How this program works with Fast Track.
This gorgeous little 21 day program has some profound opportunities in it. It could be a great thing to do with your horse while you’re working your way through the riding seat changes in the early part of Fast Track.
This is part of my commitment to making sure that you get your Feel and whatever else you want from this program, that you solve any problems that brought you in here and that the solving itself will make your horse dreams possible.
At the bottom of each page is the button to click through to the next Day. I suggest that you mark the next day on your calendar to remind yourself to come back and pick up the lesson.
Most people doing this program will need to pause for a few days here and there and allow time for some processing and healing to happen. I’ve marked those places for a natural pause and called them to your attention. You’ll REALLY want to mark the next day to come back onto your calendar when you’re having a pause, because the steady progression all the way to the end of these 21 Days is going to knock your freaking socks off. I’m laughing here with joy just thinking of it!
Welcome
Welcome to Day 1 of our journey to inner peace, healing, happiness, appreciation and lightness of spirit – all through the grace of our horse.
A Quiet Mind is another one of the magic ingredients that make everything else so much easier and better – it’s behind superb Feel, perfect timing, clear thinking, calmness and confidence. It’s a foundation key behind an awareness of our body and that of our horse, that takes our riding and handling of our horses to a whole new level.
Program Notes
+ Each audio has a written version below, that you can follow along with, especially for our friends who have English as a second language. You can also download the audio transcript from the Lesson Resources section at the bottom of the page for future reference.
+ Each day you will have Keys to Success where any tools and tips to help you succeed with your day’s activity will be. Whilst the Keys to Success are important each day, they are particularly important on this first day.
+ Each meditation will feature beautiful, healing mantras by Deva Premal and Miten. I’ve chosen all the mantras so that their meanings sit comfortably no matter what your religious beliefs are. If you’re new to this, you can read a brief introduction to mantras on their website here.
+ We’ve set up both free and paid support options – should anyone need it, please get in touch with me.
Okay, so here we go…
Keys to Success
1. Soft ahhh… eyes. Trying too hard is the single biggest thing that gets in the way of a Quiet Mind. You’ll notice yourself frowning a little when you’re trying too hard – I call them “squinty eyes”. In your meditation I talk about soft, smiling “ ahhh” eyes. When you smile with your eyes, when you soften them with the same kind of smiling “ahhh” that you have when you see something that tugs at your heart like a new born foal gambolling in the pasture, or a kitten or puppy playing – you will notice that you feel more relaxed and that allows everything to flow so much more easily within your meditation.
2. The power of your intention is huge. Just decide that you want to develop a Quiet Mind and allow that to gradually unfold and develop strength throughout this 21 Days. This also makes it easier for you to have smiling ahhh eyes.
3. Understanding the five different ways in which we feel our connection to our horse, ourselves and to others is another key to success. Here’s a video lesson that talks about these five feels called The Key to the Kingdom of Horses. If you haven’t seen that yet, it is WELL worth watching. We use the framework of a terrified and traumatized wild horse and his novice owner learning how to listen to him and turn things around HERSELF, while she and you are learning about the different ways of Feeling for your horse. And being inspired, because Dawn rocks!
4. Decide to be kind to yourself today. Right now, pause for a moment and feel what it feels like to decide that you will be kind to yourself today and always.
5. Today’s meditation was designed to start a process of healing – so if you find emotional release with the mantra you can choose to repeat the music until you feel complete and at peace or you can complete the healing with your horse in the next session. Feeling good at the end of each session is our goal so please contact me for support should you need it.
6. Deva’s mantras are so powerful that we sit in silence at the end of them (for about 20 seconds in today’s meditation), soaking up and appreciating all that good energy. Then I come back to complete the meditation, so don’t click off and miss the grounding exercise at the end!
7. Grounding can be important to re-center ourselves after powerful meditations. Do this meditation with your feet on the ground, then you’ll notice the grounding effects of the short feet exercise at the end of today’s meditation.
8. The movement of your ribs when you breathe is not just important for you and your health, it’s important for your horse too, in order for them to relax their ribs and carry you with more strength, ease and fluidity. Horses often mirror the tension in our breath and body by having tension in their breath and body.
In the meditation you’ll notice a focus on the outward breath that is a feature of the Reverse Breathing that we will be developing.
Reverse Breathing can stimulate relaxation and also be used as a trigger to enter a Quiet Mind state quickly and easily, which is one of the aims as we go through this program. In the meditation, I talk about noticing the lower part of your ribs kind of squishing the air out of your lungs. And although these pictures are not meant to be anatomically correct 🙂 they give you a visual feel of what I am talking about.
On your out breath (illustrated in the diagram above), the lower part of your ribs move inwards and squish the air out of your lungs. Feel that lower part of your ribs flexing inwards right now on your out breath, as you look at the picture here.
Then feel the way that the lower part of your ribs flare outwards as you breathe in – the diagram above is a deliberate exaggeration of this to give you the visual idea of this. It’s important that you do not try to make it happen, just notice how that lower part of your ribs flare out ever so gently as you breathe in.
Introduction
(Having trouble playing the audio? Click here)
You’ll find written versions of both audios below.
Meditation Day 1
(Having trouble playing the audio? Click here)
The mantra that Deva Premal and Miten are singing in today’s meditation is:
Om Ram Ramaya – this mantra activates balance, strength and healing in the body. The sound Ram brings powerful balancing and healing qualities directly into your physical body, mind and emotions.
For those who like to chant with Deva: Om Ram Ramaya Svaha Om Ram Ramaya Svaha Om.
Written Version of the Introduction
Being able to find a Quiet Mind is the foundation for so many good things that it’s difficult to mention them all – being able to feel our connection to our horses in all its depth and glory, to problem solve with our horses and when we’ve got really good at that, to problem solve in the rest of our lives as well.
A Quiet Mind is the foundation of good health, because it enables us to understand our stress and our emotional upsets and when we truly understand them, it’s easy to take action on them where necessary. And this RELEASES the tension caused by stress, which in turn causes muscles to let go of that tension, bones to be able to slide back into place, it boosts your immune system and your ability to digest your food properly – with all the wonderful effects that those two things have on the rest of your body.
It’s funny, I’ve seen this so often, I’ll bet most of you are doing this 21 days of Horse Meditations for your horse and yet we’re going to get just as much out of it or maybe even more. It’s wonderful how our animals bring so many good things to us.
Our goal over this 21 Days is to expand our ability to find a Quiet Mind, to explore its effect on our horsemanship and to be able to find a Quiet Mind whenever we want to, no matter what’s going on in our lives.
I’ve separated this introduction from the meditation, so that you can find it easily. And I hope you’ve enjoyed the dawn bird chorus at my place this morning!
Written Version of Our Day 1 Meditation
Being able to find a Quiet Mind no matter what is going on in our lives is SUCH a wonderful skill and finding the easiest trigger for you to drop into it, is a really good deal.
One or more of these ways of feeling inside yourself will usually work better than others – so just notice which ways are easiest for you to feel what’s going on inside your body.
Breathing in and out, gently focusing on the out breath… Noticing what’s happening to your body on the out breath -just noticing the way that the lower part of your ribs just squish the breath out of your lungs. There’s a picture of what that looks like in the Keys to Success.
You’re not pushing the air out of your lungs on purpose, just notice how it happens as you pay gentle attention to your out breath.
Notice as you’re paying attention to your out breath that the movement of your ribs becomes easier, more relaxed and more flowing.
Let’s start off in our meditation with deciding to be kind to ourselves today. Right now, feel what it feels like inside your body, to decide that you will be kind to yourself today and always.
Paying gentle attention to the out breath and the way that your ribs are just squishing that breath out of your lungs.
Notice the tiny little pause that is starting to come at the bottom of your out breath, where for just a split second, you don’t need to breathe in yet.
Smile a little bit and feel your smiling ahhh eyes, the kind of eyes that you feel when you’re smiling and watching a foal playing or a puppy or a kitten.
Keep smiling with your eyes and noticing that pause that may or may not be there yet, at the bottom of your out breath.
Now see if you can feel your heart beating … and if you can’t quite feel that, then just imagine that you can.
Now be aware of any Energy flow around your body, feel for any sensations of energy in your hands and down your legs into your feet. Smiling ahhh eyes, knowing that your own unique talent will flow easily.
Notice any feelings, any warmth, any physical feelings in your body, can you feel the movement of the hairs on your arms, the feeling in your body as you smile with your eyes. Notice everything about how good it feels to smile with your eyes like this.
Paying gentle attention to your out breath.
Notice any emotions, just gently notice everything and allowing all of it to gently flow.
Be aware of any thoughts or ideas that float across your mind, just noticing them and allowing them to flow too. Like our breath and our heartbeat and our energy, our thoughts – even our worries – are always a good deal – they are just another way of experiencing connection to ourselves and to others – so allow them to float through your mind, all the way to the pure gold of the understanding at the bottom of them.
So whatever your strongest feel is today as you have been feeling inside yourself, whether it’s breathing that’s easiest, or feeling for your heartbeat, or feeling the energy move around your body, or noticing your emotions or allowing your thoughts to gently drift across your mind – continue to notice everything about how you feel right now, with your smiling ahhh eyes and for the next few minutes, allow the beautiful voice of Deva Premal and the Om Ram Ramaya mantra, to bring you balance, strength and healing directly into your physical body, your mind and your emotions.
…Deva and Miten singing the Om Ram Ramaya…
Deva has the voice of an angel doesn’t she? So still paying gentle attention to that outward breath, feel down to your feet and how they feel on the ground, flex your toes and really feel the ground with them and take this relaxation and quieter mind out into the rest of your day.
Lesson Resources
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Introduction |
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| Download audio (MP3) | Right click (PC) or Cmd click (Mac) here and Save |
| Download transcript (PDF) | Right click (PC) or Cmd click (Mac) here and Save |
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Meditation |
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| Download audio (MP3) | Right click (PC) or Cmd click (Mac) here and Save |
| Download transcript (PDF) | Right click (PC) or Cmd click (Mac) here and Save |
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Program Support |
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| Email Jenny | Click here |