While “come back to the body” is the key teaching for working with our emotions, something more is required once we arrive there — something we might call mindfulness of the body or inner sensing.
Detailed teachings on the philosophy and practice of turning attention inward and sensing the inner world with its patterns, rhythms, and habits. Includes 10 practical teaching techniques.
In the Substack app, click the play button at the top of a post to start narration. To adjust audio speed, tap the playback bar at the bottom of your screen.
“Look Outside, Become a Victim. Look Inside Become a Master.”
Eventually, we all must come to the realization that the outside world, with all its promises, does not have the solution for us. We must turn our gaze inward.
Tommy Rosen, 2017
Perceiving Our Internal Environment
Self-awareness is listening to and perceiving your internal environment. It is the ability to notice sensations in your body like muscle tension, stomach tension or shallow breathing. Research even suggests a link between this interoceptive awareness and your sense of self (as in, who you think you are). To increase interoception and become more aware of what is happening inside your body is to better understand your actual wants and needs. We’ve all been in situations where in hindsight we saw “red flags” or had that feeling that something was “off.” When you tune up your interoception you can get a more accurate read on how you’re feeling in the moment. Awareness gives you the freedom to act on what doesn’t actually serve you.
Meredith Amann
Contents
For Current & Past Members: Fresh Updates to Your Materials
For All: Inner Sensing
Key Teachings
Sample Technique: Enter, Investigate, Accept, Relax
Techniques for Deepening Perception
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For Current & Past Members: Fresh Updates to Your Materials
Our curated readings and teachings on inner attention and mindfulness have been expanded with additional inspiration and practical teaching tools.
If you previously downloaded the Foundational Themes bundle or the lesson titled Inner Attention, you’re invited to log in and access the updated version — now called Inner Sensing. (Trainer members receive free lifetime access to updates on past downloads.)
For All: Inner Sensing
After spending a few weeks immersed in the powerful subject of Emotions, I was reminded that while “come back to the body” is the key teaching for working with our emotions, something more is required once we arrive there — something we might call mindfulness of the body, or inner sensing.
Each of us has unique experiences that make certain tools and techniques more helpful at different times. Recently, I had an “aha” moment when I realized my decades-long practice of turning inward had settled into a degree of resistance and needed a clearer focus. I know that I feel most grounded and connected when I am fully sensing my inner world — whether that includes tension or tingling, pressure or ease. From that place, intuitive insight arises, often in the form of thoughts or imagery.
I recognized a need to bring more precise, sustained attention to inner sensing. So I revisited the Inner Attention curation and while there, drew from my working collection of files to expand it — placing particular emphasis on sensing and the many techniques that support it. I love the process of refining and deepening lessons and curations, and this update was particularly rewarding.
Following are some excerpts.
Key Teachings
In this curation, we explore the importance of — and practical techniques for — turning the attention inward.
Mindfulness is paying attention to the inner experience — Mindfulness means paying attention to thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations without judgment. Instead of letting the mind run automatically, we observe it with awareness.
Techniques are designed to help us practice mindfulness. — Practices like yoga and meditation are meant to help us notice our thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations in the present moment.
A key is paying attention to direct sensory experience — We bring attention into the body, reconnecting with direct sensory experience rather than living only in thought. Over time, this practice helps us shift from reactive, habitual thinking to a more grounded, conscious, and compassionate way of being.
Awareness is the point and the practice — A key idea is that becoming aware — even of distraction or discomfort — is the foundation of presence, mindfulness and embodiment.
We endeavor to release judgment, and simply observe — By observing inner experiences with openness and without judgment, we begin to recognize a deeper, steady awareness often called the “Witness” or “inner guide.”
In experiencing impermanence of thoughts, we gain clarity — Through mindfulness, we learn that thoughts are not solid or permanent — they come and go like clouds. By noticing them without getting caught up in them, we increase clarity, recognizing patterns and habits, and gain more freedom to choose thoughts and behaviors.
Overall, the goal is to shift from automatic, unconscious patterns to a more mindful, reflective way of being — using the body, breath, and attention as tools to cultivate self-awareness, inner stability, and insight.
Sample Technique: Enter, Investigate, Accept, Relax
As with BRFWA above, this technique uses particular steps to break down the process of mindfulness to assist students in an ongoing process of returning to presence. The following is from Restorative Yoga with Assists 2013 p 11, by Sue Flamm.
Enter: Enter inside of your body.
Perceive and investigate: Become perceptive to what is happening inside and investigate.
Accept: Accept your current state with compassion and loving kindness.
Relax: Relax in your body, mind, emotions, and on any other level of your being.
Techniques for Deepening Perception
Practice leads to a deepening of self-awareness, perception, and sensitivity. While many students naturally discover this powerful effect of a mindful yoga practice, teachers play an important role in actively encouraging and supporting this awareness. There are many ways to help students focus on and recognize this essential aspect of their practice, including:
Close the Eyes
For those who prefer to keep their eyes open, suggest softening the gaze into a more unfocused awareness, or selecting a drishti.
Disconnect from Visual Stimulation
If the only time you shut your eyes in your yoga practice is during seated meditation or Savasana, you’re missing out. “Closing your eyes can help you to disconnect from visual stimulation and find more stillness,” says yoga teacher Laura Burkhart… Giselle Mari adds that closing your eyes in a balance pose, such as Vrksasana (Tree Pose), challenges you to use your inner senses to find your center. – Ryan Peacock
Close Your Eyes So You Can See More
Turning out the lights, and encouraging you to close your eyes is meant to reconnect you to your true self and your soul’s guidance. The more I can facilitate you looking inward, the more powerful your transformation can be. One of my favourite teachers, Max Strom, would always say, “close your eyes so you can see more.” Everything you want to change in your life begins with an inner transformation. Your inward journey is your most powerful one. – Gloria Latham
Note: Closing the eyes can be anxiety-provoking for some students, particularly trauma survivors. Give instructions in a way that makes it okay to keep the eyes open. “Just hearing that they have a choice about the eyes, instead of feeling commanded to close the eyes, generally makes people more comfortable about giving closed eyes a try.” [Dr. Jamie Marich]
Compare Experience through Repetition
You may wish to invite students to practice a pose two or more times during class, with the specific intention of noticing any differences in their experience.
If the first round occurs early in the class, the pose should be gentle enough to require minimal preparation.
Forward bends and hip stretches — such as Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) with hands to blocks, Sucirandhrasana (Eye of the Needle) perhaps with the foot to the wall or Supta Padangustasana (Reclined Hand to Toe) with a strap — can be good options.
You might also repeat a pose within a focused sequence — for example, during a backbending section — and observe how the experience evolves with repetition. This could involve practicing the pose at the beginning and end of the sequence, or repeating it several times at the peak of the section to notice shifts in sensation, ease, or depth.
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A famous coach used to ask his players at random times, "Where are your feet?" Thoughts can swirl, take us away from mindfulness, being present.