Workshop 7 · Phase III
Inner Listening
Interoception — find your own signal again
Every workshop opens with a 10-minute grounding ritual — feet, three breath cycles, orientation. The same each time, so you can arrive from anywhere.
Interoception — the perception of signals from inside the body — is now recognised as a foundational capacity of the nervous system. Neuroscientist A.D. Craig identified a dedicated interoceptive pathway running through the insular cortex, distinct from touch or proprioception. This pathway carries information about heart rate, temperature, hunger, fatigue, and emotional tone — the body's running commentary on its own state.
Research by Sarah Garfinkel and Hugo Critchley shows that interoceptive accuracy predicts emotional regulation: people who can accurately sense their own body signals make better decisions under stress and recover faster from anxiety. Crucially, interoception can be trained. Attention directed inward — consistently, gently — rebuilds sensitivity that years of busy, outward-focused living have dulled.
Nei guan — inner observation — is a core practice in Taoist meditation. Rather than focusing outward or visualising, the practitioner simply turns attention inward and watches, without interpretation or interference. Classical Qigong texts describe this as "listening to the body's subtle sounds" — a practice of receptivity rather than control. In this tradition, the ability to hear your own signal is not a skill to develop but a capacity to recover — something that was always present, waiting to be heard.
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No fixed dates yet — workshops launch later this season. WhatsApp me and I'll let you know when there's a date.
WhatsApp BastiaanThis workshop stands alone — and it is part of a journey. Each of the 9 workshops carries a bridge to what comes before and after.
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