IN THE MOMENT:
HORSES AND MINDFULNESS The Cheshire Horse
F
or many equestrians, methodically cleaning stalls transcends into an act of unintentional meditation. Your mind clears and you can focus only on the job at hand which in turn has calming effects. However, the power of spending time around horses goes far beyond the meditative value of chores. In this blog post, we explore the connection between horses and mindfulness, while taking a look at how approaching our equestrian activities with mindfulness and intent can improve our relationship with not only our horses but also with ourselves. What is Mindfulness? Before mindfulness connected with horses can be examined, it’s important to understand what mindfulness is on its own. According to Tom Bassarear, the founder of the Monadnock
Mindfulness Practice Center (MMPC) in Keene, NH, “Mindfulness is the bringing of one’s full attention to the present moment.” Many of the practice members
at MMPC use different types of meditation (breathing, walking, etc.) to deepen their practice of mindfulness. “The practice of mindfulness enhances clarity, deepening our understanding of [the] self and others while opening the capacity to make a positive difference in the world around us,” Tom explains. “Multiple studies of the benefits of mindfulness meditation have demonstrated that regular practice can enrich daily living. People who come to the Center report that developing a meditation practice helps to deal with challenging stresses and anxieties, including parenting, a demanding job, a serious illness, or loss of a loved one.” Mindfulness can come in many forms. It can be an expanded guided meditation practice or as simple as slowing down and striving to pay more attention to the world around you. Mindfulness encourages you to disengage from the media and take in the sights and sounds of the moment while vacating your mind from problematic thinking, stress, and worry. The benefits of mindfulness are seemingly endless and continue to grow as research increases. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Meditation and mindfulness have been studied in many clinical trials. The overall evidence supports the effectiveness of various conditions, including stress, anxiety, pain, depression, insomnia, and high blood pressure (hypertension). Preliminary research indicates that meditation can also help people with asthma and fibromyalgia.” The Equestrian Connection So, what does this have to do with horses? When we are in the barn, stress, unwelcome thoughts and anxiety tend to melt away. Instead, time with our horses encourages us to be in the moment and focus on our link to these incredible animals. As human consciousness evolves, our connection with ourselves deepens and we can realize the incredible connection between thought-free awareness and our equine counterparts. Because horses live entirely in the present, they are a living study of mindfulness. Their acute ability to be in the moment Continued Page 24
22 4 Legs & a Tail
Fall 2020
