Interoception & the Cranial Nerves

How attuned are you to the signals your body is trying to send?

This is perhaps one of our favorite surprising side effects from restoring the blueprints: heightened interoception.

Interoception was a new word to us too, until we stumbled upon it in Dr. Tara Swart’s book, The Source, right around the same time we were digging into our own blueprints and refining the protocol we developed. 

In discussing what makes up a strong mind-body connection, Dr. Swart, a neuroscientist, addresses how interoception is a lesser known sense that allows us the ability to read body cues and discern the signals we are regularly being sent. These cues can range from hunger, thirst, and body temperature, to more subtle signals like knowing when to step away from social media scrolling and how to identify that a shift in mood is linked to dehydration.

At one point in the book, Dr. Swart states that “life experience impinges on interoceptive ability”. Based upon the shifts that we’ve noticed in ourselves and also in our clients, it’s clear that the two are intertwined.

We have discovered that interoception lives in cranial nerve 12, and whenever this nerve is healed by way of restoring the body’s blueprint, interoception also gets healed.

Which means we can tune into our bodies in a new way, with greater awareness and less confusion.

Whereas before there might have been more static or noise around the actual signal our brain was sending our body, once healing occurs within this cranial nerve, the brain and body can connect in a more coherent way.

It also made us so very aware how oblivious we were previously, during those times in our lives when interoception was impaired. 

Overeating.

Not consuming enough water.

Lingering for longer than we needed to on Instagram.

Pushing ourselves to burnout at work and getting sick shortly thereafter. 

All examples of what happens when our brains and bodies are disconnected, and cannot communicate effectively to help steer us back on course.

And the reality is that our environment today has a surprisingly potent impact on our interoception. Toxicities in food, air, and water coupled with EMF exposure, a more sedentary lifestyle than our ancestors had, regular snacking, and a lack of frequent detoxing all hinder the brain-body connection and result in hazy signals - which further dysregulates the nervous system.

The top two interoception effects we noticed within the first week of healing our blueprints:

• An increased ease in consuming water and eating hydrogen rich foods, and 

• A decreased interest in refined/processed foods

It turns out, when the cranial nerves are healed back to how they were intended to function, our body automatically gravitates towards what it was designed to love: foods created in nature. 

Once we rolled out this protocol with our clients, we began to hear similar feedback.

“I don’t crave coffee as much as I used to. It felt so weird at first, but once I noticed how good I felt without it, I realized how much it had been messing up my body this entire time.”

“My nightly ritual of chips and salsa doesn’t taste good anymore. I actually made (and ATE) a salad for the first time in months. And it tasted great!”

“I have cravings now for fruit in the morning, which is a far cry from my usual muffin or bagel. I don’t know what you did, but it’s totally changed my preferences for the better.” 

Dr. Swart is right – life experience really does impinge on interoceptive ability. 

To see this play out time and time again with our clients (and ourselves!) has been amazing to witness, and further reinforces the power behind the cranial nerves. When they are healed, the implications are pretty incredible - and they continue to surprise us with each passing day.