We're not meant to live separate from nature. Our bodies need contact with ground, plants, weather, and the turning of the seasons. For so many of us, nature has become something we recreate in. But if we're to experience the healing and whole-making effects of being in the natural world, we have to do it slowly. We have to turn our focus away from our thoughts and endless busyness so our awareness can settle. When we become still and drop into the centre of ourselves then we can begin to open our perceptions, tune into the wisdom of our bodies, and begin to hear the voices of our many selves. From this ground it becomes possible for us to reconnect with the immense intelligence and the field of infinite possibility that runs through all of nature.
In order to begin to explore these possibilities, we need something to hold us, a practice to direct our mind the way a rider guides a horse through the reins. This is where the horses come in. If given the chance to live close to their natures in a herd with room to move and access to forage, horses-- with two hooves anchored in domesticity and the other two in the wild-- can act as gatekeepers between the worlds of human and nature. Wordless, they communicate in waves of feeling and pictures, gestures, and sounds. When we're near them, they bring our hearts, minds and bodies into a state of coherence. Something that was previously closed in us opens. We're able to put down our weapons, reprogram old patterns of thinking, learn how to alchemize intergenerational trauma, and take a stand for our gifts in a world that desperately needs us.
Riding helps to calm, stabilize and ground the physical body. It aligns the spine and energy centres and helps the nervous system reset from a state of stress to a state of wellbeing and connection. With this as a foundation the participant can incarnate more fully into the home of their body, begin to engage in the exterior world, activate learning centres in the brain, and retain a powerful sense of calm that becomes a foundation that helps to stabilize sensory issues. Having an experience of trust and connection with such a large animal is tremendously empowering, and has the ability to carry forward into all areas of the participant's life.