It’s possible that you may have heard or seen some articles or videos about interoception lately, as it is a topic that seems to have risen to the surface in the popular media lately – and for good reason, as good interoception can contribute greatly to our overall health and wellbeing.
I find it interesting when these types of topics become popular from time to time as they are often communicated about as if they are a new discovery of some kind. This is generally far from the truth, as if a topic such as this is truly valuable to us then it is highly likely that many people have become aware of it and worked with it at various points in human history. This is certainly the case with interoception, as there are many philosophies and practices from many cultures that put great emphasis on the value of developing this ability.
So in this article we will first look at what interoception is, then why it is valuable to us, and finally how the ancient practice of qigong could be the ultimate tool for developing interoception.
What is Interoception?
To give you a nice concise definition of interoception, I started by doing a little internet search for the word, and the AI overview that came up straight away actually did a pretty good job of summarizing it, so I have copied that below (we live in interesting times with new ways of finding and organizing information – so we might as well flow with it 😊).
This was the AI overview definition:
“Interoception is the sense that allows individuals to perceive and interpret signals from within their own bodies, encompassing sensations such as hunger, thirst, heart rate, breathing, and emotional states, and is crucial for self-awareness, emotional regulation, and overall wellbeing. This internal sensory system provides a moment by moment understanding of the body’s physiological condition, integrating signals from various organs and systems into a comprehensive representation of internal states.”
Why is Interoception valuable to us?
I like the definition above because it covers several different important aspects of interoception, including parts that can help us to understand the interoception is a completely normal and common aspect of our awareness.
Sometimes when people here a word like this that is new to them, and it is strung together with a series of other quasi-scientific sounding words, it can make the term seem exotic and difficult to understand. But in actuality, interoception is a very normal part of our everyday experience! It includes things like noticing if we are hungry or thirsty, if we are breathing heavy or shallow, if our hearts are beating fast or slow, even if we feel hot or cold.
Most people have no problem recognizing these simple aspects of internal awareness – and it is a good thing that they do as without them it would be very difficult to function in life. You wouldn’t know when you need to eat, or drink, when you need to slow down because you are exerting too hard, or even when you might need to put on a sweater to stay warm or open a window to stay cool! These simple things are fundamental to our ability to function and remain healthy.
Of course these are very simple examples of interoception, and the definition above gave at least a little glimpse into more sophisticated aspects of this type of sense when it also referred to emotional states as something that we perceive through our internal sensory system. Emotions can be more complex things, including the action of multiple organs and hormonal systems. This is part of why a lot of people have a harder time recognizing the nuances of their emotional state, even though they may find it easy to recognize when they are hungry… But, when we do recognize and understand the emotional states within our body, this can certainly help us to manage their impact on both our physical health and on other aspects of our wellbeing as well. And this is a skill that can be developed!
So clearly there are levels of perception within interoception, and it is something that we can become more skillful at with the right understanding and practice. We can develop a more refined awareness of the functioning of our internal organs, and by doing that we can more easily give them what they need in different situations, and take corrective action more quickly when there are issues before they become too serious. We can also develop our understanding of the complexities of the interaction between our mind and body, so that we can shape our psychology to create health within us, and similarly we can give our mind the support that it needs to function optimally by taking appropriate care of our bodies.
Is Qigong the Ultimate Tool for Developing Interoception?
And this is where a practice such as qigong comes in. For millennia wise people around the world recognized the value of developing this awareness and understanding of what is going on inside us, and they developed specific practices and techniques for developing this skill.
Sometimes it is not easy for people to see from the outside what is going on internally within these practices, other than that the person is becoming healthier, happier, and more resilient, which is why these practices are often referred to as “internal arts” because their focus in primarily on what is going on beneath the surface.
Within qigong we use a wide variety of simple tools to develop this internal awareness, including simple breathing techniques, meditation and mindfulness practices, and physical practices making use of movement and posture – but where our focus is on what is going on inside us as we do the physical practice. Using these three tools of mind, body, and breath, we develop a much clearer sense of things like the internal functioning of our organs, how our emotional states affect our organs and also our external posture, and we also discover something else that is really very helpful. We discover that the thing that connects all of this together is the flow of our living energy, and when we have this understanding we are able to more easily recognize how each of the parts of our body, our mind, and our experiences in life come together to shape our overall health and vitality. This understanding and awareness of our living energy then allows us to more easily direct its flow towards the health and harmony that we desire.
Because qigong is thousands of years old, it has developed as a rich system of practice with very clear and detailed maps to help us to understand the patterns of healthy energy flow within us, and with many practices that help us to connect to this energy and also to correct and balance its flow when needed.
Within our practice of qigong we develop our awareness of our inner functioning in very simple and practical ways – noticing how different breathing patterns affect the overall state of our mind and body, noticing how different postures or movements put pressure on different organs within our bodies, noticing how when we think in different ways, or bring different imagery to mind, it creates clear and tangible responses and changes within our bodies, and as we come to understand each of these parts individually, little by little we come to a clearer understanding of the whole, and we gain rich insights into ourselves, our interaction with the world around us, and our path through life.
Both the simplicity and richness of the practices within qigong, and also the way they have been tested and refined over thousands of years to enhance their effectiveness, lead me to think that while qigong is not the only way to develop our interoception (there are certainly others, both ancient and modern), that it is possibly the most effective way to develop this internal sense. Both because of how simply and easy it is to learn, and also because of how practical and deep the awareness and understanding we can develop through it is.
If you haven’t tried qigong yet, and are curious to discover for yourself just how powerful and effective a tool it can be for developing your interoception, I highly recommend our free Introduction to Qigong Theory and Practice course. In this course you will gain a broad understanding of the history, origins, and applications of qigong, and try a series of simple and practical exercises to experience for yourself how qigong uses our mind, body, and breath to develop our internal awareness and connect to affect the flow of living energy within us.
You can find the free Introduction to Qigong Theory and Practice course here.
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