In a virtual reality environment a user's movements are coupled, meaning the user cannot walk and look in different directions. Discloses are methods and systems for soft decoupling the movements of the user in a virtual reality environment, enabling the user to look and walk in different directions simulating real-world interactions. The soft decoupling is performed by receiving acceleration and orientation data from sensors attached to the user. A heading and a heading delta based on a ratio are calculated. The calculated heading and a velocity are translated into soft decoupling inputs for the virtual reality environment.