Chances are, when you got determined enough and really focused on what it was you wanted to happen, you gave your brain a command and your body went about making the necessary adjustments to cause the change. These minute adjustments are called proprioceptive changes and are what your body will automatically do once commanded by your brain.
Proprioceptive change is a command from your subconscious mind to your body in preparation to perform an action. It’s what happens before what happens, happens. It affects everything we do in our day-to-day routine, from standing up, to answering the phone, to how we approach a jump when riding a horse. If you drive a car, you’ll use proprioceptive change all the time when steering. In the beginning, new drivers must consciously focus on how to steer, but as we become more adept, we no longer think about each tiny move we must make with the steering wheel to drive in a straight line down the road.
In an earlier article we discussed the way in which we programme our brains by the types of thoughts we have. Our brain is a high-powered computer that may not do what we want, however it will do what we tell it. We discovered that having a wish or a dream is not enough. For our brains to take action in bringing about a desired outcome, we must first make a decision. Our brain recognizes the command and then takes action. I we say to ourselves – “I’m going to jump that log”, this is a decision and your brain and body take over. Thinking “I want to jump the long ... but what if I fall off?” is not a decision, so no positive action can be taken.
If the fear of falling off over rides the desire to jump the log, your brain will give the command and your body will make the proprioceptive changes to bring about the action. If we refer back to the earlier article about the ‘Process of change’, you’ll see that this indecision will cause the chaos that so many people put themselves through subconsciously everyday. How many times have you ‘made up your mind’ (made a decision) to just do something and then found it wasn’t as bad as you thought it was going to be?
Proprioceptive changes can work for you or against you and are another important reason to watch your thoughts. Remember, this is your subconscious we are dealing with here, the things that you truly believe in your heart, not just the things you say you believe.
Your actions, or your horse’s responses, speak louder than words. Everything that happens to you is a direct result of you, so watch your thoughts!
Photo: Cavalia.net
Read More Road To Horsemanship articles.
- By Meredith Ransley, Quantum Savvy.