Rebalance Your Life - combining holistic healing with neuroscience.
Equine Therapy - Why Horse
People often ask me why use horse in therapy? I love this question as it lifts my energy instantly (like in the photo above) and I can feel my passion come alive when I speak about it.
Horses are naturally curious and social animals which is how so many people can form strong relationships and bonds with them. Horses being prey animals have learnt to survive in the wild by being aware of what is in their environment and especially at reading the herds body language and other species body language. Horses can be very subtle and also very animated in their responses.
If a child has been born with a disability, experienced medical challenges or suffered from any form of trauma they may experience some developmental delays. This can compromise how they respond and react to others which can often be carried though into adulthood.
Working with the horses we are able help the child or adult create new neural pathways in the brain by trying out different activities, choices and experiencing that they may not have previously had a chance to do. They get to feel what it is like for them in a fun and safe environment. That is the key to learning and development in children and for adults it's becomes more about making choices for themselves rather than reacting to situations that they are experiencing. It is here amongst the horse, out in nature, that we work towards developing autonomous resilience in both children and adults.
Click to learn more about trauma
Working with such large animals, clients have said they feel a connectedness that is extremely empowering. Horses are great relationship builders. They can teach us how to read situations, how to raise your energy/ intensity level or how to still your self. You may have heard of the saying that "horses mirror you", I believe that their ability to read body language is how this saying may have come about. When you can raise the horses energy by your actions or help settle and calm a horse through your stillness - you are mastering your own destiny, this is often followed by a feeling of inner peace which can be taken and applied to any pursuits in your life.
A science look for those who want to know more.
Horses also have larger energy fields than humans, so being in their presence can greatly affect your regulation - breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, they can help to bring you into what is known as your Window of Tolerance (WOT) - this area/window is your capacity for learning (Pat Ogden 2006) Staying in your window of tolerance is all about your arousal levels. Neuroscience has shown that your brain learns best when your are inside this window. This is the space where you experience your thoughts, emotions and actions as being in alignment with each other. This window is where you can make clear decision or choices (clear thinking). When you are outside of this window you temporarily lose access to your logical thinking, thus leaving only your emotions to guide you. We can experience this in exams, job interviews or any new situations that you don't feel comfortable, your mind may go blank, (offline.) Emotions are felt experiences in the body that are without language, have your every wondered or experienced losing your ability to communicate your story after a stressful situation? Learning to increase your window of tolerance increases your capacity to learn, reduces stress levels and enable you to make choices rather that reactions. It also teaches you to integrate yourself as a whole, - mind, body and dare I say soul. This alignment is a powerful place.
Horses are naturally curious and social animals which is how so many people can form strong relationships and bonds with them. Horses being prey animals have learnt to survive in the wild by being aware of what is in their environment and especially at reading the herds body language and other species body language. Horses can be very subtle and also very animated in their responses.
If a child has been born with a disability, experienced medical challenges or suffered from any form of trauma they may experience some developmental delays. This can compromise how they respond and react to others which can often be carried though into adulthood.
Working with the horses we are able help the child or adult create new neural pathways in the brain by trying out different activities, choices and experiencing that they may not have previously had a chance to do. They get to feel what it is like for them in a fun and safe environment. That is the key to learning and development in children and for adults it's becomes more about making choices for themselves rather than reacting to situations that they are experiencing. It is here amongst the horse, out in nature, that we work towards developing autonomous resilience in both children and adults.
Click to learn more about trauma
Working with such large animals, clients have said they feel a connectedness that is extremely empowering. Horses are great relationship builders. They can teach us how to read situations, how to raise your energy/ intensity level or how to still your self. You may have heard of the saying that "horses mirror you", I believe that their ability to read body language is how this saying may have come about. When you can raise the horses energy by your actions or help settle and calm a horse through your stillness - you are mastering your own destiny, this is often followed by a feeling of inner peace which can be taken and applied to any pursuits in your life.
A science look for those who want to know more.
Horses also have larger energy fields than humans, so being in their presence can greatly affect your regulation - breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, they can help to bring you into what is known as your Window of Tolerance (WOT) - this area/window is your capacity for learning (Pat Ogden 2006) Staying in your window of tolerance is all about your arousal levels. Neuroscience has shown that your brain learns best when your are inside this window. This is the space where you experience your thoughts, emotions and actions as being in alignment with each other. This window is where you can make clear decision or choices (clear thinking). When you are outside of this window you temporarily lose access to your logical thinking, thus leaving only your emotions to guide you. We can experience this in exams, job interviews or any new situations that you don't feel comfortable, your mind may go blank, (offline.) Emotions are felt experiences in the body that are without language, have your every wondered or experienced losing your ability to communicate your story after a stressful situation? Learning to increase your window of tolerance increases your capacity to learn, reduces stress levels and enable you to make choices rather that reactions. It also teaches you to integrate yourself as a whole, - mind, body and dare I say soul. This alignment is a powerful place.
