I want to share something powerful that often gets overlooked in the healing journey: interoception. This is our ability to sense what’s happening inside our bodies—things like heartbeat, breath, gut feelings, temperature, tension. When we learn to listen and respond to those inner signals, healing can deepen in ways that feel transformative.
Here are some research-based benefits of interoception, and practical steps you can start using now to cultivate this skill in daily life.
What the Research Says
- Interoception is strongly linked with mental health and emotion regulation. For instance, people with higher awareness of internal sensations tend to cope better with anxiety and stress. (The Guardian)
- In trauma work, improving interoceptive awareness helps reduce symptoms of anxiety and general psychological distress. (Taylor & Francis Online)
- Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to increase interoceptive sensitivity, which in turn contributes to improvements in mental health symptoms. (ScienceDirect)
- In chronic illness, people with lower interoceptive accuracy (i.e. less precise tuning into internal signals) often report more severe symptoms; higher “interoceptive sensibility” (how aware someone feels they are) is associated with fewer or less intense symptoms. (ScienceDirect)
Why Interoception Matters for Healing
- It helps restore a sense of safety in your body, which is foundational for healing from trauma, stress, or chronic conditions.
- It increases emotional clarity—when you can feel what’s really happening inside, you can better name emotions, respond (instead of react), and regulate.
- It supports self-regulation of physical states (e.g. tension, breath, digestion). This can reduce reactivity (like panic or overwhelm) and foster resilience.
- It deepens mind-body connection, which is healing in itself: it can reduce dissociation, increase groundedness, and allow you to become an active participant in your healing rather than a passive observer.
Steps to Cultivate Interoception
Here are some simple practices to try. You don’t need fancy tools—just curiosity and patience.
|
Practice |
What to Do |
Benefit |
|
Body Scans |
Sit or lie down. Gently move your attention through your body—feet → legs → torso → arms → head. Notice sensations: warmth, tingling, tension, softness. Without trying to change anything. |
Builds awareness of subtle internal cues. Helps distinguish different qualities of sensation. |
|
Heart & Breath Awareness |
For a few minutes, close your eyes and feel your breath. Then try to feel your heartbeat—not by placing hands on chest, but sensing what’s inside. Count silently. Try to match what you think with what you can confirm (e.g. via pulse). |
Helps improve accuracy of detecting internal signals; anchors you in the present. |
|
Pause & Tune |
Throughout the day, set small reminders (alarms, sticky notes) to pause. When the reminder goes off, stop what you’re doing, take 3 slow breaths, and check in: What do I feel in my belly/chest/gut? What’s my energy level? What emotions are arising? |
Builds habit. Helps you catch dysregulation earlier. |
|
Mindful Movement |
Gentle yoga, qi gong, tai chi, or simply stretching. Move slowly. As you move, notice the sensations: muscles, joints, breath. Feel how your body shifts balance, where you hold tension or ease. |
Movement ties internal sensation to action; supports integration of interoceptive awareness. |
|
Tracking Sensation Journals |
After events when you feel strong emotion (upset, excited, anxious, etc.), write down: What physical sensations did I notice? Where, how intense? Did any thoughts or memories come along with them? How did I respond? |
Over time you’ll see patterns—this awareness gives choice and control over reactivity. |
How to Start
- Choose one practice above and commit to doing it regularly for 5–10 minutes/day for one week.
- Notice what shifts. Maybe it’s in how you feel, how reactive you are, your stress, your ability to rest.
- Be gentle with yourself. Sometimes you’ll feel more, sometimes less. Both are okay.
If you’d like, I can help you distinguish between helpful signals and overwhelm, etc.
I’d love to hear from you: what did you notice when you tried one of the practices above?
• ⁃ Julie