The Space Between Neuroception & Narrative
Woman sitting on a bench on a hilltop watching the sunrise with a panoramic view.
The power of pausing
You may be familiar with the quote: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and our ability to try to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” (a quote Stephen Covey popularized as the essence of Viktor Frankl’s philosophy).
Yoga practice invites us to focus on refining our ability to find that space and to pause there, fully embodied and present. We pause and attune to our physiological, mental and emotional orchestra listening for clues as to the state of our nervous system.
This is an important step, as we have a subtle process known as neuroception running on auto under the surface, constantly scanning incoming stimuli for possible threat — an important piece of our ‘predict and protect’ system.
Understanding how this system influences us, including our interpretations of events and subsequent decisions, is pivotal to choosing skilful responses that support growth and freedom.
Freedom to make skilful choices
When I began focusing on my own health and well-being, many of my goals revolved around patterns of reactivity that seemed quite tangible and concrete: mood and thought patterns that led to actions (or inaction) all with real, obvious consequences in my life and out in the world.
My tendency way back then was a mixture of intellectual problem-solving and analysis, faith in exerting monumental will-power, and a loud inner critic if these first two things didn’t work. As you can probably guess, these qualities mostly just prolonged and deepened my suffering.
I had to become aware of the subtle inner processes that preceded and shaped the more obvious surface level behaviours I wanted to change. I learned about the bi-directional communication between my brain and nervous system, and strengthened my ability to tune into my experience through yoga.
I then practiced making skilful choices on and off my yoga mat offering myself consistent, daily, direct lived experience of disrupting the limiting patterns so embedded in my neurobiology.
Over time, all of these patterns softened and loosened their grip, and some even dissolved entirely — not because I battled against them, but because I paused, genuinely thanked them for protecting me, and reclaimed my freedom to choose.
A closer look at neuroception
We are often taught that the different stimuli (or events) we experience during our day are directly responsible for how we respond and that our actions are correlates of our conscious intentions.
Essentially, the belief that: stuff happens and our brains objectively decide what to do based on that stuff.
A spotlight on neuroception, however, illuminates how our physiological state – whether we feel safe, or threatened (states like: fight/flight, or shut-down) – is an intermediary variable between stimulus and response.
Evaluation is so subtle and speedy that often we are unaware of the details in our internal or external environment that prompt a shift in how open and connected we feel vs. how defensive.
This undercover fine tuning of our physiological state greatly colors our perception and our responses, including our evaluations of others.
For example, unconscious shifts in neural state from a felt sense of safety to being on guard can be triggered by details as diverse as:
- sensory stimuli
- energetic or emotional currents in our interactions
- social cues like tone or body language
- cultural input like entertainment and informational media, biases and advertising
- scripts passed down through intergenerational or societal trauma
- basics like how rested, satiated, and healthy we feel
The consequence that is often overlooked is that we are so influenced by our physiological state that — if left unsupervised — our meaning-making minds will jump to coming up with a narrative to ensure how we feel physically and emotionally connects with what we believe to be true.
The mind can — with the best of protective intentions — generate its own type of misleading headlines: misinformation that’s often compelling, self-limiting, judgmental, or alarmist.
Interoception and Self
While we may not be aware of all the stimuli triggering shifts in state through neuroception, we can start by growing our ability to notice our visceral reactions to being primed for safety or defence. Mindfully checking-in, we can notice the somatic cues (felt sensations in the body) of perceived threat or OK-ness.
Yoga therapy’s emphasis on gently training interoception – our ability to tune inward and notice felt sensation and experience – allows us to identify our personal somatic cues, the feelings they reinforce (such as anxiety, anger, depression, calm, curiosity, and joy) and the patterns in thoughts and decisions they feed.
Interoception requires that we connect with our inner witness – the part of us that can lead self-inquiry and discovery, exploring our present moment experience with compassionate curiosity. This exploration naturally creates a feeling of space between the part actively observing and the sensations being observed.
This active observer is a central part of us that is constant and capable, a part that can acknowledge experience without becoming entangled in it. It is this Self that can notice somatic cues and tend to them skilfully before shifts in physiological state prompt reactivity.
Yoga as a playground
Yoga practice is a perfect playground for training our ability to pause and check-in and to hone our ability to notice even the most subtle inner cues as to how we are feeling and the care we need most.
Our core Self can observe the mind and the body, identifying the stories that justify and spark our reactivity, and illuminating the roots of these stories in our physiology and experience.
This clarity grants us the freedom to shape our practice from a place of discernment instead of habitual narrative. We no longer automatically believe what our mind tells us about our abilities, feelings, likes or dislikes — we mindfully explore and revise what is true in each moment.
The more we reinforce interoception and skilful choice in our practice, the more we are able to draw on those skills when we need them most, navigating life’s challenges while remaining fully embodied and inhabiting Self.
When our minds are blinkered by ‘predict and protect’ mode, we can pause and remember that: between neuroception and narrative there is a space and in that space lies our growth and freedom.
Anna is the founder of Take Heart Yoga Therapy, a trauma-informed practice in Toronto. She has been practicing yoga since 2001 and brings both lived experience and professional training to her work with individuals and groups.
