“Interoception” and The Mind-Body Connection
The state of our mind impacts the quality of our health, and the state of our health impacts our thoughts, mood, and emotions. If you’ve ever felt butterflies before an exciting event, or a racing heart when you were fearful, you’ve experienced the mind-body connection.
The Mind-Body Connection
It’s easy to overlook these messages our bodies send us. The noise of our day to day lives, and the busyness of our schedules, can make it hard to hear what our body has to say.
In order to support our mind-body connection and use it to create positive experiences (physically, emotionally, and mentally)... the first step is to become aware. Notice how certain sensations connect with certain thoughts and feelings.
How we sleep, how often we move our body, how we process our stress, and what we eat ALL play a large role in our overall health. If we don’t listen to our body, how will we know if we are giving it what it needs?
Enter…Interoception!
The eighth sense you didn’t know you had.
Interoception is the awareness, or the felt-sense you have with your internal sensations. Your organs all have sensory receptors, and these receptors send signals to your brain. These signals tell us when we are hungry, thirsty, out of breath, nauseous, full, tired, hot, cold….you get the picture!
Having strong interoception means we are more able to regulate our emotions, rebalance our nervous system, and take good care of ourselves. To build this sense, we can engage in activities that support our mind-body connection.
These tools can help you develop your interoception, strengthen your mind-body connection, regulate your nervous system, and process the stress you are holding on to!
Activities to include in your regular self-care for building interoception:
-Yoga
-Walking outside
-Jogging/running
-4-7-8 breathing
-Progressive Muscle Relaxation
-Meditation
-Art + Music therapy
-Journaling
-Strength Training
For personalized yoga and stress-management coaching aimed at helping you nurture your own mind-body connection, reduce stress, and find balance… I would love to work with you! Send me an email (look at the top and bottom of this window!) and let’s schedule a free consultation!
*For informational purposes only. This post should not be taken as official medical advice, and should not replace care from a licensed professional.
Wishing you well,
Jess
