My client arrived at the barn frustrated by and still ruminating on an unpleasant conversation she’d had earlier in the day. She found it really hard to let go and be present.
In the weeks before, we’d worked together online to reconnect her to her body and herself. She was tired of always putting herself last, but she didn’t know how to be any other way. With awareness and practice, she learned to be kinder to herself which allowed for her to be more approachable and have more meaningful relationships. Paying attention to her body was a totally new concept to her, but she took to it right away.
We walked around the pasture and found the horses. She was drawn to connect with Isaac, my big mahogany colored thoroughbred. As she approached him, he continued grazing as if she wasn’t there. She made bigger motions to get his attention, but he still to ignored her.
Her energy felt hard, full of judgment and shame, and was all over the place. She was trying. so. hard. And that was the problem.
When she stopped for a moment, I asked her to take a deep breath and sink her attention into the earth. “Notice your feet. Your hips. Feel the ground under you.”
Whomp! Her energy drop to a grounded place. It was visceral.
She asked Isaac to connect with her from this place and he picked his head up and walked over immediately.
She savored the connection for a moment then looked over at me, her eyes brimming with tears at the gravity of the moment.
“WOW!” she paused. “That was really different.”
She took a deep breath and then continued, “It was really powerful.”
“It felt like I was offering me instead of just what I could do. It felt so much safer and stronger.”
My whole body smiled in agreement.
Most of the time we’re in our heads, unaware of our body and treat it as little more than transportation for our brain. We leave so much wisdom on the table when we do this.
We don’t know *anything* unless we know it in our body. We don’t know how to ride a bike, or if that sofa is comfortable or if we are safe, unless our body knows.
When we get the mind and body listening and talking again, we can be present and grounded, not just during our practice, but across all areas of our life.
