Desiree Sieben is an avid rider, registered yoga teacher, mindfulness coach and personal trainer. She also has a background in animal health, as a Registered Veterinary Technologist. Through her business – Mane Equestrian Athletics – she supports the equestrian community with her teaching and promotion of rider fitness and wellness. In 2015 my world was turned upside down when I suddenly lost my horse. It was a partnership in which I had a lot more…
You may remember the poem we posted on Instagram a few weeks ago, The Guest House by the Sufi poet Rumi. This poem is often quoted in mindfulness based therapy programs and in other venues as a way to explain what it means to mindfully accept the present moment, even when it feels unacceptable or painful. In this poem, Rumi refers to different emotions as guests visiting the guesthouse and invites the reader to “welcome…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Pet the barn cat or dog. Notice the feeling of the fur against your hands and the expression in the animal’s eyes; listen to the sound of the purring or breathing.
Today we offer a visual illustration to describe the process of observing things happening as they happen. This is a common metaphor from different psychotherapies, called the Riverbank Metaphor. The next time you’d like to notice, or are already noticing, intense thoughts or emotions coursing through you, try this practice to reinforce the process of observing your thoughts without getting caught up or overwhelmed in them. We also include a related excerpt from our book…
We introduce a new series here today called the Mindful Guides. We count several people and animals as teachers or guides on this path towards living a life with more moments of mindful awareness. We cite some of these influences in our upcoming book project, Sharing The Now: Mindfulness Exercises to Enhance the Connection with Your Horse. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk and teacher, is one such Mindful Guide. Here is an excerpt of…
We have the pleasure of sharing a guest author’s reflections on observing today. Meghan Vornholt has expertise in yoga, meditation and coaching, and is a certified equine wellness practitioner in Canada. You can learn more about her work at her website and on Facebook and Instagram. We are excited to meet her in September at a personal development workshop at her studio o in Cochrane, Alberta. We are so honoured that she took the time…