Please could you add a tennis ball or similar to the Pilates kit you have available for each class.  We will be using this small ball in exercises to improve:

• the function of our feet, ankles and lower legs;
• our balance and coordination by taking the proprioception work we do to the next level.

Proprioception is your body’s ability to sense how it is moving in relation to the environment. It involves a close relationship between the nervous system, soft tissues and proprioceptors.

Proprioceptors are clever sensors located on nerve endings in your muscles, tendons, joints, skin and inner ear. These sensors deliver information to your brain about changes in movement, position, tension, force and environment.

As an example, you experience proprioception when you’re out walking or running and detect small deviations such as holes or stones or ice on the pavement. To prevent injury your body adjusts, stabilizing your foot and ankle in response to the feedback picked up by your lower limb proprioceptors.

Proprioception is one of the sensory systems associated with balance.  We will be using the tennis ball as part of our proprioceptive training to improve balance and spatial awareness.  This will help you to stay upright and move with control wherever you are and whatever you’re doing in your daily life.

To close, here’s a track from Arctic Monkeys’ latest album, The Car which I’m currently playing to death.  If you have a tennis ball-sized mirror ball, you’re welcome to use that in class…to dance under obvs.