Boost your movement through the power of your sixth sense - Proprioception!

I don’t know about you but I definitely remember learning about the five senses at school…sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch.

But did you know that there's actually a sixth sense? And it's possibly even more of a superpower than the other five senses.…Proprioception.

It’s the body’s innate ability to be aware of itself when in motion by detecting position, weight or movement of muscles, tendons and joints.

This sense allows us to move freely and interact with our environment without consciously thinking about our actions e.g walking in the dark without stumbling, touching your nose with your eyes closed, or even typing on a keyboard without looking at your fingers. It’s crucial for coordinating smooth, accurate, and efficient movements and helps maintain balance, posture, and stability, enabling us to perform everyday activities and complex physical tasks.

Cool right?

Until that is proprioception is impaired due to a recent or chronic injury, neurological disease or aging. Movements can then become uncoordinated, and the risk of injury increases, which highlights the importance of maintaining and improving proprioceptive function.

So what can we do about this? You guessed it…PILATES!

Pilates is really effective in enhancing proprioception due to its focus on precision and body awareness. Exercises are performed with an emphasis on quality over quantity, encouraging you to pay close attention to the position and movement of your body.

So let’s discover how keen your sixth sense is. Throughout my July classes, we’ll focus on enhancing proprioception by encouraging the body to coordinate movement with sensory input with the aim of moving more efficiently and gracefully.

And in the meantime, shed your socks and shoes and walk around barefoot, experiencing different surfaces to help wake up the 200,000 nerve receptors in your feet (the most nerve-rich part of your body). It takes only milliseconds for sensory information from your foot to reach your brain and for your brain to respond by making adjustments to muscles in your legs, back and arms. This is such an easy way to improve your proprioception, balance and coordination.

You’re welcome!