Yoga with Horses, look closely

It's hard sometimes, when people ask me about what yoga with horses is all about.

If you look closely at these pictures of my friends and Gary's "students", you might be able to see the difference that being with Gary, the horse teacher, brings into the interactions. Compare what's happening in the top photo to the bottom photo.

So, one way to consider yoga with horses is that yoga with horses is the experience of that movement from the set of relationships seen in the top photo to what is seen in the lower photo.

What do you see?

I'd love to hear your comments.

Virabhadrasana: Warrior Spirit

I am your Warrior Spirit
name me
honor me

I am here
present
aware

I am in the world
of the world
for the world

I see with clarity
I act with love

red as Blood
bright as Sun
black as Night
light as Moon

I am your Warrior Spirit
name me
honor me


I found this old poem while working on clearing my studio. It was in a handout I used way back when I did a Warrior Woman workshop as part of the Women and Spirituality conference that takes place in Mankato, Minnesota.

I love warrior poses. Nearly all classes that I teach include at least one warrior vinyasa variation, from ultra gentle to my more vigorous Windhorse vinyasa classes.

My Warrior Spirit Name? I have several, including Walks with Horses and Jeneralissimo. What's yours?

(Please use the comment feature to reply).

Ooozing into Shoulder Stand

Today we had a small class at Lyric, which gave us the opportunity to move mindfully into shoulder stand. I was inspired by a video of Rama Vernon, who demonstrates how to get into shoulder stand over a deliciously long period of time.

We used the wall, and began with viparita korani, legs up the wall pose. I had the students organize externally at the center of their heels to their 'sit bones', and then sensing an energetic 'draw' down from the heels into the sit bones, while feeling an opening in the front of their hip joints, where the legs meet the pelvis.

We then shifted into neutral post, to take the mind deep into the central core - the spinal column and muscles in close to the spinal column, the psoas, and the little 'braiding' muscles of the erector spinae and the multifidae. I think of them as braiding muscles.

Then back to legs up the wall, organizing the physical alignment, and the energetic alignment. From there, letting the mind connect in to the spine and start braiding, slowly and deliberately, using the feet against the wall for support.

One student, who loves shoulder stand, hurried a little, and reported some back tension. She caught it, however, so now knows that maybe waiting a little will be more beneficial. The other student however, really took her time to find the ooze. Ahhhhhh.

Long and delicious.

Pay Attention Please! Gary and his Yoga time.

It's a bit of a muck out at the barn, what with the heavy rains we received in Tucson. I go to the barn after teaching Peaceful Yoga at Yoga House, so I'm usually in a teaching and helping frame of mind and have an idea of what I would like to do. Today my thoughts were on practicing our Walks with Horses movements and postures in preparation for offering this as a regular yoga class.

The horses teach me that it's important to be open to the moment, or as I like to say, plan, but don't plan on it.

I got Gary out to groom, and realized it was time for the shedding blade. YAY! Spring is on the way, and this year the wildflowers and waterfalls for Tucson hiking should be awesome. He's been having some neck stiffness (isn't it funny that this month my Focus Yoga class is on neck and shoulders?), C3 on the right side, C5 on the left. We went out to work on neck releasing at the pranic level and through practicing our ground work serpentines. So far, so good.

We stopped to talk to Lisa, but Gary was cranky about that. Usually he's quite happy to hang out while we talk, Lisa was his former owner, and he adores her.

But not today. He chewed on his leadrope, walked forward, and otherwise engaged in rude behavior.

I have some choices here; one is to get on his case for being rude. Another is to just give in and do what he wants. Another is to ask him to back off, and then reward that with getting back to the business at hand. There may be some more, but I chose the latter. Truth is, he was uncomfortable with the status of his neck, we were in the midst of his practice, and, well, maybe I was being rude? Lisa and I both agreed to talk later, and Gary and I went back to his practice.

Each day, something new, something reminded. Thanks, Gary.

Comparative Anatomy, Mirroring - Horses & Humans

This morning I have been working on my sequencing, physical anatomy, and subtle anatomies for the upcoming Focus Yoga on Neck and Shoulder series at Lyric Yoga. While this series has been in the works for a few months, I've been receiving epiphany after epiphany on this area from our horse teachers.

The picture shows my friends Kristene and Bianca at a session where we worked a bit on shoulders some time ago. If you look closely, you can see how Bianca and I have a similar stance supporting Kristene in accessing her thoracic and cervical spine.

Then, a few weeks ago, I went out to ride Gary, but he was more interested in longeing, which is pretty unusual for him. I could see right away he was 'hanging' from his withers, tight in the shoulder blades and ribcage area, and heavy in the chest.

That same week, at one of our horse-assisted yoga mini-retreats, Gary worked directly with one of our highly intuitive participants, and he encouraged her to walk with him. She (the human) went right into a yoga opening that I usually include in my classes that I call 'sleeping puppet', where we extend and flex the upper spine area - our very own withers. Physically, we are flexing and extending in this area that tends to get pretty stiff and rounded for many of us. Energetically, at the pranic level, we are engaging the prana and udana vayus or you can also think of it as the engaging the heart and throat chakra energy.

It's my experience that when we play with our own bodies in the vicinity of horses (or dogs or cats or ...) the animals pick up on what we are doing and feel it in their own systems. What's good for us is good for them, and what's good for them is good for us, with a few comparative anatomy type of adjustments. It isn't just my experience either, this is an active area for scientific investigation, called mirroring.

So, the humans in our upcoming classes and workshops will benefit from the teachings of Gary the horse, who continues to provide insights into the workings of mind, body, and spirit.

Namaste Gary!

Oh, and the Focus Yoga on Neck and Shoulders class is at Lyric Yoga Tuesdays from 4-5 pm, and the workshop (that I'm doing with Rose Kress) is scheduled for April 24, 2010.

Playing with Intention and Intuition - Horse Teacher Style

Today was another magical day of horse-assisted learning as we met at the round pen, Gary waiting expectantly (and not cribbing). We wrote out intentions, practiced some yoga to extend and explore the Cave of the Heart and sacred heart of the sacrum. Then, opening our heart with the help of the compassion of our horse teachers, Gary, Ichobod, and Sport.

We practiced transmitting and receiving with the horses to develop our intuition skills, then adjourned to the yoga studio to continue the journey with yoga practices combined with tarot, finishing up with yoga nidra, a deeply intense and yet relaxing guided meditation. Three hawks soared overhead, the barn kitties hung out, and there was cloud gazing and mountain greeting.

Stacey and I continue to be awed and humbled by the power of this work. The horses? All in a day's work and play. Namaste.

SynergYoga:Dog Assisted Yoga for Chronic Pain Management

This new and innovative program pairs yoga methods for addressing chronic pain with the healing presence of a service, therapy, or companion dog.

SynergYoga is named after Laura Coursey’s dog, Synergy, who discovered, on his own, ways of helping Laura, who has spinal muscular atrophy, to relieve her own pain. In the world of positive reinforcement animal training through the use of the clicker, we know that if a dog has the physical ability to accomplish an action, we can train the dog to do the action.

SynergYoga takes this further, by acknowledging that a dog may have their own opinion and offer ways to assist their person.

Yoga methods may involve breath work, postures and movement, visualization, meditation, and sound, depending on the unique needs of the individual suffering from pain.

We use a particular yoga model for healing, called the pancamaya model, considering five levels of being: physical, energetic (systematic), mental, ‘story’, and emotional.

Email me for more information and to get placed on the list for announcements of upcoming classes.