Yoga & The Senses
Hello dear friends!
Welcome to summer! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend and are rested and ready to take on the challenges of the week ahead.
This week, in our yoga practice, we will be exploring the senses. Mostly we will be noticing how we get so much sensory input from the eyes, but there is still a lot in our yoga practice to explore through sound and sensation (perhaps less from taste and smell!) It’s a fun and interesting way to practice yoga.
Beyond the five senses though, we will be exploring two lesser-known senses: proprioception (where we are in space) and interoception (how our movements make us feel).
Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense movement, action, and location. We need to know where we are and how to move without having to consciously think about the next step we need to take. Proprioception gives us coordination and balance. An easy example of proprioception is a field sobriety test…close your eyes, open your arms out wide and bring your right pointer finger to the tip of your nose. Then release that one and bring the left pointer to your nose. When all is working well (and unimpeded by alcohol!) the muscles, tendons, and joints are sending signals to the brain. The brain is receiving these signals and sending messages back to help steer the finger right to the tip of the nose.
Interoception is our ability to understand and feel what’s going on in our body. We receive signals throughout that day that it’s time to eat, to drink, to rest, etc. These signals come from the cardiovascular system, the lungs, the gut, the bladder and the kidneys. Communication is happening constantly. There are lots of automatic feedback systems – blood pressure, blood sugar – that we don’t consciously address. But we get other messages as well – tension in the muscles, clenching in the gut – that we can address mindfully.
This is where our yoga comes in.
Yoga helps us with balance and movement in space. We can work to strengthen our core, our legs, feet and ankles – everything that’s involved in staying upright. We work to coordinate movement across the midline of the brain – working to develop connections between the hemispheres. All of this contributes to easy movement in the body.
Yoga also helps us to listen to the body. Our time on the mat and the poses are important, but equally important is the pause between the poses. This is where we learn about the body and how it responds to our movement and action. This is where we can acknowledge the wisdom of the body and make the adjustments that we need. The more that we practice, the more effective the communication is between the body and the mind.
As we continue our yoga practice, we develop and hone both proprioception and interoception. We become more tuned-in, more self-aware. We build resilience.
Let’s come to our senses!
Please join me on your mat.
Love,
Nina G