Interoception “I need to exercise to keep me sane,” said the overwhelming majority of my patients. That sanity is a feeling, a state of mind. That sanity is the end result of a quieting of your frontal lobe, your inner critic, your narrator. Physical activity dissipates the enormous mental and emotional focus you hold in your head and throughout your body. When exercising you quite literally metabolize your stress away, returning to the present moment and your sanity. The problem is when you ignore that sore back, knee, hip etc. and decide to chase your mental well-being, ignoring the signals your body is sending you. Yes, it is ok to push through some stiffness and the occasional aches and pain. But, repeatedly “pushing through the pain,” is not a sustainable strategy for your physical and mental health. If you ignore the physical feedback your body provides, you may paint yourself into a corner and be forced to take a break from, or worse permanently stop, your sport of choice. Actively and patiently listening to your body, then learning to recognize what it is telling you is called Interoception. Two interoceptive activities I attempt to engage in on a daily basis are a body scan and cadence breathing. These two practices allow me to check in with both my physical and mental state, providing me with the information I need to structure my workout or recovery for the day.
Interoception
Interoception
Interoception
Interoception “I need to exercise to keep me sane,” said the overwhelming majority of my patients. That sanity is a feeling, a state of mind. That sanity is the end result of a quieting of your frontal lobe, your inner critic, your narrator. Physical activity dissipates the enormous mental and emotional focus you hold in your head and throughout your body. When exercising you quite literally metabolize your stress away, returning to the present moment and your sanity. The problem is when you ignore that sore back, knee, hip etc. and decide to chase your mental well-being, ignoring the signals your body is sending you. Yes, it is ok to push through some stiffness and the occasional aches and pain. But, repeatedly “pushing through the pain,” is not a sustainable strategy for your physical and mental health. If you ignore the physical feedback your body provides, you may paint yourself into a corner and be forced to take a break from, or worse permanently stop, your sport of choice. Actively and patiently listening to your body, then learning to recognize what it is telling you is called Interoception. Two interoceptive activities I attempt to engage in on a daily basis are a body scan and cadence breathing. These two practices allow me to check in with both my physical and mental state, providing me with the information I need to structure my workout or recovery for the day.