“ There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy” Friedrich Nietzsche
I often tell myself and my clients to “trust their gut” or I ask them “what does your gut tell you?”
This is because, I truly believe that our bodies are so powerful and already know the answers we all seek.
Usually when I meet a client for the first time, I listen, ask questions and feel. What do I mean by this? Well, firstly you the horse owner or dog owner knows your animal better than anyone. Better than any professional! Yes, I said it. You know when something is just not right or they are feeling slightly off. In some cases if I keep asking questions, you can even identify the exact moment things started to feel “off”. I believe that we get confused and overwhelmed with needing to know what’s wrong with our animals with the stories and thoughts we tell ourselves.
Our brains are designed for survival and our bodies for instinct, but because we don’t have tigers or lions trying to kill us everyday, the survival part of our brain can take over and if we are not aware of this, we can end up feeling overwhelmed, stuck and confused. This can lead us down a path of desperation with the goal of needing to know the answer immediately. For some of us that could mean, googling or joining a Facebook group that relates to everything we feel and see with our animal. In some cases this is great, and it can give you the confidence and reassurance that you are not alone and it might even trigger something in you that can help you figure out what’s going on, however for others, it can lead to you feeling even more overwhelmed, stuck and confused about your horse. Why?
Because even though there might be some similarities, your horse or dog is unique. Their story is unique and therefore their “issue” is unique.
I often come across owners saying “ I knew that already!, I felt it straight away!”. Which supports what I believe that YOU ALREADY KNOW AND HAVE THE ANSWERS, YOU JUST NEED TO TRUST YOUR BODY!
The same goes for me, it can be so easy to ask an owner through direct questioning “what is wrong with your horse/ dog?” Or even rely on the Vet’s diagnosis as final and the only possible answer. But what happens if the horse or dog, has already been into the Vet’s and despite being treated, the owner still feels like something is wrong?
This is a very common scenario that I get faced with on a daily basis. Without going into too much detail, I go back to my intuition, my body.
Here is a little exercise I would recommend you trying:
Get comfortable either seated or standing. Close your eyes and take a full deep breath (at least 3) whilst you allow your mind to settle. Once you are present in your body, ask yourself the following question and pay close attention to the instant involuntary interior body reaction:
“ Does saying YES to this make my body feel like it’s expanding or does it make my body feel tight and contracted?”
Feel free to play with the question above, it must resonate with you. I know that my body is more powerful than my mind and often when I feel confused, overwhelmed or stuck, I do the exercise above.
Trusting my body is something I come back to asking myself everyday. It’s the reason I developed the online course Heal Your Horse. You the horse owner has the power and knowledge to understand what your horse is trying to telling you. Heal Your Horse gives you a support by showing you simple and practical exercises you can do with your horse on a daily basis to better understand them. Once you have this awareness and understanding it then gives you a set of exercises you can do whenever it suits you to help improve your horse’s way of going and their overall posture.
If you want to find out more information, please contact me today.
Or click on the link below to start your journey to helping your horse:
With love,
Nika x
