A Path to Harmony between Horse and Rider by Constance Clare-Newman

When you ride, you are engaging in a holistic partnership with your horse. If you’re feeling tense, how can your horse be soft and supple? If you’re sitting crookedly on your horse, how can he move in a straight path? If you feel out of harmony with yourself, how can you expect harmony with your horse?
You can learn to release tension and over-efforting, to sit into length and depth, and to nurture a sense of inner harmony—all of which will help you to be more successful in creating harmony with your horse.
Many riders learn how to achieve this through lessons in the Alexander Technique, whose principles are fundamentally the same as those of classical equitation. Both focus on achieving integrated and supple movement, without the use of force, through the delicate exploration of balance and an easy liveliness in activity.
As you develop this postural and movement awareness in the Alexander Technique, you can also work on un-doing patterns that interfere with the best use of your self, including emotional and mental patterns. For instance, do you ever come to your riding in a rushed or harried emotional state, or distracted by negative self-talk? You may not even notice these emotional or mental habits, but if you have them, they are getting in the way of your best riding self.

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