GEOCOCO – Geography of Corporal Consciousness – is a form of therapy designed to enhance our daily lives by improving fine and gross motor skills, visual spatial awareness, attention and memory. With only a soft pencil and plain paper, on a table or the floor, and with shoes removed, students use the technique to draw perfect straight lines and circles freehand using just their bodies for control.

It may sound deceptively simple, but the body’s natural motor skills are at the heart of GEOCOCO, and its creators are convinced of the lasting benefits for both adults and children. As well as improving physical skills, it can increase creative expression. Co-founder and child psychiatrist Dr Jaume Guilera has already studied the beneficial effects of the method on patients with motor skill problems, while support for GEOCOCO has come from academics, teachers and cultural programmers.

Developed in Barcelona over several years by artist Jaime Refoyo and Dr Guilera, the theory of GEOCOCO has been put into practice with performances and workshops at events and public institutions in the city, such as Museo Picasso. The plan is to build international recognition, and a publisher is being sought for a book written by the duo: “The GEOCOCO method seeks to be a useful tool for teaching in general within the formal education system in the medium and long terms,” explains Refoyo, “both at schools and universities.” Alongside this, evidence of improved skills will be backed up by research papers corroborating the results.

Matthew Duffield is a Barcelona-based writer, journalist and blogger.