Chapter 180
Watching leaves dance with raindrops, listening to the drip and fall of rain. Feeling the closeness of the sky, driving through clouds, marvelling at intensity, changability, flux and flow of weather, mood and temperature. Yesterday I sweated through a casual stroll in the woods, today it would be a sodden slog, but I abstain. Allowing for the newness of the day to unfold with remarkable clarity. Nothing is ever the same, even under the masquerade of repetition.
‘Let your readers know what’s coming up in September’ Lowell said – opportunities to dance with the elements, to sink deeper into stillness, to rise into song.
Share an evening with FANTUZZI at Yoga Spirit on September 5th.
Here’s something I recently shared with my barn:
What About The Woo-Woo?
Some folk might wonder what the heck I’m doing when they come upon me standing around the arena with a dopey-looking horse.
Usually, I’m waiting. Breathing and waiting. Giving the horse the opportunity for its nervous system to fully process whatever just happened. What just happened could have been as simple as my picking up the lead rope, introducing a new tool into our shared space, asking the horse to move in a certain way, or someone else entering/ leaving the arena.
We are very much human doings rather than human beings. For us to stop and wait, pay attention to subtle signs and appreciate the amount of stuff going on all around us, is a big challenge. The more time we spend in urban settings and plugged into electronic devices, the harder it is to let go of the urge to do something. We are driven by social pressures for constant achievement.
With horses, this often translates to the most well-meaning human partners unintentionally ‘shouting’ at their horse friends. If you hang out watching the herd – whether that’s two horses or a whole gang, the signals and communications are constant and generally subtle. The slightest shift in weight, tail flick, ear swivel, alteration in facial expression, lip tightening etc – are all messages back and forth.
Horses described as ‘stubborn’, ‘lazy’, ‘spooky’, ‘disrespectful’ in my experience, are generally horses that do not feel heard, seen, or understood and/or they are physically suffering. They do not feel part of a conversation, more the subject of a stream of demands. Once the horse stops feeling seen or heard, they can give up trying to communicate. Often misinterpreted as a docile or well-trained horse, this learned helplessness may one day overflow in dramatic reaction – something may happen that surprises and frightens them, not having learned how to deal with an unexpected occurrence, to control their own instincts, a wreck occurs.
Horse survival instinct is to not show pain, appear vulnerable to predation or separation from the herd. It’s therefore easy to overlook a niggling discomfort which may become a bigger issue. Often a horse will not be lame as such, but has structural issues that prevent them moving freely and fully. Sometimes easy to help, other times not so much.
There is no guaranteed success when dealing with another sentient being, but I aim to empower the horse, to give them body movement tools that promote physical and mental relaxation and thus a more harmonious relationship with humans. Horses can translate learned skills into their everyday lives, gaining from the relationship, learning how to live more fully in the human world. Given tools with which they can overcome deeply ingrained survival instincts to run like stink, fight like crazy, or freeze up in order to stay alive.
In this approach the focus is on time to relax, soften muscles, release tension and thereby free up minds for deeper, better learning. Mistakes happen. We are on a trail of learning opportunities at every turn. Horses are forgiving.
Play sometime. Be prepared to do less.
Kat Dancer
bodymudra@gmail.com,
+1 415 525 2630 (ph/whatsapp)
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