at a time over a simple rhythm tapped with hands or feet. Creating is always optional, never a test, and whatever you make is allowed to be strange, funny or imperfect.
Is every session the same?
No. The hour has a dependable shape: arrive, breathe and move, play, create, close, but what fills it adapts to you: the person you are, the energy you bring that day, and what felt alive in your last session. No two people get the same session, and your own sessions won't be identical from one week to the next. The structure serves you, not the other way round.
What do I need at home?
A space where you can move a bit and make some noise without worrying who hears you, plus a device with a camera. That's it: no equipment, no preparation.
Sessions run over Google Meet — you'll get a link before we start.
Do I have to keep my camera on?
It's your call. Most people keep it on because it's easier to play together when we can see each other, but you can switch it off at any moment, no explanation needed.
What should I wear?
Anything you can move and breathe in. That's the whole dress code.
What language are sessions in?
English, Arabic or French, whichever you're most comfortable in.
How many sessions should I book?
One session is complete in itself: you'll leave with something real. If you want to focus on a familiar reaction pattern, Pattern Shiftoffers a structured four-session programme with exercises to practise at home. For ongoing guided play, there's a season of ten.
What if I can't afford it?
A few places each month are pay what you can. If money is what's in the way, say so on the free intro call. No proof or explanation is needed.
Is this therapy?
No. It's educational and experiential: play, movement and expression, guided one-to-one. I'm not a therapist and I don't offer diagnosis or treatment. If you need clinical support, please see a qualified professional; the section above says exactly where this begins and ends.
What happens after the free call?
Whatever you decide. If you want to book, we find a time. If you'd like to think it over, it keeps. If it's not for you, that's a fine outcome too. Nothing happens automatically.
Is it private?
Yes. Sessions are one-to-one, and what happens in them stays between us. I don't share what you say or do.
Sessions are never recorded. See the Privacy Policy for more on how your information is handled.
Start with a
conversation
Before any session, there's a free 15-minute intro call. It's the calmest possible way to begin, and it's the only thing you can book from this page.
On the call, you can:
- say a little about what you're carrying and what you'd like from the sessions
- hear exactly how a session works, step by step
- ask anything at all, the sillier the question, the better
And afterwards? If it feels right, you book a session. If you'd like to think it over, take all the time you need. If it's a no, that's a completely fine answer too. No chasing, no pressure, nothing automatic.
Home is the door.
Play is the room.