Innate Intelligence: Your Amazing Superpower – Part 9: Proprioception (Body Awareness and Balance)
Your body is incredible. Right now, without you even thinking about it, your heart is beating, your lungs are breathing, and your cells are working hard to keep you alive and well. Behind the scenes, something called Innate Intelligence is making it all happen. This is your body’s built-in wisdom—its natural ability to heal, adapt, grow, and function in harmony. It’s not something you have to control—it’s always working for you.
Throughout this blog series, we’ve explored how Innate Intelligence expresses itself through 10 essential functions that keep you healthy: homeostasis, the autonomic nervous system (ANS), neuroplasticity, epigenetics, cellular function, regeneration and repair, the immune system, embryological development, the circadian rhythm, proprioception (body awareness and balance), and digestive system/hormone regulation.
Today, we’re diving into Part 9: Proprioception—Your Body’s Built-In GPS System.
How Innate Intelligence Guides Your Proprioception (Body Awareness and Balance)
Proprioception is your body’s natural ability to sense where it is in space without needing to look. It’s what lets you touch your finger to your nose with your eyes closed, or walk up a set of stairs without staring down at every step. This ability comes from a constant flow of information between your body and your brain, directed by your Innate Intelligence.
All throughout your body, there are tiny sensors in your muscles, joints, tendons, skin, and even in the inner ear. These sensors are like reporters, sending a steady stream of updates to your brain: “The knee is bending this much.” “The ankle just shifted slightly.” “The body is leaning forward.” Your brain collects these signals and instantly decides how to respond.
For example:
If you step on uneven ground, your Innate Intelligence quickly adjusts your muscles to keep you from twisting an ankle.
If someone tosses you a ball, your brain instantly coordinates your eyes, hands, and arms so you can catch it—even before you’ve thought about it.
If you ride a bike, your proprioception helps you balance, steer, and pedal smoothly all at once.
This happens so fast that you don’t even realize it’s going on. In fact, proprioception works in fractions of a second, faster than you could ever consciously think through. That’s the amazing power of Innate Intelligence—it’s always protecting and guiding you behind the scenes.
Another way to picture it is to imagine your body as a drone and your brain as the controller. For the drone to fly smoothly, the controller has to receive constant feedback about wind, tilt, and direction. If the signals get interrupted, the drone wobbles or crashes. In the same way, if your brain doesn’t get clear messages from your body, your balance and movement suffer.
When Proprioception Isn’t Working Properly
Most of the time, your proprioception works so smoothly that you don’t even think about it. But when it’s not functioning the way it should, you notice right away—because everyday movements suddenly feel clumsy or off.
Here are some real-life examples of what that can look like:
Missing a step on the stairs: You think your foot is high enough, but you trip because your brain misjudged the distance.
Bumping into doorframes or furniture: You know the object is there, but your body miscalculates just slightly and you clip it with your shoulder or hip.
Dropping things more often: Your hands don’t quite “find” the object the way they usually do, making you fumble with cups, keys, or your phone.
Feeling unsteady in the dark: Without your eyes to guide you, you might wobble or bump into things because your body awareness isn’t sharp enough to take over.
Awkward movements after sitting too long: Standing up after hours at a desk or a long car ride can make you feel stiff, wobbly, or uncoordinated until your proprioception kicks back in.
When your proprioception isn’t clear, life feels a little less steady. The good news is that your body’s Innate Intelligence is always working to fine-tune this system. With regular movement, balance challenges, and a healthy nervous system, you can sharpen proprioception and move through life with greater ease and confidence.
Why This Matters for Your Health
Proprioception might not be something you think about every day, but it affects almost everything you do. Every step you take, every stretch, every time you reach for a glass of water, or even sit up straight in a chair—your proprioception is guiding you. Without it, life would feel awkward, unsteady, and even unsafe.
Here are a few reasons why proprioception is so important for your health:
Injury Prevention
Good proprioception helps your body react quickly and appropriately to changes. If you trip on the sidewalk, your body knows how to catch itself before you fall. If you land wrong after a jump, your muscles automatically adjust to protect your joints. When proprioception isn’t working properly, you’re more likely to roll an ankle, strain a muscle, or fall.Posture and Joint Health
Proprioception helps you sit, stand, and move in ways that protect your spine and joints. If your brain isn’t receiving clear messages from your body, you might slouch, carry weight unevenly, or move in ways that put extra stress on your knees, hips, or back. Over time, that can lead to stiffness, discomfort, or wear and tear.Athletic Performance and Daily Movement
Whether you’re playing sports, doing yoga, dancing, or simply walking up the stairs, proprioception allows you to move with coordination, accuracy, and balance. Athletes train their proprioception to perform at a higher level, but everyone relies on it—even for simple tasks like buttoning a shirt or pouring coffee without spilling.Confidence and Independence
Strong proprioception doesn’t just keep your body healthy—it also gives you confidence. When you trust your balance and coordination, you’re more willing to be active, try new things, and move through life without fear of falling or getting hurt. This is especially important as people get older, when balance challenges can impact independence.Proprioception and Your Nervous System
Proprioception is deeply connected to your nervous system. Sensors in your joints and spine constantly send information to your brain to help regulate balance and movement. But when subluxations (spinal misalignments) interfere with these signals, the brain may misinterpret what’s happening in the body. This can create unnecessary stress on the autonomic nervous system (ANS)—the part of your nervous system that controls things like breathing, heart rate, and digestion.
When the ANS is thrown off, it may shift into a fight-or-flight mode, leaving your body tense, stressed, and less able to heal. Over time, poor proprioception from subluxations doesn’t just affect balance and movement—it can disrupt your whole body’s ability to function at its best.
In short, proprioception is more than just balance—it’s your body’s way of keeping you safe, efficient, and connected to every movement you make. And when your Innate Intelligence is fully supporting it, you can move through life with strength, stability, and ease.
How Chiropractic Helps Innate Intelligence Support Proprioception
Your spine plays a big role in proprioception. Nerve receptors in your spinal joints are constantly sending messages to your brain about how your body is positioned. When your spine is misaligned, these messages can get scrambled—like a glitchy Wi-Fi signal causing lag in a video call.
Chiropractic care helps remove interference by correcting subluxations (spinal misalignments), allowing the nervous system to send and receive clear messages. When the spine is properly aligned, your brain can better understand what’s going on in your body—and respond with precise movement, posture, and balance.
By supporting spinal health and nervous system function, chiropractic care helps your Innate Intelligence work at its best—so you can move through life with confidence, grace, and ease.
Stay tuned for Part 10: How Innate Intelligence Supports Your Digestive System and Hormone Regulation.
At Wellness Within Chiropractic, we proudly serve Hoschton, Braselton, and all of Jackson County, GA with natural, holistic chiropractic care. Dr. Carrillo and our team are dedicated to helping you move better, feel stronger, and support your long-term wellness. If you’re searching for a trusted chiropractor near you, schedule an appointment today and discover the benefits of chiropractic care for your health and lifestyle.