AT Dynamics – IAN ROSS Autogenic Therapy and Training in Mindfulness
New Introduction April 2024
This website was originally established in 2010. At that time I was an Autogenic Psychotherapist and my main focus was:
- teaching Autogenic Training (AT); and
- writing web articles relating to AT, its neuro-physiological underpinnings, and the close relationship of these to mindful and meditative practices.
In 2017 I read a wonderful new book: “Autogenics 3.0: The New Way to Mindfulness and Meditation” [Luis de Rivera 2017 / 2018 / 2022] that was an eye-opener to me; and confirmed my sense that Autogenic Training is a way to mindfulness, especially in de Rivera’s 3.0 manifestation. This has been articulated more and more since then in the Autogenic Dynamics Articles section of this website.
In recent decades, I have had the good fortune to attend some wonderful “retreats”. For example: St Andrews with Thich Nhat Hanh in 2003; a week on Holy Island – 2011 (near Arran); and in 2018 two weeks in Plum Village (France). All three of these have been very enriching – and enhanced my sense that mindfulness is rooted as much in our heart as mind. Hence Heart-Mindfulness may be a better term (see Mindfulness Section).
More recently, I embarked on a training course with Mindfulness Now to become a Mindfulness Teacher (2022-2023). Since then I have been teaching Mindfulness in small groups – see Mindfulness Section on this website.
In brief, my journey to becoming a Mindfulness Teacher has been through teaching Autogenic Training. During recent decades, I have attended many excellent post grad courses; these included my basic training to become an Autogenic Therapist (1994-1997); and an advanced course for AT Therapists 2003-2004 – both in London. I express my immense gratitude to the British Autogenic Society for these – which increasingly transformed my work as a GP in Leith, Edinburgh.
In addition, I have had the good fortune to attend various workshops / conferences that have included presentations / talks by, for example, Jaak Panksepp, Porges (Polyvagal Theory), Deb Dana, Kabat-Zinn, and Paul Gilbert (Compassion focused therapy).
AT Dynamics – IAN ROSS Autogenic Training
(For Mindfulness Training, please see Mindfulness section on website.)
Autogenic Training (AT) is a well-researched form of Mental Training that was developed in Berlin in the 1930s, and thus predates by a number of years more recent approaches such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Mindfulness approaches – yet it shares many aspects of these.
Most of us are aware that, to keep physically fit, we need to exercise the body regularly. In the west, it has taken us a long time to appreciate that to maintain general well-being and mental stability, we also need to exercise the mind on a regular basis. A fit body helps to keep a healthy mind, and a fit mind helps to keep a healthy body.
Autogenic Training does this by switching off the Fight / Flight Stress Response, and facilitating the Relaxation Response that is associated with Rest, Repair, and Recuperation. The Autogenic approach thus allows us to deal more appropriately with the inevitable ups and downs of life, and at the same time we develop new skills in dealing with distressing emotions and feelings.
The combination of regular Autogenic Practice associated with mindful approaches for dealing with emotional distress give us the means and skills to cope with life’s difficulties. It can thus put us on a path to greater well-being and wholeness.
Autogenic Training has also been found to help a number of physical conditions such as tension headaches, skin ailments (e.g. psoriasis), irritable bowel syndrome and fatigue conditions.
People who have learned AT commonly report:
Improvements in:
- general well-being
- emotional balance
- coping ability
- inner strength
- confidence
- ability to relax
- Improvements in quality of sleep
- reduced anxiety
- reduced pain
- less reliance on medication or other forms of therapy
- increased concentration
- increased self-confidence
- ability to remain calm under pressure
- helping to see life as a path / journey towards increasing wholeness.
- How to contact an Autogenic Therapist in the UK via the British Autogenic Society website which has a list of AT registered therapists.
- How to contact Ian Ross, and his approach to teaching AT.
- A section on Mindfulness.
- An extended Autogenic Dynamics section which includes papers / articles / talks by Ian Ross over the last decade or so. This section is mainly intended as a resource for therapists, as further reading for AT students who have completed or are learning basic AT – and indeed anyone interested in the interlinks between well-being, how our brains work, and effective therapeutic approaches. The same also applies for students and practitioners of Mindfulness.
British Autogenic Society
