What do horses have to do with my substance use?

Horses have an heightened perception for reading their environment for potential threats as well as seeking time and space for calm and wellbeing.  They can quickly alter their nervous system to adjust to the sight, smell or sound of a predator and just as quickly return to peaceful munching on grass as they graze.  

When we have experienced losses, trauma, or addiction our nervous system is often caught in either fight / flight mode or slowed down into depression that can feel frozen.  Either way we are out of balance and often feeling stuck and dissatisfied.  

We can learn from a herd of horses how to renegotiate our own feeling states.  When in the pasture we slow down.  We look within.  We observe how we interact and create relationship with horses in a natural environment.  Through fun and immersive full body experiences we open our ability to more efficiently track and influence our own emotional regulation skills.  

The tools we learn to relate to horses have direct impact on how we create and maintain relationships with the people we love.  This experience will change how you relate to everything and remind you how to connect with your inner strength and ability to heal. 

When we work on relating to a horse, trust is also up front and center both for the human and for the horse.  

What do we do internally and with our actions with the horse to build trust?  The horses feedback is rarely ambiguous.  When we are calm, clear with our communication, predictable, and grounded the horse is as well. 

How do we get there?  Moment by moment connection with our breath, relaxing our bodies, focusing our mind on shared goals, communicating clearly.   If you can come up with a better definition of the skills involved in emotional sobriety or grounded serenity, please let me know.