Offerings

Bodywork increases circulation throughout the whole body through firm or vigorous strokes which stimulate lymphatic drainage and improve circulation of blood to contracted, tight tissues.

With strokes directed towards the heart, lymphatic fluids and vessels are stimulated to move and drain. The lymphatic system plays an integral role in our immunity by carrying wastes out of tissues and acting as a first responder to isolate and kill viruses or pathogens that invade the body.

The lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump like the circulatory system (the heart), and therefore it needs us to move it manually or through exercise to help it effectively circulate throughout the whole body.

By bringing relaxation, awareness, and circulation to chronically contracted tissues, range of motion can be increased as the body is brought back into alignment and can stretch without impingement and pain.

The mind-body connection intrinsically means that emotions are connected to, and stored in the tissues.

Talk therapy can help us to emote, however if we are so disconnected from our body that we don’t know what emotions are being suppressed under the surface, then there will be little progress.

Bodywork can help us bridge the disconnect and feel what’s being held in our tissues. By feeling it, we can then process and let it out.

Massage is incredibly effective at working with fascial adhesions and scar tissue. Pre-and post surgery, bodywork is essential in order to keep scar tissue from continually contracting tissues.

Trigger point therapy, deep tissue massage, and myofascial bodywork are especially beneficial for relieving muscular tension and unwinding chronic contraction patterns.

Horses respond to leadership. There is a difference, however, between leadership and domination. A true leader cultivates trust, certainty and the feeling of safety within a partnership.

Working with horses creates the necessity to build strong leadership skills as they are prey animals who innately seek safety. We must overcome our own fear, doubt, or worry in order to create a shared feeing of safety in partnership.

The skills required to build a mutualistic relationship with a horse transcend the horse-human bond. Building relational skills with horses allows us to communicate effectively through body language, cultivate empathy to sense what another is feeling, and take responsibility for another’s wellbeing.

A horse will never judge you or be dishonest with you. If you show up authentically, you will find only compassion and tolerance even on days when our harshest inner critic won’t stop talking.

Horsemanship is a practice in self-improvement in that its core tenets are about aligning our beliefs with our character - being the person we want to be for our horse.

Horsemanship is based in body language, but its language transcends the unspoken communication signals exchanged between horse and human.

Learning to communicate clearly non-verbally aids us in getting our core message across in other forms. Using our other senses to communicate beyond just our voice, such as envisioning, empowers us to be more connected, empathic, and intuitive.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to be in tune with our emotions, experience them freely, and process them in a healthy way.

Emotional intelligence may be an undervalued attribute in our society, but when it comes to working with horses, it is of the greatest importance. If we suppress or attempt to hide our emotional state, it will only cause turmoil and uneasiness in them. Acknowledging our emotional experience without judgement or denial will keep the peace in our internal environment, and safety in the horse-human bond.

Polyvagal Theory describes the role the vagus nerve plays in regulating our autonomic nervous system and behavioral health. During times of peace, the parasympathetic nervous system is engaged. During times of arousal, when the fight/flight instincts kick in, the sympathetic vagus is active. When arousal has intensified and fight/flight cannot help us escape a stressful situation or crisis, the dorsal vagal nerve kicks in and puts us into freeze mode.

Horses being prey animals oscillate quickly and sometimes with little warning between parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system states. To help them regulate their nervous systems, we must stay balanced in our own. We unconsciously are engaging in nervous system resilience building exercises through practicing grounding and breathing exercises with horses to regulate their nervous systems.