More people seem to be having difficulty with balance and orientation, today. Why is this so? I believe we have lost the connection between our central/ peripheral vision and our vestibular system. Our eyes (peripheral vision) and our ears (vestibular) help us with equilibrium and orientation. I refer to the peripheral vision as our intuitive, feeling vision. I talk about the vestibular system as it relates to our ability to ground and orient to our environment through the body. Both start developing while we float in the amniotic fluid in-utero.

Acute and chronic stress triggers our vision to tunnel. We become exclusively detail directed, thus losing our peripheral awareness and vestibular connection. When the survival response retreats, our peripheral vision and vestibular system open up again.

Exploring the relationship between movement, gravity, and the eyes will help develop this central-peripheral skill as well as engaging our vestibular system. It is important to develop the link between the central- peripheral vision and our vestibular system. When they are in sync, we will experience more stability with our balance, without creating adaptive eye-body patterns as compensation. By acknowledging the peripheral-vestibular link, your balance will be more flexible and adaptable.