Interoception is your nervous system sensing,
Interpreting and responding to signals coming from inside your body.
For example,
This can be as simple as knowing that you're hungry,
That that sensation in your tummy is your digestive system communicating that it's time for some more food.
So,
What?
Like,
Why is this a thing?
Why is it relevant?
Well,
If you have the ability,
The available time and the mental bandwidth to pay attention to these signals and to understand what they mean,
Then you can do something about them.
Maybe you notice,
Hmm,
My shoulders are tired and they feel kind of tense and tight.
Hmm.
This might then lead you to realize you've actually been pretty tense about this impending deadline.
And so then you can take action.
Maybe you go for a calming walk or even just do some mindful shoulder rolls at your desk.
This allows you to do something about improving the situation before it becomes any worse.
So what has that got to do with yoga?
The physical practice of yoga is essentially mindful movements.
Moving your body and being very present about that.
Breathing into here,
Finding more space here,
Put a hand here and a leg here,
But don't go too far.
And over time,
I have really,
Really noticed this in my own teaching.
Over time,
This means that a yogi can go from plop.
This is a huge amount of something doing in my hamstrings.
What is going on here?
Are they going to actually just pinged off my legs?
To,
Wow,
My hamstrings really needed this stretch today.
Wow,
That feels lovely.
This is a strong sensation and I really feel like it's creating more space and OK,
No,
That's that's enough.
That's far enough.
And knowing when to stop going any further.
Importantly,
This is deciphering the sensation.
This is a sensation that's helpful to my body and going to offer benefits.
Or this,
This sensation is a bad sensation.
It's communicating something is risky.
And like I mentioned last week,
There's some really fascinating new research specifically looking at the interoception of the breast.
Last year,
2025,
There was a study where 65 people completed a task where small amounts of resistance were added to their inhalation.
Researchers were looking at how accurately the participants could detect the resistance,
Their confidence in their judgment and their resting brain connectivity.
So we're not just going to take from this that paying attention to your breath improves interoception.
That's not what they tested.
But it is a really well,
I think it's a really fascinating piece of evidence that the way that we perceive our breathing is part of this this brain-body communication.
So with interoception,
Something that you'd like to work on at the moment,
I've linked to my practice on insight timer,
Nervous system regulation,
A practice of listening.
And it takes you through this process,
Noticing some of the signals of settling without necessarily just deciding that one is good and one is bad.
And without trying to kind of emulate a particular state,
It's just about listening.
I really hope that you found that useful.
Interception is a life skill.
It really is.
So bookmark the listening practice and treat yourself to some yummy yoga.
What an absolutely yummy plan of action.
Thank you so,
So much for listening and as always,
Happy practicing.
