How often do you focus on your 7 senses?

The “classic 5 senses” are part of the exteroceptive sensory system. But did you know we have 2 even more important senses: Interoception and Proprioception? How often do you focus on your 7 senses?

Interoception
is the information we receive internally from our organs: How is my heart rate and breathing? How does my stomach feel? All “basic human needs” like going to the toilet, fatigue, hunger are all part of that sensory system and as you may realize: This is the first thing we pay attention to. Example: When we need to go to the toilet very urgently, it’s hard to concentrate on our exteroceptive senses eg. the smell around us. This is (and should be) an absolute priority for our body to feel OK, to have covered these needs, before doing anything else.

Proprioception
is our body awareness and the sensation we have in the space around us. Our facial gestures eg. if we smile or frown, the gestures we make with our hands and feet, if we have an upright or curved body posture etc. are extremely important as they interact with our emotional and mental state: Science has proved that the amygdala (the part of our brain where our emotions are processed) and hippocampus (involved in memory, learning and emotion) react to our gestures and posture, and the other way around. Examples: Studies have shown that people with an upright body posture can remember more than people with a curved body posture. A curved body posture also tells the brain that we might be sad or suffering from something and the pain might become bigger. The good news: Smiling and a straight, “open body posture” calms our brain as it says “It’s all OK, relax”. When you feel really stressed, if you can (and even if it’s forced): Stand with a straight spine, open your arms and smile – it will help your nervous system to calm down quicker.
The practice of yoga (especially the physical part, where we focus on postures = asanas) helps you to improve your proprioception.

Exteroception
are the external 5 senses that are more known: Sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing. Are you focusing consciously on these senses at least once a day?
It happens to all of us: We are physically present in one place, and mentally we are far away. Example: We are in the shower and we are already planning what to wear, thinking about an important meeting, wondering about the day ahead, letting our mind wander. Being able to “think ahead” and “travel to places mentally” is important for our visions and goals. For our mental health, it’s important to be completely present, at least a few minutes every day.

I invite you to practice this easy mindfulness technique in the shower:Try to concentrate completely on each sense. Stand as straight as possible. See the surroundings, the shower itself, the running water, the shower gel. Smell the water and gel. Touch the water and gel – close your eyes and notice how it feels when you apply gel to your body, when the water touches your skin. Taste the water and gel (your tongue can sense the taste if you concentrate without having to try it). Hear the running water and how it sounds on your body. Try to focus and enjoy completely and see how you feel.

Would you like to know more and understand why mindfulness is so beneficial?
Read this article: https://littlehealthyhabits.com/what-is-mindfulness-and-how-to-put-it-into-practice/

I would love to hear your feedback and know if you have any other tips. How (often) do you focus on your 7 senses?

Sources of this post:
Book: “Neurciencia del cuerpo” (neuroscience of the body) from Nazareth Castellanos; Book: “Thinking, Fast and Slow” from Daniel Kahneman;
BBC article (in Spanish): https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-64416545