Category: Mindfulness

Guest Author: Nicole Toren on The Inner Critic

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Nicole’s biography: Nicole contributed all of the watercolour designs and technical diagrams to our upcoming book project, Sharing The Now: Connecting With Your Horse through Mindfulness. We first met Nicole through her business, Tonic Equestrian, and purchasing items from the line, including amazing artwork from Hand Gallop Studio. She also completed a commissioned portrait of Stella for Shreyasi a few months prior. When we approached her about this project, she was excited to help and we are so…

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Fall transitions

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With the autumn chill and leaves on the ground, there are some big changes ahead for us. We are making a move outside the city to an acreage. We hope that this will be a space to create and share SPIRIT and PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS with others, and to offer those interested a firsthand perspective of being in tune with things arising just as they are, perhaps with a herd of horses in the midst.…

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Personal Reflections on a Recent Mindful Experience – Finding Your Flow

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We recently attended a retreat at Meghan Vornholt Yoga and Equine Facilitated Wellness in Cochrane, AB. The retreat, Finding Your Flow, was a wonderful example of mindful reflection, yoga and interaction with horses in a wellness context. We wanted to share our personal experiences of being in the present moment, and what that meant for each of us that afternoon. Shreyasi: I learned much about flow from Meghan. Flow is to do with being in…

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Mindful Guides Series: A Poem on Mindful Living by Mary Oliver

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In the spirit of illustrating the essence of being tuned in to the present moment with acceptance and openness to whatever arises, here is another poem that highlights the mindful attitudes of compassion and beginner’s mind. Notice what you see, hear, taste, smell and touch, as you navigate the world around you. Notice what you feel inside, however it may be, in terms of emotions, thoughts and body sensations. Rather than judging what you notice,…

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A Mindful Reflection on Unpleasant Emotions

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One of the ways of being tuned in to the present moment, regardless of what it feels like, is by shifting your perspective towards emotions that are considered to be unpleasant. We use the words “emotions” and “feelings” interchangeably in this post. Unpleasant emotions might include feelings of shame, sadness, regret, disappointment, frustration, self-doubt, apprehension, and so on. Sometimes, these emotions can overwhelm with their intensity. It may seem like they are unbearable and one…

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Brief Mindful Moment At The Barn: Catching Your Horse

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Here are two suggested opportunities to bring mindful awareness to time spent at the barn and with your horse. For each of the suggested exercises in these series, try these at various times of the day and on different days to note the variations in your present-moment experience. When you go out to the pasture to visit or catch a horse that is far away, take a mindful walk towards the horse. Specifically—walk towards your…

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Mindfulness Exercise: Awareness of Emotions

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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…

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Mindful Guides Series: Transforming Emotions, Thich Nhat Hanh

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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…

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Self-compassion at the barn: a personal reflection

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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,…

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