Proprioceptive abilities

In mountaineering, and a little less in hiking, the ability to keep your balance is fundamental to ensuring our survival.
This ability to perceive your own body in relation to the environment around us (knowing how to react to stimuli coming from the outside environment) is called “proprioceptive ability”.

The brain continuously receives information from the sense organs about the position of the body in three-dimensional space. These are visual stimuli, tactile stimuli, auditory stimuli and kinaesthetic stimuli, that is, the perception of the movement in space of each part or limb of your body (information on the body's position from the balance sensors). Depending on the quality of the stimuli and of their transmission, the brain is able to react instinctively to restore the correct position of the body.

Contrary to simplistic claims, the senses (bio-informative factors) are apparently not just five but six: taste, sight, touch, smell, hearing and balance.
Proprioceptive ability is influenced mainly by the most developed senses, which for modern human beings are sight, balance and touch. There are also receptors in the joints and in the muscles of the neck, trunk and limbs. All these receptors, including sight and the organs of the vestibular system (balance in the strict sense), allow the brain to form a precise image of the body's position in space, intervening instinctively with the so-called “postural reflexes”.

This proprioceptive reaction ability can be suitably developed through specific exercises. These are activities that serve to sharpen the functioning of the senses, improve the quality of signal transmission and increase the brain's reactivity.
“Reflexes” are, in the end, the speed with which the brain tells the body to react to changes in external stimuli.

The set of exercises for developing proprioceptive ability is called “Proprioceptive Training”. This special physical activity can be done in gyms specifically equipped for the purpose. There are, however, sports which, without the use of specific equipment such as wobble boards or moving platforms, allow you to develop good proprioceptive ability. Sports such as trekking, stretching and training circuits allow you to develop good sensitivity and ability to react to the outside environment.

In proprioceptive training, psycho-physical balance is central. Stimulation of the brain through proprioceptive training should not take place when the person is under emotional stress, because it is precisely the psyche, as a whole, that must play a predominant role during the exercises.

To get the most out of these physical activities it's good to follow a balanced lifestyle and proper eating habits, to give your day a regular rhythm of times and schedules while managing calm and patience, and to allow yourself room for reflection and relaxation.

Precisely as regards relaxation (but this also applies to endurance sports), we suggest first of all learning to control your breathing.