Equiyoga Yogic Horse Riding: Fathom the Myth of the Centaur

Equiyoga

Yogic Horse Riding

Fathom The Myth Of The Centaur

Ann Boudart

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© 2013 by Ann Boudart. All rights reserved.

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Published by AuthorHouse 03/07/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-8255-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-8254-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-8256-2 (e)

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Table Of Contents

Introduction

Chapter I Equiyoga

1. Why Combine Yoga And Horse Riding?

2. Contribution Of Yoga Depending On The Level Of Rider

2.1. For The Non-Rider And The Beginner

2.2. For The Regular Practitioners

3. Some Postures And Adaptation To The Horse Rider

3.1. Samasthiti

3.2. Uttanāsana

3.3. Trikonāsana

3.4. Tādāsana

3.5. Ūrdhva Mukhāsana

3.6. Viparita Konāsana And Sirsāsana

4. The Bandhas And Horse Riding

5. Prānāyāma And Horse Riding

Chapter II Yoga-Sūtras Of Pataňjali,

Samādhipādah

Sādhanapādah

Vibhūtipādah

Kaivalyapādah

Chapter III The Horse Rider, From The Yoga Point Of View

1. Concepts Of Natural Aids And Human Biomechanics

1.1. The Seat

1.2. The Gaze

1.3. The Legs

1. 4. The Hands

2. Position Of The Rider

2.1. Position Of The Rider In The Saddle

2.2. Centers Of Gravity Of The Horse And Rider

3. Contribution Of Yoga

Chapter IV The Horse, From The Yoga Point Of View

1. Notions Of Equine Psychology

2. Muscular Biomechanics Of The Horse

3. From The Foal To The Advanced Horse (More Specifically Applying To The Dressage Horse)

3.1. The Gaits

3.2. Lunging

3.3. Breaking The Horse

3.4. Horse On The Bit

3.5. Transitions Between Gaits Or Within The Gait

3.6. Circle And Volte

3.7. The Halt

3.8. Leg-Yielding

3.9. Half Pass

3.10. Shoulder-In, Travers, Renvers

3.11. The Counter-Canter

3.12. Simple Change Of Leg In Canter

3.13. Flying Change Of Leg

3.14. Series Of Flying Changes Of Leg

3.15. The Passage And The Piaffe

Chapter V Equiyoga

1. Every Day In My Life

2. A Few Real Stories

2.1. Orixa

2.2. Eden De Renival

2.3. Serena

2.4. Margerite

2.4. Cervantes

2.5. Lyon

2.6. Zorro

2.7. Quelindo

3. The Trainings Of Equiyoga

Bibliography

Appendix

Thanks to

My grown up children, Gwen and Jason,

My yoga teachers, Frans Moors and Françoise Lebec, who supported me in this approach.

Thanks to all of the horses for teaching me to respect Life

A particular thought to Orixa who left in October 2009. His sensitivity and responsiveness led me to question me on myself and our respective reactions, to correct me, to learn to take distance from the circumstances.

Introduction

In 2003, after years of poorly managed anxiety, negative stress and some health problems, I decided to join a yoga class. It seemed to be the only unexplored way to get to know myself and to control myself, to take some distance from events occurring.

I was lucky enough to meet a competent yoga teacher, Françoise Lebec, who listened to my needs, respectful of both my mind and my body, in accordance with the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. We were immediately on the same wavelength. She awoke my curiosity to discover more about yoga, especially its dimension of personal development, of mindfulness, accessible to anyone who wishes it.

After several weeks of daily practice of yoga and, of course, horse riding, I gradually managed to relax, to release the tension I had felt for years. The first time my breathing was in phase with Orixa, as I was riding him then. Our work session suddenly went on as if all requests and responses flowed naturally. We were as one! The centaur became a reality!

I could then test control of breathing and concentration during the competition that followed a few days later. We performed a smooth test, all the mistakes we made did not bother us. The icing on the cake: we won the competition!

However, before I was able—even partly—to control my mental and physical states, a lot of water has flowed under the bridges. Some more fundamental questions remained open as well in horse riding as in yoga.

2007 was a transitional year. I decided to ban of my daily life—to the extent possible—the non-important activities which usually generate unnecessary stress. The time saved was spent with my family, on the daily practice of yoga and horse riding, and the resumption of studies (for fun as well as to satisfy my hunger for further knowledge).

One of these courses was about becoming a yoga teacher. The primary goal was to deepen my knowledge of yoga, its philosophical underpinnings, its implications and possible developments. I was infused by the many implications of yoga—both in private and professional life, as well as its implications in the approach of the horse and when riding it. My knowledge in muscular and skeletal biomechanics of both rider and horse are enriched by the foundation and philosophy of yoga.

Along the way, I felt ready to assume the role of teacher in both classical horse riding and yoga, pushing further, the union of the two disciplines in equiyoga. The self-knowledge—that flows from the practice of yoga for whom wishes it—leads to an improved harmony with the horse, whether you are in the saddle or at its side.

In classical riding, I am fortunate to have several horses and ponies which I have trained. All are at a high level of dressage, depending on their individual merits, in respect for their integrity. Knowing their reactions and the way they are trained helps me to correct the rider and help them feeling the way the horse reacts to their aids.

The experience and the knowledge of horses and people I have allow me to analyze the situation when working with other horses or giving lessons. It allows me to adjust the training session to meet the needs of both horse and rider.

For riding teachers, the horse is a mirror without benevolence of the state in which the rider is. The horse purely reflects the psychological and physical state of their rider without any interpretation it. It will simply react to what it feels. As a gregarious animal with a strongly developed instinct of flight, the horse will want to flee from danger whenever it feels its rider or groom is afraid or stressed. What else could be the reason for the person to be anxious if there was no danger?, the horse will think. It is better to run away before getting into trouble.

When the rider practices equiyoga, they can, thanks to yoga, have a better understanding of the position their body takes, their muscular or/and psychological tensions and their potential consequences on the horse. It is also an opportunity for the rider to realize that their state will be transmitted to the horse and the horse may not behave in the expected way. It is about mindfulness as described in the Yoga Sūtras.

In general, the first part of the equiyoga sessions begins with yoga. This part depends on the state the person is in, with their goals at short and long term. If they are tired, the session will include lying postures, relaxation or stimulation. If they are stressed, the axis of the lesson will go in the direction of relaxation, in the one of let it go, or the path to energy.

Once the pupil is on the horse’s back, the teacher will also take the horse’s mood and physical state into account. Through the yoga practice, the rider should have developed certain mindfulness. This second part of the lesson will focus on developing awareness of the body, thus following the postures and breathing sequences that have been worked during the yoga part. It also helps implement the relaxation and concentration of yoga to the horse rider while they are on the horse’s back.

The combination of these two disciplines helps and allows the rider to feel the horse through mindfulness. It also helps to better understand each piece of information or signal their horse is giving, to fine-tune their interaction.

In horseback riding and yoga, twenty to twenty-five per cent relies on technical knowledge and seventy-five to eighty per cent on what the person perceives.

I am not the only one exploring the path of the influence that yoga has on a rider. More and more people are combining horse riding with yoga, Zen, etc. We all aim to promote the well-being of riders and horses. Every day, since I started to work on the principle of equiyoga, I meet people who are learning by themselves to pay more attention to their mood and their horse’s mood.

Xenophon has already attached great importance to the issues addressed in this book, the points of convergence between yoga and horseback riding.

Equiyoga sessions are only focused on the rider. The horse is of course trained by the rider and their teacher. The purposes equiyoga pursue are mindfulness, relaxation, detachment from the environment and potential issues, awareness of body and its position in space, so opening the riders body and mind to the reactions of the horse.

Due to respect of private life and image rights, most of the illustrations are representing me, except photos on equiyoga courses.

The lessons you find at the end of this book have to be adapted to yourself. Please do not perform the exercises without any supervision or without knowing your medical state.

Chapter I

EQUIYOGA

Horse riding and Yoga,

A path towards symbiosis

Never treat the horse with anger, this are the lesson and the custom among all essential to it.

Xenophon

1. WHY COMBINE YOGA AND HORSE RIDING?

Like any living animal, human beings are made with a skeleton and muscles so that any action of a muscle causes a reaction of the antagonist muscle and a change in the position of the skeleton.

In everyday life, the way a person holds him/her plays an important role on their health and mind. When the rider is sitting on horseback, their position will significantly influence the movements that they want to do with the horse. By reading this book, you will find out how the rider’s attitude will influence the work of the horse, either in a positive or a negative direction.

Throughout my many years of practice I sharpened my glance looking at horses, riders, yoga practitioners, and people in general. I can foresee health problems, or their kind of reaction to events. Without entering into details, the more the vertebral column will be aligned vertically and laterally, stretched without stiffness, the better the person will feel.

Every yoga posture has as an objective to (re)align the vertebrae, to improve the straightness of the spine and to reduce the spinal natural curves if they are exaggerated. The better the vertebrae are aligned, the better the energy will flow through sushumna (the central canal).

In yoga, the spine is the most important part of the human body. Any posture will demand its bending. Every movement has to respect the central part of the straightness of the back, while respecting its natural curves. Some postures are straining but sustained efforts are offset by other positions in order to put the spine straight back in alignment, to restore the general balance.

It is a reason why a practitioner will perform a counter-posture when they performed a demanding posture on a part of their body. As the name indicates, a counter-posture will counter the negative effects of a posture.

Slightly unbalanced on the first picture, the rider finds their place in the saddle, even though the horse is not straight on the circle. Their body corresponds to the horse’s body.

Depending on the level of the rider, equiyoga focuses on different aspects of horsemanship. Regular yoga practice will enable the practitioner to become more aware of their state of mind, muscular contractions and feelings. Through this awareness, they will be able to control their senses and their intellect to perceive and to understand their mount without filter. They will return to the roots of riding when feeling the mount came first, before technique.

For some persons it is very difficult to control the mind. There are many reasons for this such as the precedence of the intellect, having lost the contact with Mother Nature (unawareness of the evolution of Nature through the seasons, the adaptation to climate changes, etc). It can also have roots in the psychological state of mind of the practitioner, in their life history.

The deepest these roots are, the most difficult it will be to replace the current ways of (re)acting by new ones.

In equiyoga sessions, the rider is usually taken on the lunge. This allows them to focus on their sensations, the perception of their position on the horse’s back, the perception of their position in space and on their balance. Most of the time, they practice with their eyes closed, to put an end to the dominance of the analytic thinking and regards. It will help to reduce the false interpretation it can bring.

A teacher should help their pupils to develop their own self-awareness, self-control and sense of feeling. It is therefore very important to get practitioners to be aware of their own input in their evolution, in yoga, horse riding, and life.

The requests of the teacher to the rider encourage the latter in getting aware of their personal feeling about their position, their movements of legs and arms, and their center of gravity). It will also make them attentive to the movements of their mount (straightness on the circle, where the horse bends its back due to a proper job in muscles or when this back bending is