It’s true we all have it if can believe it! It’s called Proprioception. Proprioception is our internal sense. Touch, taste, smell, all these senses are for gathering information about our external environment. Proprioception is our internal sensor. It gathers information from our nervous system, including stretch receptors in our muscles and receptors on our joints, to figure out exactly where our body parts are in relation to each other.

If you put your hand behind your back and hold out two fingers.. How do you know for sure that you are holding out two? You can’t see it. Our sixth sense provides us with the ability to drive a car without constantly looking at our hands and feet to make sure they are doing what they should do, it allows us to lift heavy objects, knowing when to increase our strength or contraction of muscles in order to keep the said heavy object steady.

What happens when our proprioception is not working properly? Well have you ever noticed if you’re distracted, busy or stressed you might tend to get clumsier? You stub your toe; you crash into the side of a chair. That is usually because your proprioception is slightly impaired. It’s getting its signals slightly confused so therefore is unsure of exactly where you are in relation to everything else!
Our agility is impaired, leaving us more prone to injuries and accidents.

Tense muscles and bad posture contribute to poor proprioception. Muscles that are too tight confuse the stretch receptors in the muscles, sending mixed signals to our nervous system. Including proprioception exercises into your daily routine is highly recommended. It will improve your agility, grace and posture. It will quicken your reflexes and reduce the risk of injury.

Somatic exercises are a great way of preventing injury and keeping your proprioception healthy and happy. My good friend and cousin Esther has a really great set of somatic exercises, to keep your neuromuscular systems on track.

Myrthe Wieler