I had what I like to call "a light-bulb moment" in my Dressage lesson with my trainer, Deirdre, today. Both she, and my trainer before her, have encouraged me to RELAX while I'm riding. Rather than gripping with my legs and slightly leaning forward in the canter, they have both been telling me to let go of "the things I can do without."
"Let your legs hang around the horse. Let go. Relax. Sit in the back of the saddle and move your seat with Okido." Sounds easy. Right? Wrong! Our tendency in riding and in life is to "hold on." But, the way Deirdre said it today made me understand completely. So, I let go. When I did, my horse gave me the most wonderful, collected canter. It felt like a dream come true, because, it was.
How does this apply to you? I'm sure you are asking. You'd be surprised. This is a rough period of time for our country. Anxiety, political divisiveness, disagreement, angst, dissatisfaction... all those nasty words and feelings swirl around us, on top of everyday life and the challenges that we all face just living day-to-day and dealing with responsibilities and relationships.
What we all need to learn to do is relax and let go of the things we can do without... the stress, anxiety, disagreement, angst, dissatisfaction. Tears for Fears, in their song Shout, say it best:
Shout
Shout
Let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on
I'm talking to you
Come on
I understand that sounds simple. But it isn't. Just like riding a horse that weighs about a thousand more pounds than I do isn't simple... at all. It's one of the very most difficult things to accomplish. The key is to let go of all those things you can do without.
Try it. Come on.
Til Next Time,
Carol
"Let your legs hang around the horse. Let go. Relax. Sit in the back of the saddle and move your seat with Okido." Sounds easy. Right? Wrong! Our tendency in riding and in life is to "hold on." But, the way Deirdre said it today made me understand completely. So, I let go. When I did, my horse gave me the most wonderful, collected canter. It felt like a dream come true, because, it was.
How does this apply to you? I'm sure you are asking. You'd be surprised. This is a rough period of time for our country. Anxiety, political divisiveness, disagreement, angst, dissatisfaction... all those nasty words and feelings swirl around us, on top of everyday life and the challenges that we all face just living day-to-day and dealing with responsibilities and relationships.
What we all need to learn to do is relax and let go of the things we can do without... the stress, anxiety, disagreement, angst, dissatisfaction. Tears for Fears, in their song Shout, say it best:
Shout
Shout
Let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on
I'm talking to you
Come on
I understand that sounds simple. But it isn't. Just like riding a horse that weighs about a thousand more pounds than I do isn't simple... at all. It's one of the very most difficult things to accomplish. The key is to let go of all those things you can do without.
Try it. Come on.
Til Next Time,
Carol
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