How do I notice what my body knows before my mind explains it away?

You want to notice what the body registers before the mind explains it away. The body reports first. It is faster than thought and less interested in being reasonable. Then the mind arrives with an account — you are tired, they meant well, it is fine — and the account is so quick that it feels like the original experience. It is not. It is a second thing, laid over the first. First, learn your own signals. Most people have three or four: the shoulders, the jaw, the shallow breath, the stomach. Find yours. This takes a fortnight of ordinary attention, not a retreat. Second, put a gap between the sensation and the explanation. One breath is enough. In that breath, name only what is physically happening. Tight chest. Held breath. Nothing about why. Third, ask the question afterwards rather than during. What was that about? Asked later, honestly, it often answers plainly. Fourth, treat the signal as information, not as instruction. The body is not always right about what to do. It is remarkably good at noticing that something is happening. Stillness is what makes any of this available. In a mind that never settles, the signal is simply lost. Where does your body speak first?