Experiencing Embodied Cognition: The IBAP (Intensive Body Awareness Practice) – Peter Widmer
Practical lesson with a brief theoretical introduction
How can awareness become grounded not only in thought, but in the direct experience of the body, movement and space?
The Intensive Body Awareness Practice (IBAP) is a 45-minute integrative practice that I have developed. It combines movement exercises drawing on Tsa Lung, Trul Khor and yoga, with targeted self-massage of fascia and muscles. This is followed by a guided contemplative practice including a body scan, an expansion of spatial awareness from the body into progressively wider spaces, and practices of gratitude and metta (loving kindness).
IBA brings together movement, interoception, embodied awareness and meditation in a single practice. Rather than approaching embodiment primarily as a concept, participants are invited to explore it directly through their own experience. It is currently being further developed and edited into a handbook in collaboration with researchers at the University of Freiburg, Germany, with a scientific pilot study planned for 2027.
The online session will begin with an introduction of approximately 15 minutes, followed by the full 45-minute IBAP. The final 30 minutes will be devoted to questions, sharing experiences and discussion.
Peter Widmer, PhD, is a philosopher, developmental coach and Zen master based in Basel, Switzerland. He leads the Zen Zentrum Basel and teaches in the Zen tradition shaped by Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle and Bernie Glassman. For more than 25 years, he has taught meditation, contemplative practice and personal development on retreats and in seminars and professional settings.
His work explores the intersection of Zen practice, adult development, embodied awareness and contemporary research. He is the author of several books on mindfulness, self-development and Zen and is currently developing and researching the Intensive Body Awareness Practice (IBAP), an integrative practice combining movement, body awareness, spatial awareness, gratitude and loving-kindness meditation.
