Listen to the Full Episode

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

• What is exteroceptive awareness?

• How you can use bottom-up (body-driven) and top-down (cognitive or PFC-driven) techniques for awareness in a flexible way so that you’re able to make better decisions and improve your interpersonal skills

• A quick demonstration of the sense of exteroception [02:02:20]

• The definition of exteroception and some real-life examples of it including how being a mother has changed my levels of awareness [00:05:08]

• The basic science for exteroceptive awareness and why it’s important when it comes to achieving goal-directed behavior  [00:07:34]

• An exteroceptive technique and exercise for you to practice at home [00:12:50]

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Resources + Research:

What is Exteroception?

Valenzuela-Moguillansky, C., Reyes-Reyes, A., & Gaete, M. I. (2017). Exteroceptive and interoceptive body-self awareness in fibromyalgia patients. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 11, 117.

The Neuroscience of Exteroceptive Awareness

Gard, T., Hölzel, B. K., Sack, A. T., Hempel, H., Lazar, S. W., Vaitl, D., & Ott, U. (2012). Pain attenuation through mindfulness is associated with decreased cognitive control and increased sensory processing in the brain. Cerebral cortex, 22(11), 2692-2702.

Malinowski, P. (2013). Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation. Frontiers in neuroscience, 7, 8.

Simmons, W. K., Avery, J. A., Barcalow, J. C., Bodurka, J., Drevets, W. C., & Bellgowan, P. (2013). Keeping the body in mind: insula functional organization and functional connectivity integrate interoceptive, exteroceptive, and emotional awareness. Human brain mapping, 34(11), 2944-2958.

Exteroception + Addiction

DeWitt, S. J., Ketcherside, A., McQueeny, T. M., Dunlop, J. P., & Filbey, F. M. (2015). The hyper-sentient addict: an exteroception model of addiction. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 41(5), 374-381.

Exteroception + Sports Psychology

Bigliassi, M., Galano, B. M., Lima‐Silva, A. E., & Bertuzzi, R. (2020). Effects of mindfulness on psychological and psychophysiological responses during self‐paced walking. Psychophysiology, 57(4), e13529.

Pantano, K. J., & Genovese, J. E. (2016). The Effect of Internally versus Externally Focused Balance Training on Mindfulness. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 35(1).

García-Pinillos, F., Párraga-Montilla, J. A., Soto-Hermoso, V. M., & Latorre-Román, P. A. (2016). Changes in balance ability, power output, and stretch-shortening cycle utilisation after two high-intensity intermittent training protocols in endurance runners. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 5(4), 430-436.

Exteroceptive Awareness Exercises

Five Senses Awareness Meditation - Kids Health

Kids Yoga and Mindfulness about Five Senses - Cosmic Yoga

10-Minute Eyes Open Meditation - Declutter the Mind

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Full Episode Transcript

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