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Yogis
Today I was doing my daily yoga. I am superbly lucky in that we have some lovely views from areas in our house. Our bedroom overlooks an area of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and even though its just a glance of them, it is more than enough to actually be quite motivational!
Now before I go on, I want to make sure you do not give me too much kudos. I work hard, I squat, stretch and downward dog as best I can but please realise. I am no Yogi. Sometimes I feel almost elegant, but mostly I feel a little like a small, slightly awkward elephant. However, I love my yoga. Not only does it help me physically but the mental/ emotional side of it is incredible too.
One of the things that Adrienne mentions often is the importance of moving with ease. If you are forcing your body into shapes, not only are you damaging your body, but your mind too. Finding a way to move with ease and grace, builds muscle, builds suppleness and confidence. Forcing your body into those shapes can do so much damage. While downward dogging today my brain was wandering (yes not very yoga like I know) but I got to thinking, that we are basically our horses Yoga instructors. We can't talk to them to remind them to engage their core, or to keep breathing deeply. So it is up to us to find ways to communicate this to our glorious steeds. To make new movements feel easy for them, to allow them to do so with grace. To fill them with the confidence of what their own bodies can do. As each session goes by, Adrienne challenges her students, she pushes you a little further outside what you think you can do, but thoughtfully, kindly and systematically. I can't even imagine how badly I would feel about yoga, if Andrienne came over and began pulling my body around. If she began forcing me into shapes I couldn't physically attain. Not only would I begin to hate yoga, but I would probably never trust anything she said again.
To get strong and supple takes time, build slowly and thoughtfully. Be innately kind to yourself. This thought has to carry across to dressage. With each session and ride I want to make sure that this comparison of yoga and dressage continues to play in my mind, and that I can be a kind and trustworthy instructor for my horse.
I wonder if I can train Axel to do downward dog...
Now before I go on, I want to make sure you do not give me too much kudos. I work hard, I squat, stretch and downward dog as best I can but please realise. I am no Yogi. Sometimes I feel almost elegant, but mostly I feel a little like a small, slightly awkward elephant. However, I love my yoga. Not only does it help me physically but the mental/ emotional side of it is incredible too.
One of the things that Adrienne mentions often is the importance of moving with ease. If you are forcing your body into shapes, not only are you damaging your body, but your mind too. Finding a way to move with ease and grace, builds muscle, builds suppleness and confidence. Forcing your body into those shapes can do so much damage. While downward dogging today my brain was wandering (yes not very yoga like I know) but I got to thinking, that we are basically our horses Yoga instructors. We can't talk to them to remind them to engage their core, or to keep breathing deeply. So it is up to us to find ways to communicate this to our glorious steeds. To make new movements feel easy for them, to allow them to do so with grace. To fill them with the confidence of what their own bodies can do. As each session goes by, Adrienne challenges her students, she pushes you a little further outside what you think you can do, but thoughtfully, kindly and systematically. I can't even imagine how badly I would feel about yoga, if Andrienne came over and began pulling my body around. If she began forcing me into shapes I couldn't physically attain. Not only would I begin to hate yoga, but I would probably never trust anything she said again.
To get strong and supple takes time, build slowly and thoughtfully. Be innately kind to yourself. This thought has to carry across to dressage. With each session and ride I want to make sure that this comparison of yoga and dressage continues to play in my mind, and that I can be a kind and trustworthy instructor for my horse.
I wonder if I can train Axel to do downward dog...
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