What is Proprioception? - And how can we incorporate it into Kids Yoga?
Have you ever heard of the Proprioceptive System? If not - don’t worry, you won’t be the only one!
We are all familiar with the 5 Senses:
Visual System: Seeing.
Auditory System: Hearing
Gustatory System: Taste
Olfactory System: Smell
Tactile System: Touch.
Well… did you know we actually have 8?! The other 3 are somewhat less talked about, but play an important role in childhood development. These additional 3 are:
Proprioceptive System - The awareness of our body in space
Vestibular System - Our awareness of movement
Interception - refers to the physiological sensations in the body
This post is all about proprioception (but dont worry, we will take you through the other 2 in our other posts as well!)
So what is Proprioception?
Proprioception is the awareness of our body in space. It is our body's ability to sense movement, action, and location.
Let’s try an example: Close your eyes. Lift your hand and touch your index finger to your nose. Could you do that? Well thats your proprioception system! Without using your VISUAL System, you were able to know where your body was in relation to each other in order to touch your finger to your nose.
But how does this work? Through receptors in the muscles and joints. These receptors detect changes in muscles, tendons and joints, and send impulses to the nervous system telling us information about our body position and relation to objects around us. These receptors send our brain information about our position as well as the sense of effort / force we are using in movement.
Why is this system important? Proprioception (along with our Tactile system) play an important role in the development of body awareness, spatial awareness and motor skills. Only once a child understands where their body is, can they coordinate themselves in an environment (e.g. crawl under the table) as well as understand what it’s like to move through space.
Incorporating Proprioceptive Activities into our Yoga Classes!
Yoga is, by nature, a great proprioceptive activity! A keyword to remember for Proprioceptive activities is weight-bearing (which we do alot of in yoga!)
Let’s look at 3 fun ways to incorporate this System into our kiddies yoga classes.
Weight-bearing Poses like Plank and Downward dog provide tons of sensory input through the upper body! Plus, these activities can be classified as “heavy work” for children, which is great for proprioceptive input!
Partner Yoga is a great way to build awareness of our body, and relation to others! One of our favourite games is Wheelbarrow Walks, which is weight-bearing too!
Rolling up in your mat for Relaxation at the end of class is a great way to provide tactile and sensory input. Not too tight though! Proprioceptive input can also be calming which is great for Savasana!
Want to learn more? Join our Online, Self-Paced Kids Yoga Teacher Training!