I Learned Everything In Life From Riding Horses, and Flying Airplanes

If you thought of all of the possible outcomes before riding horses or flying airplanes, you make it safe for everyone involved, because you created an environment of options, and outs, you set yourself up for success . In flying an airplane, we practice emergency drills for forced landings, forward thinking in case!When I first began with my riding instructor at 5, she taught me foundational showmanship, equitation, and safety. She taught me her expectations of the horse, and how the horse served us. I always saw the soul. I spent hours looking into his eyes, we had private conversations, and we created a far-away mystical world in real life. Seeing the soul...this is the part, some of the horse girls would loose site of, especially in competitions. I was aware of this from the very beginning, and as I moved thru life, I observed that so many of us get lost, and loose site of the soul, our essence. The other aspect with horse girls is the expectation, that I am going to ride you today, we will be riding for one hour and 30 minutes, we will workout hard, this is my agenda...as we have a show in two weeks...period. Here we set ourselves up, and them up for failure. Yes, we need discipline, and we need to show up. What if we showed up with curiosity instead? How is my horse emotionally feeling today? Did he wake up fiery, or is he the jester, or is he sleepy, is he well? This allows for observation, and honest answers, with more inquiry available. What if instead of 90 minutes of pushing, and asking, and drilling, it were a conversation canvas, where we could observe, how is his body moving today? Did he get my gentle cue to move left when I positioned my left shoulder, in his direction, while making eye contact, and verbally asking him to follow thru during our lunging session? Do I need to turn up my volume for him to tune in, and pay attention to my less loud presence? This begins our energetic dance together. I stay curious, should we continue on? Is he giving me the signals that he wants to listen, and be here with me now. What if the relationship became a partnership of listening to understated expressions of desires, and following thru with praise? You have the power to set this entire relationship up for success mindfully with a small amount of forward thinking, while remaining curious. If the horse doesn't look well today, what is the point of stressing him out for 90 minutes, where does that put us tomorrow, and a week from today? What if you asked the horse for very little on the day he wasn't feeling his shiniest self, and just spent time together in a non invasive, nurturing manner instead? How do you think he will respond tomorrow, or the next week? My observation is they become more trusting when we are curious, and listen. They become more trusting when we turn our volume down on the way we communicate back. They are listening! Why don't we listen? Why do we turn the volume up so loud? Why do we march in with a mad agenda, and all the added self cause stressful pressure. The horse taught me significant lifelong lessons, in subtle communication, and energy exchange, and the rate in which this exchange takes place. You see, the horse is a flight animal, it is so "tuned in" into energy and frequencies, it can sense danger miles away, and flee to safety. A horse can feel a fly land on any part of it's body, and swiftly the tail, or mouth will swat at it. I give these two examples as expressions to their innate sensitivity. So why then, do we harshly pull their mouths to turn right? Why do we kick them hard to move forward? This is us not listening...not them! This is us saying, "my way, right now, or I will hurt you" This is a painful, abusive way to communicate, and a terrible classroom to learn in; let alone move thru life. As I have said before, The way we do one thing, is the way we do everything. We do our best until we know better, then we do better! If you assertively squeeze your legs around a horse, that he has no choice, but to move forward, you can bet you do this on the road, in the grocery store, at work, and at home. I use the horse, not only because I am thankful for my time with them, and they have taught me valuable life lessons. It is impressive to connect with a 1200 pound animal, and ask gently if they want to participate, and when they do, and you experience this bond that continues to deepen thru time, of consistently showing up, staying curious, remaining calm, kind, and using less is more approach becomes magical.Communication in flying airplanes is everything, it can mean life or death, especially if the communication is not calm, or if it is not clear, direct, precise. .. this also is true for horses! In fact, it is considered painful to give a horse mixed messages! I love education, and lifelong learning is a constant process, leading to expert mastery if you can tune in quietly, and listen to all the faint expressions of communication. To be honest in communicating expectations and intentions to cultivate real knowing, allowing a profound human connection of real living. I invest in classes that empower me, that add a valid, relevant experience to my life, that creates an opportunity for me to be more useful to others, to serve is to lead a worthwhile, purposeful, and connected life. I allow myself to stay linked to my inner-child with curiosity, seeking deeper discoveries, which has a path of further inquiries to keep exploring. I like inquisitive minds, and getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Genuine curiosity, real listening, allows a new seeing. The product of intent, the allowing of a deep surprise, by learning new things, you couldn't learn any other way than shutting your big mouth up, observing quietly, and for me, it started with the horse, on an unusual two way street. As a massage therapist, it is essential to know how humans operate. Like with flying, to listen to the sound of the engine, as you increase or decrease the throttle, or to feel the turbulence balloon you up, because of the thermals lifting off the earth. as in preparation to fly or ride, you set yourself up for success in the little rituals created early on, and mastered with time, as if it is first nature, zen state. Look ahead, plan, and be better at listening to clients, and hearing their needs, even the quiet communications, where simplicity holds significant rewards. What can we learn from this interaction? How can I guide my client more effectively, so that they can integrate the essential informations in a useful, meaningful, and essential connection with their own body? How can they begin to listen and observe form a curious place? How is my client REALLY feeling today? Sometimes less is more in therapeutic massage treatments too! If you love education, and learning, you should check out our classes and workshops page at leguerisseurhealingcenter.com and if you want to schedule a soulful massage or pilates session on Mercer Island with Maria Toro, you can do so directly with this link: https://square.site/appointments/book/2HWKV61409Y22/leguerissuer-mercer-island-mercer-island-wa SHARE SHARE