TYPES OF PERCEPTION: HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE THE WORLD?

Relationship with Holistic Yoga® practices

 

One of the most important issues we must bear in mind in yoga, but also in life in general, is how we manage our perceptions. Some people are extremely sensitive to them, whilst others are hardly sensitive at all. We usually think there are only five senses or channels of perception. But did you know we have many more? The five senses are how we perceive our gross external world, but we can also gather information from our inner world, from our relationship with the world in which we move through space and time, and from the subtle external world. Get to know all the channels of communication and perception, and remember that, as with everything, moderation is key. It’s not about amplifying one of these perceptions to the point where it dominates your life, but rather about using each one wisely and learning to establish a healthy relationship from the inside out and vice versa.

INTEROCEPTION: How do I feel?

DEFINITION:

Interoception is the internal information derived from our organs and bodily sensations, enabling us to maintain bodily homeostasis.

IT ALLOWS US TO FEEL:

• Hunger and thirst
• Visceral and bodily responses such as the heartbeat, whether I need to go to the toilet, how my breathing feels, whether I need more oxygen, whether my stomach is empty, whether we are sexually aroused, etc.
• Pain (nociception), injuries, or if something is wrong with the body.

INTEROCEPTIVE RECEPTORS:

Interoceptive receptors are found throughout the body, particularly in the blood vessels and heart, and especially in the endoderm, which forms our gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system. We also have receptors in the liver, pancreas, bladder, thyroid gland and thymus.

The receptors send the information to the insula, where the received information is processed and encoded in the form of a response: hunger, itching, thirst, heat, tingling, etc.

These receptors detect various types of information: deformation – mechanical (mechanoreceptors), temperature (thermoreceptors), chemical changes (chemoreceptors), blood pressure (baroreceptors) or pain (nociceptors).

YOGA PRACTICES:

Those that develop the “Interoceptive Awareness” which focuses on listening to our body’s internal sensations. Among the disciplines of Holistic Yoga®, we would highlight:

• YIN YOGA by TCMYoga® – In stillness, we can observe our internal sensations and recognise the language of our organs (Zang Fu in TCM)
• MYOFASCIAL YOGA® – This discipline is based on the body awareness we develop through interoceptive and proprioceptive techniques. Through the former, we connect with our deep fasciae, which envelop our organs, and learn to listen to the body’s messages.
• AYURYOGA® – By delving deeper into the physiology of body biotypes, it helps us to understand the differences in interoception. In other words, we come to understand in which people “hunger” is more intense, or “pain” is more acute, and so on.
• PRANAYAM® – Its focus on conscious breathing makes it a particularly useful practice for awakening interoceptive awareness.
• CRYSTAL YOGA® and AROMAYOGA® – The early stages of conscious work with minerals and substances from the plant kingdom involve a preliminary process of internalisation, so that the practice does not remain merely “superficial”

 

PROPRIOCEPTION – How do I perceive my body in space-time?

DEFINITION:

Proprioception refers to the set of sensations relating to my physical body, arising from the perception, positioning and movement of its various parts. In the opinion of the author of this article (Helena Chacón), proprioception not only allows us to perceive our body in space but also in time, as the receptors involved retain memory.

IT ALLOWS US TO FEEL:

• The relative positions of the parts of our body, integrating them into a harmonious movement characterised by motor coordination and functional strength. This ability to move the human body is studied by the Kinesthesia.
• It helps us to feel our spatial volume preventing us from tripping over
• It promotes the laterality and making good use of activities that engage both our right and left sides.
• It gives us safety y postural awareness making us more aware of the sensations in our body when it is at rest, as well as the activation of postural muscles.
• They record postural patterns and repetitive movements over time thanks to the development of the proprioceptive memory which is made possible by learning, memory and bodily memory. This memory enables us to ride a bike even if we haven’t done so for years.
• Our balance depends largely on proprioception. This is known as equilibrium perception It develops our sense of orientation in relation to gravity and the centre of the Earth. It depends on proprioception, the inner ear (the vestibular system, which tells us whether we are accelerating or decelerating, turning or swaying, etc.) and our eyes.
• It helps us to sense the passage of time and adapt to it thanks to the perception known as chronoception. In other words, our proprioception enables us to maintain an accurate sense of space and time.
• It allows you to perceive subtleties and nuances at a somatic (conscious body) goes beyond crude aspects and is both superficial and profound. The recipients of the Somesthesia They are mainly found in the skin and therefore depend on touch, which is an external sensation (exteroception) that enables us to feel tickling, itching, pressure, vibration, etc. However, somesthesia is also influenced by the internal organs (interoception), proprioception—both static (position) and dynamic (movement)—and nociception (pain). This general body sensitivity is governed by the somatosensory area – also known as the general sensitivity area or somatosensory cortex – in the parietal lobe of the brain, where tactile, joint and muscular sensations are received.
• Our “body diagram” or, to put it another way, our “body awareness” depends to a large extent on our proprioception and is also linked to our sensations, emotions, relationships with our surroundings, etc. In this sense, it differs from the concept of “body image”, which encompasses all the ideas and attitudes people hold regarding their bodies from a mental perspective. In other words, “body image” is the idea we have of ourselves, whilst the “body schema” is, essentially, the sensorimotor representation of the body within the nervous system; it is a dynamic and ever-changing schema in which the individual experiences the “body” as a sentient (somatic) self.

PROPIOCEPTIVE RECEPTORS:

Its receptors are found in the musculoskeletal system and the skin (ligaments, tendons, bones, muscles, fasciae and skin).

YOGA PRACTICES:

Any form of Hatha Yoga (Vinyasa, Anusara, Iyengar, etc.) focuses on the “Proprioceptive Awareness” helping us to tune into our body’s sensations in relation to both static and dynamic space-time. The various styles of Hatha Yoga serve to stimulate or enhance different proprioceptive receptors. Among the disciplines of Holistic Yoga®, we would highlight:

• YIN YOGA by TCMYoga® – Stimulates the Ruffini receptors, which detect slow, sustained deformation, thereby triggering a relaxation response. The key to the practice is to avoid stimulating the muscle spindles through overstretching.
• YANG YOGA by TCMYoga® – Practices focused on static strength work and dynamic sequences based on the Chinese meridians help to stimulate both the Golgi receptors and muscle spindles, which are responsible for overall health, as well as the Pacini receptors, which are responsible for motor coordination.
• XMYOGA by TCMYoga® – This discipline, based on the eight Extraordinary Meridians, enables us to orientate ourselves in space and time by developing proprioception and chronception.
• MIOBALL® TECHNIQUE – Due to static deformation, they promote the relaxation response of Ruffini receptors; furthermore, deep pressure stimulates Pacini receptors. These receptors adapt rapidly, meaning that after a certain amount of time they cease to send signals to the central nervous system; this is why the intensity of the ball’s pressure becomes less noticeable after a few seconds.
• MYOFASCIAL YOGA® – The main aim of Myofascial Yoga® is to develop a biotensegrity body; to this end, body awareness is essential, which is why we use a wide range of tools and techniques that stimulate the somatosensory cortex through stimulation of Golgi receptors and muscle spindles (healthy muscle tone), Ruffini (relaxation, gravity, Thai), Meissner (self-touch, Thai), Pacini (self-adjustments, pressure, dynamic, movement, coordination, vibration, Thai), etc.
• AYURYOGA® – With regard to proprioception, AyurYoga® helps to tailor the practice by identifying which receptors should be stimulated for each Dosha and, consequently, which type of practice or style of yoga is appropriate.
• PRANAYAM® – For mindful breathing practices, it is important to develop a healthy static posture by first practising body awareness.
• AROMAYOGA® – The AromaRituals offered by AromaYoga® enable our bodies to perform a series of movements associated with a particular state of mind. Similarly, AromaYang practices promote coordination, whilst AromaYin practices stimulate the receptors responsible for slow relaxation.
• CRYSTAL YOGA® – The Mandala Activation Vinyasas practised around the mat help to improve coordination, lateral awareness and spatial awareness, both of our own bodies and of the crystal mandala.

 

EXTEROCEPTION – How do I perceive the outside world?

DEFINITION:

Exteroception is the perception of the external world through the five senses: hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch.

IT ALLOWS US TO FEEL:

• Colours, shapes, depth, size, shadows, etc. through the vision
• Sounds and distinguishing their timbre, pitch, distance, etc. through the hearing
• Recognising surfaces and textures, the temperature of objects, their shape, etc., through the sense of touch
• Perceiving smells helps us to form olfactory memories, recognise whether food is fresh or spoiled, etc., through the sense of smell
• Recognising flavours and their subtleties through the taste

EXTEROCEPTIVE RECEPTORS:

The sense organs are the receptors that send the information they detect to the nervous system. The eyes process sight; the ears, hearing; the nose, smell; the tongue, taste; and the skin, along with various receptors within it, processes touch

YOGA PRACTICES:

Patanjali’s classical yoga tells us about Pratyahara as a necessary step on our path towards Enlightenment, through which we seek to “restrict” the information received from the five exteroceptive senses, as this is considered to be “deceptive”. Following Patañjali, classical Indian philosophy, including Hatha Yoga, began to be influenced by Tantric traditions, in which exteroception is no longer interpreted as a mistaken path of perception but as another avenue which, when used correctly, can aid personal development. Conscious work on “exteroceptive” practices is also extensively developed through Japanese Forest Bathing (Shinrin Yoku) rooted in Buddhism and Shintoism, and in which mindful attention to the five senses is essential (although these are not the only practices)

Within the disciplines of Holistic Yoga®, some focus on the “Exteroceptive Awareness” but always linked in some way to interoception and/or proprioception, so that the experience is not merely something external but is perceived as an internal sensation:

• MYOFASCIAL YOGA® and MIOBALL® TECHNIQUE – Through the sense of touch, we develop sensations that are initially external but which, as we have seen previously, stimulate our somesthesia. This is the case with the pressure applied by a ball, the self-touch and self-massage techniques we practise in Myofascial Yoga® or the tools used in Thai Yoga.
• AYURYOGA® – The daily rituals offered by Ayurveda aim to stimulate and awaken the sense organs; for example, the skin through self-massage, or the mouth through mouthwash to stimulate the sense of taste. Sessions based on those nadis associated with the organs of external perception serve as a link between the inner and outer worlds.
• PRANAYAM® – As the respiratory system, in terms of interoception, is so closely linked to the sense of smell, Pranayam® includes a number of practices related to refining one’s ability to perceive scents.
• AROMAYOGA® – The wide range of practices we use in AromaYoga® at Holistic Yoga® engage our senses of smell (direct, mindful olfaction, incense, etc.) and touch, primarily through anointing gestures (AromaTouch).
• CRYSTAL YOGA® – Consciously incorporating minerals into our yoga practice develops subtle perception through sight (attention to detail) and touch (perception of shape, colour, temperature, texture, etc.) in Vinyasa sessions, seated meditation, relaxation whilst lying down or the use of mudras.

 

EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION – What messages do I receive from the subtle world?

DEFINITION:

Known as the sixth sense, it refers to the various psychic abilities that go beyond those recognised by the conventional mind. In short, it is the knowledge of external events through means other than the five senses. In other words, it is the perception responsible for perceiving the subtle world (the occult) or the Cryptesthesia.

IT ALLOWS US TO FEEL:

• Clairvoyance – Visions of people or events, as well as their subtle body (aura)
• Clairaudience – Voice messages
• Clarification – Perception of subtle aromas that go undetected by other people
• Clarisensibility, clarisensibility or clarisensitivity – A person is capable of experiencing feelings and emotions in relation to certain people or events. It is an extremely high form of empathy
• Clear awareness or clear understanding – The ability to know certain things with certainty without having known them beforehand, and without any evidence or interference from the conscious mind. A clear example of this quality can be found in the film *The Man Who Knew Infinity*.
• Telepathy – Receiving information about another person’s thoughts and emotions)
• Precognition – Find out about upcoming events
• Retrocognition – Find out about past events
• Mediumship – Communication with beings from other planes

EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION RECEPTORS:

There are no physical receptors; instead, perceptions are received at more subtle levels of being.

YOGA PRACTICES:

It is well known that the ancient yogic practices and those of the siddhas of old awakened extrasensory perception. These are not the ultimate goal of yoga, but rather are side effects of the practice.

Within the disciplines of Holistic Yoga®, we can see certain results in the “Extrasensory Awareness” in:

• PRANAYAM® – Through Prana Vidya training, one develops the sensitivity to connect with the subtle bodies and gain access to other planes
  
• AROMAYOGA® – The olfactory and tactile practices of AromaYoga® can awaken extrasensory perceptions in the practitioner, helping them to receive messages from the Plant Kingdom in the way that suits them best.
• CRYSTAL YOGA® – The mindful use of minerals can open up communication with subtle worlds, helping us to receive messages from the Mineral Kingdom in the way that suits us best.