Tag: mindfulness moment

The Human Animal Bond and Mindfulness Series: 4. How Mindfulness Can Deepen the Bond

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Written by Shreyasi Brodhecker and edited by Natalie Wilson In the final article of this series we reflect on how being fully aware, of your experience in the present moment, can deepen the quality of connection you have with your companion animals – horses and otherwise. The previous articles in this series introduced the Human Animal Bond (HAB), explored the benefits that the Human Animal Bond has demonstrated through research and anecdotal evidence and provided…

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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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A Mindfulness Moment: A Focusing and Grounding Exercise

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In this Mindfulness Moment, we describe a focusing exercise that you can use at any time of the day. Particularly when you are heading out to the barn, it is helpful to tune in to yourself before going near horses. This exercise helps prepare you to notice with intention, and to stay receptive and mindful of the horse’s safety and your own. Horses pick up on our internal states; this ability to detect our inner…

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A Mindfulness Moment At The Barn: Watching Your Horse

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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…

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A Mindfulness Moment: Noticing Your Breathing

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Breathing exercises are a common prescription for emotional wellness, whether to help with focus, grounding oneself in the present environment, to reduce anxiety or to relax. Mindfulness exercises are not solely for relaxation; rather, they are a way to train our minds to be fully attentive to whatever is happening right now, with an attitude of being curious and accepting of reality as it is. Sometimes the practice of paying mindful attention (or being mindfully…

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A Mindfulness Moment: Visual Awareness Exercise

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This is the start of an ongoing series, in which we describe simple exercises to incorporate moments of mindful awareness into your everyday activities. Some of the series’ exercises will offer opportunities to incorporate mindful moments at the barn, and they will be differentiated by the subheading, A Mindfulness Moment at the Barn. The exercises may feel similar to guided exercises you’ve encountered in other sources of mindfulness teachings. When applicable, we will identify excerpts…

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