ATB is the acronym of Awareness Through the Body which means to awaken Consciousness through the Body .
This method is a program made up of numerous exercises, activities and games that aim to increase awareness and perception of ourselves. The goal that the ATB sets itself is to help the development of attention, concentration, relaxation and self-awareness.
The program and the appropriate exercises are structured precisely to allow you to better experience and perceive, through an awakening of awareness, all the inputs that we constantly receive both internally and externally. It focuses on being present through the perception of body sensations. In this way we become aware of ourselves and learn to manage ourselves and regulate ourselves.
Often the activities are creative and fun and offer the opportunity to discover one's limits and abilities, to develop a healthy sense of success and responsibility.
The central point of the exercises is to be able to bring the person or the child into a state of observation and active perception where the experience of what is called the "internal witness" is done.
This state of presence can be perceived as an inner space in which it is possible to connect more easily with the essence of ourselves . The "internal witness" is, moreover, free from all judgment, every analysis, and is not identified with any desire, positive or negative emotion, or with any part of ourselves.
The Awareness Trough the Body (ATB) classes are aimed at both groups of adults and children from 3 or 4 years of age and are practiced both in indoor classes, often through the use of different materials, and sometimes even outdoors where the green areas or even the waters of a swimming pool can provide an additional field for the exploration of oneself and the surrounding world.
The history of Awareness Through the Body
Awareness Trough the Body is a program that began in 1992 in the schools of Auroville, an international city located in southern India and created to experience human unity in a more conscious society.
The ATB began its first steps thanks to the ideas and experiments of Aloka Marti and Joan Sala Aurovillian founders of Awareness Trough the Body.
Thanks to their work for the children of the Auroville schools, the practice of these ATB activities has begun, which has given excellent results and above all the best answer is given by the same voice of the children who often happily ask when the lessons will be at the end of the next one.
Older children, if asked what the ATB program is for, answer that it serves to increase attention, concentration, to learn to relax and to help develop a sense of responsibility and self-awareness towards us themselves and to our other companions.
The practice of ATB then continued to grow and develop by integrating many activities from the most varied disciplines: hatha yoga, martial arts, tai chi, natural therapies, shiatsu, Taoism, etc. ... creating a complete program in the end both creative and fun for both children and adults.
Where to experience the ATB
The ATB, from India, then found its diffusion in the United States and some European countries : Spain, Italy, France, Ireland and the Netherlands as a training and / or updating course for teachers of different specializations, for interested people to personal growth and in general for several end users.
In Italy we can learn about and experiment with this method through informative and informative meetings, seminars and specific workshops carried out by Francesco Colturi, a recognized facilitator of Awareness Through the Body.
On the Italian site of awakening with consciousness, you can find out the dates of the activities and learn more about the topic. Furthermore, the English text Awareness Trough the Body was recently translated into Italian and published for our local market.
In conclusion, going to some ATB lessons is the best way to find out what it means to awaken consciousness through the body .
