The Urban Monk Podcast

Dr. Pedram Shojai delivers a transformative guide on developing interoceptive awareness, which is the ability to sense and interpret your body's internal signals before minor symptoms become major health crises. He uses the powerful analogy of a car's check engine light to illustrate how most people ignore their body's warning signs, choosing to "tape over" symptoms rather than investigate their root causes. Drawing from functional medicine principles, he explains why modern culture has systematically disconnected us from our body's intelligence through the "no pain, no gain" mentality, constant stimulation, caffeine dependence, and a medical system focused on symptom suppression rather than prevention. The episode breaks down the body's four-phase warning system, from subtle whispers weeks before a crisis to full-blown alarms requiring medical intervention. Dr. Shojai provides a comprehensive three-level framework for reclaiming body awareness: daily two-minute body scans, weekly pattern recognition exercise