How to learn to hear your body's signals and become healthier
Imagine your body monitoring its own health, breathing and heart rate like a smart watch - but without the gadgets. This is not a fantasy, but the essence of a new concept of mindfulness that scientists call interoception - the internal perception of body signals.
"Interoception is the sixth sense we are born with," explains Dr Rangan Chatterjee in Make Change That Lasts.
Unlike the familiar five senses, it is not connected to the outside world. It's the brain's way of monitoring the state of internal organs - whether it's breathing, hunger or anxiety, according to the Elle article.
Journalist and Inner Sense author Caroline Williams emphasises that interoception allows you to "make contact between body and mind to literally reset your nervous system". Simple practices - breathing exercises, Pilates, yoga - help train sensitivity to bodily cues. As the author recalls, her therapist taught her to put her hand on her chest in moments of fear, close her eyes and focus on her breathing. This was the development of interoception.
Signals are of three kinds: unconscious (pulse, breathing), conscious (thirst, hunger, anxiety) and the so-called "gut feeling". This is what influences self-esteem, motivation and decision-making - even if you don't realise it.
Deeper interoceptive awareness can be life-changing.
A 2013 study found that people who listen to their bodies are less likely to overeat and suffer from eating disorders. In 2021, it was found that in autistic people, regular heart rate attention training helped reduce anxiety levels - 31 per cent were completely free of symptoms after six sessions.
Working with bodily sensations is useful when working through trauma. One example is when a person is able to 'detect' anxiety in the solar plexus and allow it to pass through the body without blocking it. This brings back control over the emotions.
However, in the age of smartphones, this skill has been weakened.
"The digital environment has accustomed us to switching every eight seconds. Interoception is essentially the art of focusing and noticing what's going on inside," explains breathing practitioner Rob Rea. His client, a prima ballerina at the Royal Opera House, used it to learn to recognise bodily reactions before performances.
This approach gives the body back a voice. Because often 'intuition' is not a mystical insight, but a skill available to everyone. You just need to learn to hear yourself.
Here are proven and simple ways to do so:
🔹 1. Conscious Breathing
Sit in a quiet place, close your eyes.
Place one hand on your chest or stomach.
Watch your inhalations and exhalations - feel the air filling your lungs and coming out.
Breathe slowly and deeply: inhale through the nose - exhale through the mouth.
Focus on bodily sensations: heart rate, muscle tension, skin temperature.
⏱ Time: 5-10 minutes a day.
🔹 2. Body scan
Lie down or sit comfortably.
Mentally "scan" your body from top to toe.
Note all sensations: heaviness, tingling, pain, warmth, air movement.
Don't evaluate, just observe.
📍 This practice helps you better understand where emotions live in the body.
🔹 3. Feelings Diary
Write down how your body feels in different situations: before an important phone call, after a meal, when anxious.
Examples of notes: "Heart beats fast, stomach feels empty", "Shoulders tense, breathing shallow".
It helps to 'recognise' your own patterns.
🔹 4. Physical activity with a focus on the body
Do yoga, Pilates or dance, watching how your body moves.
Notice where the tension is, how the movements feel, your breathing, your heart rate.
🏃 The goal is not just to move, but to notice the sensations of movement.
🔹 5. Stress response
When you are anxious or angry, don't suppress it.
Stand up, take 3-4 slow breaths, feel where in your body the emotion is: throat, chest, stomach?
Name the feeling: 'tension', 'pressure', 'burning' - and let it pass.
🔹 6. Practice "What am I feeling right now?"
Several times a day, ask yourself the question:
What do I feel in my body right now?
Where do I feel it?
Is it pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral?
What might it be connected to?
⚠️ Important:
Take your time. The skill develops gradually.
This is not meditation in the classical sense - the goal is not to clear the mind, but to hear the body.
If you feel anxious or negative with these practices - start with short sessions and/or consult a psychologist.