“If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”
-Lewis Carroll
Even though we as humans have hardly evolved in hundreds of thousands of years, our bodies are pretty high tech. Most of you are probably aware that your body possesses an internal clock, one that allows you to internally have a sense of time, including day and night- when it's time to go to sleep, time to awaken and time to eat. These biological clocks are called circadian (meaning ‘almost a day’) rhythms. Traveling to different time zones can temporarily confuse your body till it resets itself.
But did you know that you also have GPS-like systems working inside you? Not the kind that tell you how to get to the mall, or even exactly where on the planet you are, but they do let you know your position relative to the ground beneath you, and they help keep you upright.
Every one of your joints has position sensors, also called proprioceptors, which keep you from tilting, swaying and falling on a regular basis. They're constantly working under the radar, and quietly go on high alert when they sense you losing balance, to correct the course. The system works through tiny nerve endings in your joints which communicate through a reflex arc with the spinal cord. The corrections and adjustments are made instantaneously based on commands sent back from the spinal cord. Messages are also sent up to the brain and middle ear areas which can weigh in if needed.
Athletes and dancers have tremendous GPS capabilities more accurately known medically as proprioception. With injury, immobilization (like wearing a cast) or even aging, your proprioception sufferers, especially in the lower body joints like the knee and ankle. Athletes can reduce their risk of injury, and even improve their performance through proprioception training or re-training (i.e. after injury or surgery).
Anyone can improve their proprioception. This can be done with some simple drills like the yoga tree pose. Try to hold it on each side for 30 seconds. When it gets easy, try with your eyes closed. Also you can try while up on the ball of your foot, or even on a small pillow to make it harder. Your body learns to get better at making these fine tuning adjustments. There are devices like the Bosu Trainer or wobble boards that can really enhance your proprioception. We used these with our pro athletes all the time.
FitTip: Get a little unsteady to improve your balance, in sport and in life.