Hello All!
Happy November!
This month, we are all moving through more intrigue and what appears to be times that call on us to awaken to more excellent self-care and align with the fact that rapid change in our world will continue to be a constant.
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Transformation is in the air as fall weather shifts us into cooler temperatures, more color, and preparation for hibernation and rebirth, all at once!
As this pertains to us humans, we are focused this month on emotional intelligence, leadership, and relationships concerning our neuro-biology.
What we know is that miracles happen on the inside!
I’ve included my recommended book, as well!
Again, Happy November!
With kindness,
Belle, Salsa, Penny, and Mimi too!
Equine Guidance ®
Belle Shook MC, NBCC, LPC, SEP, NARM, BCC
928-301-7688
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Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, and
the Nervous System
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Do you truly want to know who you are and how you are felt and seen by others? See yourself through the eye of the horse!
Extensive studies show that leadership success is enhanced when emotional intelligence (EI) quotient is high. When EI is high, the pattern of parasympathetic reactivity is also high. When we are in the parasympathetic system, we are calm, able to process, and see things with added clarity.
We can enhance and expand our EI quotient for success by healing and practicing being parasympathetic under any circumstance. People with high EI are masters of their emotions, and they affect people and situations. It’s the ability to empathize to effectively and successfully manage our relationships authentically. This takes practice and involves creating coherence between our heart and our mind.
Healing and expanding our EI happens when we become adept at recognizing our emotions and what our feelings mean to us. When we are experienced at recovering our neurobiology and then stay focused on creating coherence in our bodies, we then enjoy success in everything we do, including our relationships, intuitive intelligence, and expanded clarity.
We create coherence when we are in a relationship with the horses without uttering a word. We engage and develop our touchstone for living in the parasympathetic mode that we never forget. When we entrain with the horse’s lower heart-rate and respiration, we drop into the parasympathetic nervous system.
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Whatever is clinging in our neurobiology as emotional wounds or blocks is kindly reflected back to us by the horse, almost always causing a colossal surprise or an AHA moment for us. In that AHA moment, we dive deep into surrender, emotional honesty, and healing.
This is our touchstone for choosing to stay present to the parasympathetic while expanding our EI and enjoying joy in life and living going forward.
Keywords for EI, Leadership, and relationship success are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, integrity, listening, and social skills.
Call us when you’re ready!
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Executive Leadership & the Horse |
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Building Leadership Skills, Self Awareness, and Identifying Limiting Behaviors |
Did you know that emotional intelligence, resiliency and intuitive intelligence for greater leadership skills can be learned? While I am known for being a Therapist with a focus on Trauma, I have been a Board Certified Executive Coach for nearly 10 years. |
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As with trauma or anything else that resides in our neurobiology, that we need to resolve, heal, or refine and grow in our lives, the horses remain the key!
Without a word from us, the horses provide instant feedback to us as they impeccably read our neurobiology, feelings, intentions, and sub-conscience. The horse’s exceptional ability to do this is what keeps them safe and protected as prey animals. It’s built in and more powerful than even the most gifted and experienced human. It’s an emotional honesty and clarity that they expect from us as their herd members.
When they detect issues (trauma, fear, dishonesty, pretending, hiding our true selves, etc.) within us, they let us know so we can titrate into coherence and memorize that as a touchstone to our own personal greatness. Titration means we slow things down so things within our nervous system can move into coherence – heart – brain – nervous system speaking to each other clearly without obstruction. As we entrain to the horse’s slower heart and respiration, we drop into the parasympathetic nervous system where clarity, resilience, healing, and thoughtfulness resides. We learn very quickly too what our blind-spots are about ourselves. Very often, we don’t know what we don’t know, no matter how old, experienced or successful we are.
Clients have told me repeatedly that after a session, and when they are back in their lives, when they need a touchstone to realign themselves again, all they have to do is look at a photo taken of them with the horses. The client’s neurobiology recalls the memory of coherence and it’s far easier to go back to that creative, clear, resilient, intuitive space.
No words are necessary at Equine Guidance®!
Call is when you’re ready!
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I chose The Deepest Well by Nadine Burke Harris for my book recommendation this month.
I chose it because science and research show us that toxic stress from adverse childhood experiences is directly linked to medical conditions and can shorten life expectancy.
Trauma gets under the skin into the nervous system and changes the body’s biochemistry. These life disruptions immediately impact mental health and set up the perfect storm for major medical conditions later in life like cancer and heart conditions.
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Please know it’s never too late to gift yourself the kindness and compassion you deserved then and now. You are not responsible for the harm that may have been done to you as a child.
And re-parenting and reclaiming your inner child is a choice you can now make. Healing is possible peace awaits. And as an adult, you now have a choice and hold the key to your life.
The Aces Adverse childhood experiences: the first study was done in 1995 to 1997 with 17,000 participants. I am so grateful to Nadine, Oprah, and NARM (NeuroAffective Relational Model) for helping make this study become known. Adverse childhood experiences shape our personality and impact the way we connect or don’t in relationships.
Horses are such a gift to humanity as they support relational honesty and the nervous system in gently titrating the integration of what was lost with incredible finesse.
Feeling safe to connect to oneself and others is the dance of relationship. We deepen our capacity for empathy and spark the awareness of the interconnectedness of life and all there is.
Disconnection is a strategy to attain safety, be gentle with yourself and others. Disconnection was once an important skill to survive, but no longer necessary when trauma is resolved!
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Try this Breathing Exercise from the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute
Now more than ever!
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Calming Breathing
Now take another deep breath in, and make the sound mmmm as you breathe out. Press your lips together quite gently, and try to find the level of pressure between them that creates the most vibration through your whole head from the sound.
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Make the sound as long as you can, and then breathe in again. Do this for around 8 breaths, paying attention to the vibration feeling in your head. A humming sound is particularly effective in stimulating the vagus nerve, the main branch of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps an over-aroused nervous system to reset, allowing us to relax. |
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Praise for Belle Shook and the Equine Guidance® Herd! |
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“Dear Belle! I joined your Equine Guidance: Horses Heal Trauma webinar for the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute. Very interesting and what a great job you have!
I recently discovered the Trust Technique to heal horses and find very touching this healing cooperation between horses and human beings healing each other…
Your webinar made me aware of how much horses may suffer when some other horse is under stress/trauma… That’s not really a question… just a touching-base and sharing…”
Love from Austria 🇦🇹, sat sarbat”
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Equine Guidance® 928-301-7688
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