Here, in our perspective, are some of the possible benefits of staying mindfully aware with our horses. Reflect on these the next time you are at the barn to gauge whether they may apply to you and your horse! We explain these more in our upcoming book project, Sharing The Now: Mindfulness Exercises to Enhance the Connection With your Horse. Better flow in a session with your horse Noticing things you hadn’t before Increased closeness…
Here is an exercise you can try whenever approaching a horse. Horses, being prey animals, are extremely sensitive to the non-verbal signals and body language that you project when you are in their vicinity. Being aware of your state of mind and emotions, or even your “state of energy” if that is a term to which you can relate, can help you tune in to what you are relaying to your horse. This exercise, suggested…
There are days when everything is in flow and there are days when you have no clue what the Universe is trying to teach you. Horses present many opportunities for you to learn how to navigate chaos. As you drop into spending time with them, you can never quite predict how things will go. Sure, you may have an idea, especially if this is a horse you know well and you’ve learned his or her…
Today, we have the privilege of sharing the reflections of Karen Jones of Motivational Horsemanship. Shreyasi crossed paths with Karen when they connected over their Lipizzan Rescue Foundation rescue Lipizzans, Arya and Rhett. Karen has a wonderful Facebook page, website and blog devoted to her principles of motivational horsemanship, and to her specific experiences connecting with Rhett. We came across this article in our email inbox today and she kindly provided us permission to re-post…
Here is the first of our Mindfulness Moments at The Barn series. We will post exercises loosely adapted from the Mindfulness Exercises included in our book project, Sharing The Now: Mindfulness Exercises to Enhance The Connection With Your Horse. Most of us already do these things at various times of the day. The exercises are designed to invite you to incorporate such moments the next time you are at the barn. We invite you to…
Arya in a groundwork lesson with Shreyasi and Hawkstone Stables instructor, Rhonda Bignell Please take a moment to read through our descriptions of the horses in our herd, by clicking on the “Our Herd” tab in the menu. We are grateful to know all these horses and we wouldn’t be able to learn or reflect or grow through love without them!
We first met Giselle Denis during the year of our wedding, when we asked her whether she might consider painting live at our wedding reception in late 2016. Giselle is an artist of many talents, and paints live at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald among her various art engagements. She graciously agreed to do so and transformed the night into a magical experience. We have kept in touch since then and are continually struck by her…
This blog is for anyone interested in learning how to be in the present moment with intention and curiosity; in other words, we hope that people can experience more moments of everyday mindful awareness by reading these posts and practicing the invitation to be PRESENT at more times of the day. Horses allow us to access such present moment awareness when we are in their presence. This is their gift to us, whether we realize…
This post is intended to facilitate a conceptual starting point for everyone reading this blog. All of us have experienced what it means to be mindfully aware and, as you read through these descriptions, reflect on when you might have had such experiences. It may have been when you had a particularly joyous moment with someone you care about, you were listening to a piece of music or saw a piece of art that resonated…
Being “Mind Full” is feeling stuck with thoughts from the past and the present, which pollutes our minds and limits our capacity to be aware and live in the present. On the other hand, being “Mindful” means focusing on the present and being aware of what you are doing in the now. You can set an intention to focus on one aspect of the present moment, such as what you are doing right now. When…