EXPERT TAKE
Every Little Breath You Take... Can Improve Your Riding WORDS: TONYA
JOHNSTON, MA
THE MOST POWERFUL SKILL you possess is something you have in common with your horse: breathing. Of course, you were both born knowing how to breathe. Most of the time you really don’t think about it and things tend to work out fine. However, just because you know the basics of how to breathe doesn’t mean you know how to breathe optimally. In fact, according to experts, most people breathe at only 10 to 20% of their full capacity. Should this be interesting to you as an athlete? Absolutely! In fact, it should be exciting to know that you are probably walking around with a fair amount of unused potential. Improving your regular, everyday breathing habits will enhance things such as your: • Ability to focus • Stamina during exercise • Overall wellness
• Sleep quality • Immune response • Quiet mind
Now, you may have already built some breathing techniques into your pre-ride routine and your time with your horse, which is a wonderful start! However, employing high quality breathing methods all day long (instead of just before starting a course in a lesson, for example) will allow you to have a good store of energy and calm to draw on when you need it. Now let’s explore ways to make sure that influence is positive and improve your regular breathing so that you have more positive energy to share with your horse.
28 THE PLAID HORSE July 2021
