Category Archives: the body

Mar18

conscious connection with horses

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IMG_5741Mountain Horse Farm Retreat

Conscious Touch, Conscious Movement with Horses

a workshop with

Paula Josa-Jones

May 21 – May 24, 2019
Naples, NY

Reservations

This experiential workshop focuses on developing our ability to use mindful, embodied touch and movement as a way of deepening our connection with our horses.Conscious Touch, Conscious Movement supports ease and balance in the bodies of both horse and human, helping us become more aware of what we are signaling with our bodies (and minds), and more open to what the horse is offering.
 
Conscious Touch, Conscious Movement helps us experience and understand:
  • How to use movement and touch to create congruence between what we are feeling inside and what we are expressing outwardly.
  • Deepening connection, awareness and attunement with yourself and the horse.
  • Simple movements to create ease and flow in your body and that of the horse.
  • Letting go of habits of body and mind that may create unnecessary tension in you or the horse.
  • Becoming more trustworthy to yourself and the horse.
  • How to feel both giving and receiving with your hands and body.
  • Noticing when our movement and touch is transmitting inadvertent or unintentional messages.
  • Specific strategies for settling the nervous system when activated.
  • How to integrate conscious touch and conscious movement into your day-to-day activities with horses.
The clinic includes 3 overnight stays. The delicious meals start with dinner on the first evening and end with breakfast on the last morning.  You will work with our herd of horses. It is not an option to bring your own. The clinic does not involve riding horses.
For sleeping, you have your choice of elegant rooms with fireplaces and outdoor hot tubs, to glamping in tipis (yes, tipis!) – your choice.  The maximum number of participants is kept low at 10 and we don’t accept auditors. To interact with the horses, you will be asked to sign waivers. Make sure you wear shoes with closed toes (no flipflops, slippers or sandals) and it’s always a good idea to dress in layers.
Mountain Horse Farm is located in the beautiful Finger Lakes region, famous for its wineries and breweries, gorgeous lakes and waterfalls. You may want to consider adding a few days to your trip to explore the area.

Reservations

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Jan5

a gift for yourself

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Mountain Horse Farm Retreat

Conscious Touch, Conscious Movement with Horses

with Paula Josa-Jones

May 21 at 4:00pm – May 24 at 11:00am, 2019 

Reservations

This experiential workshop focuses on developing our ability to use mindful, embodied touch and movement as a way of deepening our connection with our horses. Conscious Touch, Conscious Movement supports ease and balance in the bodies of both horse and human, helping us become more aware of what we are signaling with our bodies (and minds), and more open to what the horse is offering.
 
Conscious Touch, Conscious Movement helps us experience and understand:
  • How to use movement and touch to create congruence between what we are feeling inside and what we are expressing outwardly.
  • Deepening connection, awareness and attunement with yourself and the horse.
  • Simple movements to create ease and flow in your body and that of the horse.
  • Letting go of habits of body and mind that may create unnecessary tension in you or the horse.
  • Becoming more trustworthy to yourself and the horse.
  • How to feel both giving and receiving with your hands and body.
  • Noticing when our movement and touch is transmitting inadvertent or unintentional messages.
  • Specific strategies for settling the nervous system when activated.
  • How to integrate conscious touch and conscious movement into your day-to-day activities with horses.

     for more information about Paula

 

The clinic includes 3 overnight stays. The delicious meals start with dinner on the first evening and end with breakfast on the last morning.
You will work with our herd of horses. It is not an option to bring your own. The clinic does not involve riding horses.
During the clinic no other guests but Paula and the participants will stay at Mountain Horse Farm. For sleeping, you have your choice of elegant rooms with fireplaces and outdoor hot tubs, to glamping in tipis (yes, tipis!) – your choice.  The maximum number of participants is kept low at 10 and we don’t accept auditors. To interact with the horses, you will be asked to sign waivers. Make sure you wear shoes with closed toes (no flipflops, slippers or sandals) and it’s always a good idea to dress in layers.
Mountain Horse Farm is located in the beautiful Finger Lakes region, famous for its wineries and breweries, gorgeous lakes and waterfalls. You may want to consider adding a few days to your trip to explore the area.

Nov7

Equine Affaire

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I hope that you will joing me at Equine Affaire in Springfield, MA at the Big E exposition center tomorrow, Thursday, November 8 at noon.  I will be giving a demonstration of CONSCIOUS TOUCH in the Mallory South building.

The schedule for all of the demonstrations and clinics is HERE.

Equine Affaire is a wonderful opportunity to learn from many, many teachers and clinicians, including the brilliant Mark Rashid.

You can also pick up a copy of my book, Our Horses, Ourselves: Discovering the Common Body at the Trafalgar Square Books booth, and survey all of their wonderful equine book offerings.

I am really excited about sharing this new work, which integrates my unique perspectives on touch, attunement, and deepening the human-horse conection. See you there!!!

 

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Oct22

finding flow

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DSC02776Capprichio

This weekend I had the pleasure and privilege of teaching an Embodied Equine Experiencing workshop with two lovely women from Toronto, both of whom equine facilitated educational programs in Ontario.. They had found me through my book, Our Horses, Ourselves: Discovering the Common Body.

The focus of the workshop was exploring how deepening and grounding our own movement practice can nourish and expand any aspect of our work with horses, whether competitive, therapeutic, or educational.  Both are students of Somatic Experiencing, the trauma recovery work of Dr. Peter Levine, so themes from that body-based work wove through the two days.

In much equine-related work, I observe that instructors and students are eager to, in the words of Linda Tellington-Jones, “turn on the lights” in the body and mind of the horse.  However, the lights in their own bodies are turned off.  Airlines instruct us to put the oxygen mask on ourselves first. The same thing applies to working with horses.  Awaken and enliven your own body first, and then take that illumination and awareness to the horse.

Yesterday we worked with connecting our own fluid bodies with the fluid body of the horse.  We are, after all 70% water.  The results of finding flow, and supporting fluid connection with our equine partners were stunning.  With Amadeo, we could feel the lack of fluidity through his lower legs and feet, and by bringing more softness into those parts of our own bodies, were able to feel a profound change as he released his braced contact with the ground.  Working with Capprichio was like pouring ourselves into a warm river.  Fluids joining fluids.

This is a different way of experiencing “body work.”  It is not about fixing or doing, but rther listening and joining.If you would like to learn more, you can contact me HERE.

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