Proprioception is the awareness of the location of our body in space. A critical skill for confidence in using our bodies, it is often undervalued. If you now shut your eyes, and extend an arm, it’s thanks to this sense that you know exactly where your arm is. To go for a run, then, or work out in the gym, and not fall or injure yourself, you need a good sense of proprioception.

Our sedentary lifestyles are a threat to this sense, and the Covid-19 lockdowns certainly did not help. But climbing trees, walking along balance beams, navigating obstacles, crossing stepping stones are all proprioceptively demanding, and so train this capacity. According to research led by a team at the University at North Florida, these kinds of exercises not only improve physical coordination but also working memory.

Yoko Ichino, the ballet mistress at Northern Ballet, based in Leeds, teaches regular proprioception classes, during which students are required to practise complex moves with their eyes shut. “We use our eyes too much,” Ichino says. “We need to use all our other senses as well but because our eyes are open all the time, we never develop them. So I put that into my own training.” She recommends (if it is safe) to move around your home with your eyes closed as a way to acknowledge space and location.