Expert Contribution

Sense of Health

The collective focus of the last year has been on safeguarding our physical health. True health of our bodies encompasses all aspects of our being. We are not compartmentalizations of each piece of our selves and our health. Our mental health, physical health and emotional health are not separate independent categories but rather interwoven, interdependent and create the greater composite of our whole health. 

We express the quality of our health directly through our nervous system by experiencing life through our eight senses. We have five external senses and three internal senses. We experience the outside world through our vision, taste, touch, smell and sound. We experience our internal world through our vestibular system, proprioception and interoception. 

We live our lives through our nervous system and the quality of our health is a direct connection to the tone of our nervous system. The tone of our nervous system is dependent on how well the brain and body can communicate. And the brain and body communication is vitally dependent on the integrity of their connection. Chiropractic is the only profession whose primary focus is to support the integrity of that connection. 

Interoception is our eighth sense; it’s our inner gage of connecting in a feeling, sensing what our body’s communicating. Thirst, hunger, itch, a heart pounding or slowing, the need for more air; these are all examples of interoception experienced. The right anterior insula is the location in the brain where interoceptive activity occurs. The anterior-cingulate system integrates interoceptive information with emotion bringing forth the subjective sensory experiences of how we are feeling. 

We are wired to experience life through all of our senses. Chiropractic Helps You Optimize The Integrity of Your Brain Body Connection to Experience Your Best Life. 


By Dr. Tracey James, DC, Anatomy Power Wellness