Self-Produced Information

Upon reading about self-produced information- an observer's movement provides information that the observer uses to guide further movement- I couldn't help but think about my yoga class. In the text, they use the example of a gymnast doing a somersault. The gymnasts' use of self-produced information, while keeping his eyes open, allowed him to adjust any movement that needed correcting during the somersault, in order to perfect the somersault. In my yoga classes, we will be directed to go into a pose that requires some sort of balance. Typically we are told to find a fixed point to gaze at to keep our balance, but sometimes we are told for a challenge we could close our eyes. Doing a balance pose on one leg while closing your eyes is extremely hard. My self-produced information is no longer available to me, and I can not self correct some slight movement to keep myself up. I need to keep my eyes open so if there is a slight sway to one side or the other, I have the information available to me to then shift myself. With self-produced information, a balance pose in yoga, can be actually be completed with ease because incoming information about how your body is moving can be addressed and corrected instantaneously.