Proprioception-What is it and how does it affect my movement?

Proprioception is our internal sense of where the body is in space and how we orient, adjust, and move without needing to look or be told what to do. It is a sensory system that operates largely beneath conscious thought, yet it shapes every movement we make. In Gyrokinesis, Awakening the Senses is a way to prepare the body and access its proprioceptive intelligence. The practice is less about achieving a correct shape and more about refining perception.

Much of contemporary movement learning relies on familiar sensations, looking at ourselves in the mirror or using machines that organize movement for us. While these methods can be useful, these approaches can also draw attention outward, away from the body’s own sensory intelligence. Research in motor learning shows that tactile feedback, information received through touch is processed quickly and directly by the nervous system, often as effectively as spoken cues.

In Gyrokinesis, tactile awareness is cultivated through intentional self-touch. The hands become a bridge between sensation and awareness. Placing the palms on the ribs, pelvis, spine, or feet before and during movement provides immediate feedback: pressure, expansion, tone, rhythm, and breath response. These sensations help clarify how the body is organized in space.

Self-touch does not impose correction; it offers information. This sensory input sharpens proprioception, allowing the practitioner to sense alignment, weight transfer, and efficiency from within. As perception becomes more refined, movement is guided less by instruction and more by internal feedback.

This is the awakening of the senses in practice. Breath is felt rather than controlled. The spine is experienced as responsive and alive. Subtle shifts in weight, timing, and coordination become perceptible. Over time, proprioception deepens, supporting movement that is fluid, adaptive, and intelligent.

Through self-touch, Gyrokinesis invites a direct relationship with the body’s innate awareness. The hands help the nervous system listen, organize, and respond cultivating trust in sensation as a primary guide for movement.

If you’re curious to explore this approach more deeply, I invite you to join my Awakening the Senses Gyrokinesis classes. These sessions offer a guided space to slow down, tune in, and reconnect with your body’s natural intelligence through movement, breath, and sensation.