Discover the second hidden gift of yoga - Proprioception

When new practitioners come to my yoga classes they're often puzzled by their inability to accurately respond to the important cue to drop their shoulders away from their ears. This is especially true in poses like Warrior 2 where the arms are outstretched. The cue to drop the shoulders often leads to the arms and hands dropping instead and the shoulders staying stuck!

Can you do this? Give it a try!

We often keep our shoulders unconsciously hunched as part of our modern lifestyle. If it seems impossible for you at first to drop them without moving the arms as well, why is this?

Because you have lost the brain-muscle connection and awareness that separates shoulder movement from arm movements.

This is one of many examples of an important ability which yoga cultivates, but which teachers rarely mention: proprioception!

A well taught yoga class with individual feedback - which I aim for - can significantly enhance proprioception, leading to more integrated, efficient, and intelligent movement.

Yoga helps you both maintain and develop this vital skill - and in turn proprioception helps your alignment.

It also helps you connect with your body on a deeper level. As that skill develops, you can identify areas of tension, weakness, or imbalance and work towards correcting them. This, in turn, helps you avoid injuries and makes postures safer and more effective.

Check out a yoga class focussing on Proprioception here

As well as having better body alignment you reduce the risk of pain, discomfort, or injury, so you achieve deeper stretches and hold postures for longer without experiencing strain or fatigue.

In addition to physical benefits, proprioception may improve mental and emotional wellbeing. That awareness and connection can help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as promote your mindful and self-awareness skills. You become more present in the moment, cultivate a sense of inner calm, and feel more connected to yourself and others.

Closely related to proprioception is another skill I deal with elsewhere: interoception. This is the ability for you to notice internal bodily sensations, such as heartbeat, breathing, and digestion. In yoga, this can help you deepen your awareness of your body-mind connection, essential for a more integrated and holistic state of being.

Check out a yoga class focussing on Proprioception here

So, to conclude, proprioception is a vital element of yoga practice that can significantly enhance your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. With this heightened awareness of your body's position and movement, you can improve your body control, stability, and alignment, as well as reduce stress and promote mindfulness. Pairing proprioception with interoception can help you deepen your awareness of the body-mind connection, leading to a more integrated and holistic approach to your health and wellness.

Read more about this in my book (Chapter 5):

The New Yoga: From Cult and Dogma to Science and Sanity