Autogenic Therapy (AT) is a powerful mind and body technique involving simple relaxation and body awareness exercises. These reduce the intensity of the body's stress response, and replace it with a calmer physiological state in which self-healing naturally begins to occur.

The basic AT exercises focus on various physical manifestations of relaxation in the body: heaviness in the musculo-skeletal system and warmth in the circulatory system (*). These are followed by awareness of the heartbeat, breathing, the abdomen and a cool forehead.

During the course we talk about the biological and cultural background of the exercises and also about body symbolism. Together with learning the deep-relaxation programme, you will be shown various verbal and physical off-loading exercises (helping you manage anger, anxiety and crying) to deal with releasing both current and previously suppressed emotions. This is based on the fact common to Autogenic therapists and many other therapists, especially body therapists, that emotion which is experienced but not expressed often becomes stored in the body.

(*)When we are in a stressful situation, we react bodily and emotionally. Our whole body and all of our cells store information, and we can also integrate the general state of tension within our muscles. Heaviness and warmth focus on the musculo-skeletal system. The first two exercises give us an opportunity to access this hidden information and begin to process it. The reduction of muscular tension sends a powerful message to the body's network: it transmits the information through the brain stem to all areas of the brain that the body and muscles are resting, and so the mind can relax.