The Hidden Powers of Mindful Awareness
It’s easy to feel there’s nothing going on, when we sit still.
So what’s really happening when we meditate?
There’s 5 mindful awareness skills you’re quietly developing:
Proprioceptive Awareness
Exteroceptive Awareness
Interoceptive Awareness
Emotional Awareness
Cognitive Awareness
🙆♂️ Proprioceptive Awareness
“Perception of the body’s position & movement in space”
How does it work?
Sensory receptors located in muscles, joints and tendons provide feedback to the brain about position and movement.
🚶♀️ Exteroceptive Awareness
“Attention on external environmental stimuli and sensations”
How does it work?
Through our senses, we detect external stimuli and feed back to the brain, so we can perceive and respond our environment.
🧘♀️ Interoceptive Awareness
“Attention on internal sensations and bodily processes”
How does it work?
Sensors detect bodily sensations, e.g., heart rate, respiration and digestion, informing the brain, so it can regulate muscular and autonomic responses.
Mindful practices, benefits and brain areas
🙆♂️ Proprioceptive Awareness
Mindful Practices 🪷
Mindful movement, Tai Chi and Yoga.
Health Benefits 🌱
Balance, co-ordination, posture and spatial orientation.
Brain Area 🧠
Somatosensory cortex
🚶♀️ Exteroceptive Awareness
Mindful Practices 🪷
Walking, Mindfulness of Sounds and Forest Bathing
Health Benefits 🌱
Boosted sensory perception, focus and lower stress.
Brain Area 🧠
Visual and auditory cortex.
🧘♀️ Interoceptive Awareness
Mindful Practices 🪷
The Body Scan, Breath Awareness and Grounding
Health Benefits 🌱
Pain management, sleep and emotional regulation.
Brain Area 🧠
Insular cortex
All 3 awareness skills are enhanced by the emotional (feeling tone, sentiment, emotions. mood) and cognitive awareness (rumination, mind-wandering, thinking, worry) we develop ongoing through Mindfulness.
To learn more about the practices, visit 3 Eye Opening Windows into Mindfulness
Resources
Wheel of Mindfulness: Guide
5 days of Mindful Ways: Free course
More resources on LinkedIn
To learn more mindful ways to manage your stress, or to arrange a talk, workshop or course, book a short discovery call today.
Wishing you a wonderful day,
Derek
Waking Waves
📧 hello@wakingwaves.com
☎️ book call to discuss courses or coaching