Are you rolling your eyes even just a leeeetle at my use of words in that heading? I look forward to hearing from you in a live event one day when you’ve found it! <3
This is a longer audio lesson – you will need half an hour to do this brilliant riding lesson in a chair-horse. Laughing about the brilliant – if I do say so myself!
Seriously though, this riding position is what will give you the stability to be able to have world class feel in the saddle, use your body as a fine communication tool and be so stable on your horse’s back that you feel like you are magnetised there.
This Lesson is the first step to all of that.
Get yourself something like a kitchen chair with a flat seat and no arms, where you can straddle the chair ie face the back of the chair and simulate sitting in the saddle. If you have long legs you can get the chair further away from the ground by putting a book under each leg. There is a use for those old encyclopedias!
Dress in some comfy clothes that you would ride in and get ready to rock and roll. Or not!
Those of us who are older and have ridden for longer and fallen off more frequently, may need to run through this Lesson more than once, to release different parts of our bodies – so don’t worry if you don’t find it first go. It will be worth doing as many times as necessary because it will make a huge difference to your stability in the saddle.
And again… support, support, SUPPORT! I’ve often done this lesson in a live seminar where we could individually support people to find that special place in their seat bones.
Also, there are many other lessons coming up to help you find this riding position that fast tracks riding together as one being with our horse.
Here’s an alternate recording if you need it. Right click to download and save.
Written Version of the Audio
This is a Lesson that I am sooo excited to be able to give to you – it feels like I have been preparing for this part of the course for a long time. So here it is folks!
Sit on the chair in a general sort of riding position, facing the back of the chair, so that you are looking at the back of the chair.
Like all our other quiet minds we make a commitment to be gentle with ourselves and in THIS quiet mind, we make a commitment to ourselves to NOT do anything that is painful – we work ONLY to the limits of what our body is comfortable with.
Whoever said “no pain, no gain” they were mistaken.
Whatever hurts will change and release through repeating this audio, so it is unnecessary to and indeed unproductive to push yourself. Everything about my work is about doing it easy.
So, take yourself into that place of inner awareness, listening inside that we have been working on for quite a while now.
And deepen that feeling of listening inside by making the soft ahhh eyes and noticing everything about your breathing and what parts of your body move as you breathe.
Track your breath deeper towards your lungs.
Some of you trigger that feeling of listening inside more easily by listening to your heart beat, so listen for your heart beat and if you can’t quite hear it, make soft eyes and imagine that you can.
And some of you will trigger that feeling of listening inside more easily by noticing the energy inside your body – feeling the tiny sensations – sometimes big sensation of prickles of energy or the ebb and flow through certain parts of your body – the movement of energy around your body. So notice that energy now. And if you aren’t noticing anything at the moment, then just imagine that you can…
Now keep listening inside while I lead you through some various position possibilities for riding your horse in a position of ease and strength and comfort for both you and your horse. Remember that you are NOT to do anything that causes pain and I am asking you to work sooo slowly that you will get heaps of warning if you are moving into discomfort and pay attention and back off that long before it becomes pain.
Is that clear? Say it all together now… yes Mrs Pearce…
Listening inside and very slowly – no! slower than that, please – slowly slowly arch your back for me – and arch as much as is comfortable with NO pain at all. And notice what that feels like.
Now very, very slowly, slide your tail bone closer to the ground – you will notice that this does a tilting of your pelvis that has the opposite effect to arching your back – it takes the arch away.
Excellent. Now still breathing deeply and evenly repeat that very slowly – arch your back – even slower this time listening inside yourself and noticing everything about how that feels, notice any change in your breathing and then slide your tail bone closer to the chair and notice everything about how THAT feels, notice how THAT changes your breathing.
Next position change, still listening inside and still making soft eyes – every time you catch yourself squinting, you are trying too hard – this is meant to be easy, so soften your eyes.
Keeping your upper body in the same place, slide your butt further back on your chair. This will have the effect of you leaning forward a little bit. Notice everything about how that feels and what effect does it have on your breathing?
Now slowly, slowly, tuck your butt under as far as you can and notice how THAT feels and what effect that has on your breathing.
Now keeping your gentle attention to listening inside and with soft eyes, very very slowly adjust your seat a little for the place that feels neutral and comfortable for you.
Listening inside still and breathing deeply and evenly, slowly slowly curve your shoulders forwards.
This will have the effect of squashing you over your solar plexus. Notice everything about how that feels and notice what that does to your breathing AND to the position of your pelvis on the chair. Can you feel how that made the bones in your butt point into the chair? Poor horsey!
Now very slowly let your shoulders shrug back, sliding your shoulder blades closer to the seat of the chair AND allow your tail bone to slide closer to the ground at the same time and notice how THAT feels.
Notice what has happened to your breathing.
Allow your knees to gently fall away from the body of your chair horse and allow your feet to just roll outwards a little, so that they are pointing to the side instead of to the front – allow them to unclamp from that horse. Notice what THAT change feels like – feel the energy, make soft eyes at any feelings that are coming up.
Breathing deeply and evenly and meet those feelings and just melt off them, allowing enough room for the understanding to flow.
Notice what just happened to your sitting bones on your horse. Feel your horse’s freedom to move underneath you.
Now put the edge of your hands in the crease of your jeans just as you did in the standing posture lessons earlier on. And slowly slowly, keeping your upper body gently straight, lean forwards over those hands.
Lean forwards way too far and notice everything about how that feels, notice what happened to your sitting bones and notice what is happening to your breathing.
Now slowly lean backwards – too far and notice what THAT feels like – can you feel that almost sick feeling, that vulnerable feeling as you lean too far back?
Now slowly come back to upright and with just a breath out, let your tail bone slide closer to the ground and float forwards again from that crease in your jeans until you feel those core muscles lining up parallel with each other and tightening up automatically and effortlessly.
It’s okay if that is not happening yet, just gently allow your body to float backwards and forwards very very slowly – even slower than that – until you feel that subtle change in your muscles through the centre of your torso.
Still in that position, allow your gentle attention to wander over your body and notice any tensions or tightnesses.
Breathing deeply and evenly, make soft eyes at any tensions or tightnesses that you feel. If they feel uncomfortable, melt off them and allow room for the understanding to flow.
Soft eyes, if you feel yourself squinting, make the ahhh eyes, knowing the perfection of your body’s message.
Feel the change in energy, notice the ebb and flow of energy in your body. Feel your ability to breathe deeply and evenly in this position.
Now here the piece de resistance folks – the big part – the icing on the cake so to speak.
Still breathing deeply and evenly and with soft ahhh eyes, imagine that you could move ALL the joints in your body – don’t move them – just check out each joint from your jaw and down your spine, to your pelvis, your knees, your feet, your toes and imagine that all those joints could move, all those bones could slide ever so smoothly against each other, as if they were slippery with wet soap.
Holding that inner awareness still – smile and notice what THAT feels like inside your body.
Did you feel your butt start to magnetise deeper into the chair/saddle?
Woohoo! NOTICE EVERYTHING about this feeling, let your gentle attention wander all over your body noticing everything about how this feels. Notice your breathing, notice the energy moving around your body may be different, may be stronger.
Now pick up a contact on the back of the chair with your fingers. This is your reins of this horse for the moment.
And notice what changed. Any feelings that may come up, melt off them gently with soft eyes and pay gentle attention to them allowing room for the understanding to flow.
Make the soapy bones – imagine that all your joints could move as you have your hands holding the back of the chair gently but firmly at rein height.
Now pick up a stronger feel on the back of the chair, pull on the back of the chair a little as if this was your horse moving or pulling a little on your hands. And make stronger soapy bones on purpose. Feel how all your joints flex and give that tiny bit to compensate for the pressure in your hands.
See, the give and take is not in your HANDS – it’s in the flexing of your JOINTS. And feel that feeling, notice everything about what that feels like as you connect heaven and earth on the back of your horse.