“Man, know thyself” is a philosophical maxim attributed to the ancient Greeks and forwarded by Socrates and Plato, who queried whether the unexamined life was a life worth living. I imagine they were pointing to the importance of our inner landscape, our inner sensory world, where we access the ability to discern what we are feeling, why we are feeling it, and what the optimal response is. Familiarity with the inner world allows creativity, insight, innovation, synthesis, and evolution. It can elevate us to the higher perspective Einstein alludes to in his famous quote, “A problem cannot be solved on the level it was created.”
If we want to see love and peace rule the world, we must, individually and collectively, hold that intention in our inner world. That must be the story we tell, the sensations we feel, the filter we see through, the proof of all right action. Without a clear inner intention, we flounder in a sea of chaotic opinion and spend our days drowning in tides of contradicting and confusing information. The ability to feel how the intention of love resides in our bodies puts the keel in deeper water and tacks our sails into the wind, allowing us to move forward toward the world we want to see.
I am fascinated by what I’m learning about interoception, the scientific term for sensing, integrating, and interpreting our internal bodily state, our inner signals, our self-awareness. I will defer the technical details about the neurological pathways of interoceptive self-awareness for another time. Here, rather, I propose that interoception is the neurological process by which we know ourselves; therefore, it is the very mechanism of our consciousness that facilitates feeling, knowing, understanding, connecting to, and loving others.
Our interoceptive nerves relay information between the connective tissue that makes up most of the body and the insula and cingulate cortex of the brain (centers of conscious awareness). A large percentage of interoceptive nerves end in connective tissue (ligaments, fascia, tendons, muscles, periosteum of bone). The tension in our body tissues stimulates ongoing messaging into our perception of self, helping us determine meaning, tone, innuendo, humor, sarcasm, context, relevance, appropriate behavioral response, etc. Our bodies respond to stimuli, relay that response through the interoceptive neurons, and let these consciousness centers in the brain figure out what is going on.
When we carry excess body-held tension from anxiety, depression, stress, injury, chronic postural strain, unresolved emotions, past or present trauma, mental confusion, negative self-talk and self-imagery, childhood conditioning, etc., we operate with clouded interoceptive filters. Information from our connective tissue tension is feeding into our consciousness in ways that are often unrelated to our present situation and contribute to misinterpretation, suboptimal judgment, inherited biases, heightened emotionality, and personal insecurity. This can lead to becoming triggered and swept up in a cycle of more stress (ex., defensiveness, withdrawal, aggression, isolation, compulsiveness, irritation, depression, pain, and tension) and identification with exogenous turbulence, rather than a clear and peaceful inner presence from which to operate. A calm and regulated nervous system is objective, clear, and attuned.
How do we clear our filters, feel our true essential selves, and, as Mahatma Gandhi says, “be the change you want to see in the world?” The concept of self-regulation is gaining acceptance in education and mental health care. Some of the well-known ways to help the nervous system regulate are:
-exercise
-meditation
-deep breathing
-compression (hugs, weighted blankets)
-warmth
-deep touch therapies
Zero Balancing is a deep touch therapy that brings a person into a heightened experience of their inner landscape and their true self. Through interoceptive optimization, ZB promotes comfort and ease, creative expression, trauma resolution, and self-actualization. In this way, ZB is transformative personally and interpersonally.
Research shows ZB calms the nervous system, clears and focuses the mind, relaxes the body, helps regulate emotions, and facilitates an expanded state of consciousness. Recipients of ZB say it helps alleviate anxiety and depression, pain, and self-limiting beliefs. It is common for people to feel simultaneously grounded and expanded in themselves and in connection to the world around them. Thus, while ZB is effective for pain relief and increasing mobility, it supports personal fulfillment and self-awareness, which often results in relational ease, conflict resolution, and loving relationships.
Becoming the best version of ourselves is a step toward healing the world. Zero Balancing is a trusted catalyst for positive evolutionary growth.
If you have yet to start your journey with Zero Balancing, you can find a certified ZB practitioner by clicking here
