Bodystorming exteroceptive stimulation to train body awareness

Abstract

Body awareness is essential to execute movements as well as for our perception and interpretation of the world. Hence, it also influences the experiences we make when interacting with a user interface. In comparison, an underdeveloped body awareness can cause low self-control, a lack of self-confidence and the inability to relate oneself to the external world. The aim of this study is to identify application areas of supportive technology in this context and derive design implications for it. In this study (N=5), we use bodystorming workshops and open interviews in the instructed physical training context of equestrian vaulting to explore how and in which way exteroceptive stimulation influences body awareness. The results show that especially participants' body awareness by proprioceptive sensation was increased through the stimulation which further led to quicker reactions as well as an improved perception of wrong body positions and movement executions. Thereby, exteroceptors concerning haptic and tactile feedback are overall the most preferred for triggering and training body awareness.