Body Awareness Practice

Proprioception (or kinesthesia) is the sense though which we perceive the position and movement of our body, including our sense of equilibrium and balance, senses that depend on the notion of force (Jones, 2000)

Mindfulness Movement is a conscious effort moving each joint, through an available range of motion, communicating and articulating clearly.

Proprioceptive input is the internal felt “sense” of where your joint is in space, how it is moving, and whether it is in danger or not. A lot of the time these exercises look like balance training, on varying surfaces like foam, or with eyes open or closed, etc. But this is only a fraction of available activities to improve this simple, but imperative “sense”.

Right leg balance

Using visual cueing such as mirrors or videos/pictures can be a great resource for feedback. Unless you are a professional with year of extensive training and can rely on your internal felt “sense”, you might try filming yourself during part of your practice and see what you think!

Left leg balance

Below you can see how slow, articulate, and controlled my movements are, and still! I cannot completely rely on my proprioceptors to limit my knee caving inwards (valgus) or my pelvis from tilting (loosing posterior tilt), or my foot from wiggling so badly I cannot hold the pose. I use these videos as a resource to improve my practice, and push myself through each new barrier.

How will you use proprioception in your practice? Will you try a familiar exercise slower or with more awareness of the movements? Will you record your self during a part of your practice and notice the changes? Drop a comment below, so together, we can use community to heal.

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