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If you don’t breathe you’re dead, right? We all know that.
So breathing is a really important function.
The fascinating thing is that breathing is not just limited to keeping us alive.
The breath is a powerfully dynamic energy form that can be used productively on many different ways, from initiating healing to communicating with others
All women attending anti-natal classes are schooled in the use of the breath to aid the latter stages of labour.
In Indian culture the breath is referred to as Prana, life force.
There are many books available that show haw the use the breath to instigate healing and meditation.
Here I will very basically outline how beneficial the breath can be as a form of communication as taught to me by Ian Stevenson international clinician, author and developer of kinetic equestrian training. Click here for profile....
When we ride a horse we are in direct contact with the area of the horse that houses the lungs.
Our legs wrap around the barrel of the horse and as soon as the horse becomes frightened the horse holds its breath and becomes stiff and tense throughout its body.
It is easy to feel this tension. It instantly puts us on the defensive, wondering what the horse is going to do next, shy, rear, buck or bolt.
The same is true for the horse if we as riders become stiff or tense with our body and legs the horse is going to react and switch into flight mode.
Most riders are aware of this.
But it can be even more subtle than that.
The horse is an incredibly perceptive creature. Equine hearing, vision and sense of smell are all vastly more developed than ours. The horses ability to read tiny signals of body language far surpass what most people can perceive and their 6th sense, or, knowing is only now beginning to be studied.
Learning how little we need to do to be ale to communicate with the horse can begin with the breath.
When the horse becomes tense, if we hold our breath waiting for the ‘bad thing’ to happen we just make matters worse.
If, on the other hand, when the horse becomes tense we focus on our breathing one of two things can happen.
Firstly, because we are focusing on something other than the source of the horse’s agitation, they receive no ‘mental feedback’ from us of danger, and believe me, they can hear what you are thinking!
Secondly, because we are focusing on our breath, breathing out gently and softly down through the horse towards the ground, the flow of energy from us in the form our breath and intention defuses, relaxes and grounds the horse.
Simple. Easy. Powerful.
No panic stricken hauling on the reins and fighting for control of an animal that far outweighs us, hurting his mouth in the process.
Practice becoming more skillful with your breath by starting with something easy.
For a square, balanced walk to halt transition, as you breath out gently and slowly through your mouth, use your intention, imagination and/or visualization to flow the breath down through your body, through the horses body, towards the ground were it can spread out underneath the horse like an opening umbrella.
Use this breath at any pace, in any situation, whenever you want to do a square halt, any downward transition, any time you need to steady the horse within the pace, or if you need to calm a fractious horse whether you are riding or handling the horse from the ground.
A really wonderful addition to your horse handling skills is the ‘Heart Sacrum connection’.
This seemingly inconsequential interaction can greatly influence the nervous, tense, fearful, shy or timid horse.
It is also very beneficial for helping to establish a connection between a new horse/rider combination or even the horse and rider who lack trust in each other.
Horses absolutely love the feeling they get from this small exercise.
Here’s what to do.
Safely tie your horse up in his usual tethering area-where you normally groom him or saddle him.
The area should be quiet and peaceful without too many distractions or loud noises.
Stand on the near side facing your horse (you can do this on either side but for ease of explanation I’ll use the near side)
Place your left hand gently underneath the horse’s belly where the girth would be if the horse was saddled.
This is called the ‘heart space’
Next gently place your right hand on top of your horse’s pelvis-right on the highest point.
This area is called the ‘sacrum’
Now all you need to do is pretty much nothing!
You can either just stand there and wait patiently, thinking of nothing in particular other than happy thoughts or you can spend some time focusing on your own breathing rhythm.
For a really proactive Heart Sacrum session with your horse take the next step and begin moving and exchanging Chi energy between yourself and your horse.
First center yourself by breathing in through your center and out through your feet. This is a purely mental concept and if you are new to it you will need to really focus in the beginning.
Your center is an area just below your navel and just in front of your spine.
Once you feel ‘centered’ and ‘grounded’–a feeling of balance and connection with the earth, with possibly a slightly heavier feeling in your legs-start to give an imaginary slow, gentle push from one hand to the other, almost as if you’re carefully batting a ball from one hand to the other, through your horse.
Imagine your breath flowing down one arm, through your hand, into the horse and through to your other hand, then gently flowing back again to the hand you started with.
Keep breathing slowly and gently while you ‘play’ with this feeling.
Your horse is likely to breathe out deeply, yawn, close his eyes, maybe even fall sleep.
You could get a sensation of tingling, warmth or even coolness in your hands.
You may even begin to ‘feel’ energy flowing though your horse from one hand to another-often this energy flow is in a figure eight pattern.
Whether something happens, is felt, or not, is not important.
It is the intention of wanting to share something nice, comforting or helpful that is your goal.
This is a sharing of energy rather than something you are forcing onto your horse.
Have a go. See how you both feel. Don’t try too hard to make something happen. Just relax and enjoy the quiet experience with your horse.
Your intention is everything and your horse will love this little bit of something different.
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