Our last blog post included an reflection by Thich Nhat Hanh on using mindfulness to transform feelings. Here is an exercise excerpt from our upcoming book project Sharing The Now: Mindfulness Exercises To Enhance the Connection With Your Horse which offers guidance on intentionally paying attention to what you are feeling in the present moment, to be attempted on your own. We have divided the exercise to flow naturally in two phases, followed by a…
Another excerpt from “Peace is Every Step- The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life” is this exercise about transforming emotions (called feelings in this excerpt). Neither this blog nor our upcoming book project Sharing The Now: Mindfulness Exercises to Enhance the Connection with Your Horse are meant to replace psychotherapy or other in-depth exploration of your emotions or mental anguish. However, experiencing intense emotions is a part of life and one learns to pay attention…
Reprint from Karen Jones Motivational Horsemanship HORSES AND LIFE LESSONS Horses teach us patience. Horses teach us to be flexible, both mentally and physically. Horses teach us perseverance. Horses teach us responsibility and dedication. Horses teach us coordination and balance. Horses teach us how to be a confident team player. What has your horse taught you? Motivational Horsemanship “Creating Balance between Horses and their Humans”
There are so many ways that self compassion can be restorative at the barn and in other aspects of life. How many of you can relate to moments where things don’t go as planned, or when you say or do something that you wish you could reverse the split second after it happens? For those who tend to be “people pleasers”, or even when you are with the few close people whose opinion really matters,…
Dr. Kristin Neff, an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has a wonderful website on self-compassion highlighting this important Mindful Attitude. Here is an excerpt on her definition of self-compassion – what it is and what it isn’t. This material was reprinted from the website of Dr. Kristin Neff: www.self-compassion.org. Stay tuned later this week for a personal reflection on how self-compassion can be a restorative and transformative attitude to bear when…
Continuing with another brief exercise from our Mindful Guide Series, here is a reflection on Conscious Breathing from mindfulness teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. Sometimes the simplest things help to anchor one’s awareness into the present again, taking one away from being overly preoccupied with thoughts of the past, apprehensions or anticipation of the future, or anything else that may be disconnecting from what is happening right here, right now. This is an excerpt from “Peace…
Play some music near your horse. Listen to the music, notice your physical and emotional response, and watch how your horse responds. We recommend classical or instrumental music at first, as well as avoiding loud jarring sounds (regardless of genre) as they tend to alarm a horse.