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Nature's stretch

The difference between a stretch and pandiculation.

1. Pandiculation is involuntary,  spontaneous, intuitive, whole.
A stretch is voluntary. You're having to think about it or be shown what to do.
2. A stretch is elastic. Like and  elastic band. It gets thinner and longer.  Not great for joint integrity.
Pandiculation enhances the auxetic nature of fascia. It's expanding,  energy-efficient and re-plumping property. The whole body responds. Better for vitality and integrity.
3. The feel-good of a stretch is pleasurable and involves mostly dopamine the gratification hormone. Which can be addictive.
The feel-good of pandiculation leaves you with a sense of well being. Releasing oxytocin, the nurture hormone. Better for regulating the nervous system.
4. With a stretch, you usually stretch at a joint and run the risk of going beyond your range. Running the risk of instability. Especially if you are  hypermobile. 
With pandiculation, you move with integrity. Within your range with no risk of injury.

Interoception

Interoception refers to sensations that provide clues about the state of your nervous system. They arise as butterflies in your tummy when we are anxious or in love, heart racing, a warm fuzzy feeling or nausea, sensual touch, hunger, cravings, or the urge to pee. So helpful when you want to calm down distress signals. But what if those distress signals are overwhelming? Then you tune in to your fascia.

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Fascia your connective tissue is the largest sensory organ of the body. Stiffening with discomfort or pain under any form of dysregulation or dissonance. Fascia has an abundance of interoceptors. Also providing clues of the state of your nervous system from sensing the state of your tissue.

In SomaSensing, interoceptive awareness involves the somatic practice of tuning in to listen to the quality of the tissue. Noticing any areas of discomfort or stiffness and self-adjusting intuitively to soften those areas of stiffness. Calming the sympathetic, "on alert" response. Pandiculation is an example of an interoceptive self-regulating practice. The urge to stretch emerges from within. Listening to that urge allows you to find and unwind areas of stiffness. Rocking to self soothe is another.