What is Awareness Through the Body?
Awareness Through the Body is a comprehensive curriculum of exercises that aims to raise awareness and enable both children and adults to become conscious of their own perceptions and abilities so that they may become more self-aware, self-directed individuals.
It offers ways to discover the existing connections between mind, emotions and the physical body and to integrate these different parts into a more harmonious whole, organised around the inmost centre.
The activities are creative and often fun. They develop gradually and encourage concentration, focus, relaxation and a sense of accomplishment. The programme works by first bringing the individual into a state of receptivity in which he can better “listen” to the many and varied inputs he is continuously receiving from both his inner and outer world. The exercises then allow him to gradually discover the complex amalgam of which he is made and to find the tools to manage this complexity effectively.
Children speak about ATB
“It makes the physical body much more real and you discover things about yourself.”
“In the ATB classes they gave us exercises to quiet us down and then exercises to bring us back, exercises on how to develop the body sense and awareness, and how to use sense and how to recognize feelings.”
“It made me more aware of everything around, and it made me much more open. When I get nervous, now, or angry, I always return to my breath to cool down.”
“They taught through games and we still learned a lot. It helps you in your relationship with other people, makes you very open and understanding.”
“You can use it subconsciously, for balance and coordination.”
“The group work was very important. You learn how to find your own way in a group and one thing we learned is that if it didn't work in one way we could try another. That was when we were “Crossing the river”. (…) It brings up things in you which remain.”
More information
International workshops and information about the development of ATB and the creators can be found at: